Growing fodder for chickens

[kada6305]

beginning of day 7.

 

[Flowerbh]

Thank you so much for all the details Don. I presoak seeds for 8-12 hours in a mild bleach solution (1/2 tsp. bleach to 6 cups water). I will incorporate the H2O2 into my rinsing. Good to know 2 rinses per day is sufficient and others are getting by with this. Room stays between 60 and 75, so I think it's good there. Believe it or not, the cooler 60 doesn't seem to slow the wheat growth for me. Rinses are thorough, and I do keep the containers on a slope (I was hoping to semi-automate, and just water the top trays a few times a day and let the water drip down through each tray, but I've been rinsing in the sink due to mold paranoia). I might need to increase the slope. It's a fine balance, though, because I don't want the seeds to all slide down to one end. Sprouting was definitely a problem with the feed store barley; probably heated or irradiated in some way like you said. But the wheat berries are organic, therefore non-GMO, and are for human consumption so they should be pretty good. I think the germination rate is pretty high. It's mostly cracked or broken seeds that don't sprout. After reading through your info, I'm thinking air circulation is still a problem. Could my containers be too deep? They are similar to this: I have put many holes in them to help with airflow and drainage, but it's hard to say... I'm sure the high sides are trapping humidity. What do you think? Originally, I thought they'd be good to catch water that falls from the tray above, but maybe it's causing another problem. Thanks again for all the help!

I would not use a container so deep. Air can't circulate enough.

 

[Flowerbh]

I have found I can prevent mold by 1) rinsing the seeds well. Then soak in water that is several inches deeper than the seeds. Remove anything that is floating in your pail as this is dead stuff and will not sprout. This is the stuff that will end up molding. 2). Use a thin layer of seeds! No more than 1/3 - 1/2 inch of seed. Remember, these seeds will swell up over the next few days. If it is too thick, it will mold. 3). I mist the seeds heavily several times a day. I water them until water drains out the holes. 4). I think it is important NOT to use deep trays. My trays are only about 2 inches deep. This allows for proper air circulation. Even when planting seeds for a garden, you should never have the dirt lower than a 1/2" from the top of your containers.

I do not have to use bleach or peroxide.

This fodder is actually some wild bird seed I tried. Black oiled sunflower seeds are a chicken favorite,

This fodder is barley that is only about 4 days old. See how thick my small amount of seeds ended up being? That's why you should just use a small amount.

 

[kada6305]

Any idea why my wheat fodder isn't growing well? These are taken on day 8


Beginning of day 8




End of Day 8



I started feeding today which is why there is a chunk missing in the 2nd photo Day 8- shouldn't I have lots of wheat grass by now??
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[highline]

Any idea why my wheat fodder isn't growing well? These are taken on day 8


I started feeding today which is why there is a chunk missing in the 2nd photo Day 8- shouldn't I have lots of wheat grass by now??
.

your seeds look good, so only three reasons I can think of - 1, room temp low, 2. seed quality, 3, not rinsing enough??...

 

[kada6305]

your seeds look good, so only three reasons I can think of - 1, room temp low, 2. seed quality, 3, not rinsing enough??...

room temp stays 65-70, seeds I got from feed store so who knows, I rinse 2x a day. I started another batch with less seeds and smaller containers so hoping to have some good growth this time.

 

[kada6305]

This is the batch I just started, 24 hrs after being put in the containers. We did 24 hr soak. so far everything is looking good.

.

 

[highline]

room temp stays 65-70, seeds I got from feed store so who knows, I rinse 2x a day. I started another batch with less seeds and smaller containers so hoping to have some good growth this time.

have you been having decent results with seed from the same source? Are you soaking overnight? If not, maybe try that... Opinions are all over the place on soak times.

 

[highline]

oops. didn't see your post... never mind on that part lol

 

[highline]

This is the batch I just started, 24 hrs after being put in the containers. We did 24 hr soak. so far everything is looking good.

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yup, looks like it should. good clean seed too. Maybe just something freakish happened on ur last batch.