Growing fodder for chickens

[pawtraitart]

The burlap bag sprouts might be some fun chicken entertainment.

 

[TNBarnQueen]

OH, thank you so much! I so look forward to growing something good for my girls! And boys!

I live in East TN and I could send you a truck load of dandelions!

We eat the leaves in salads and I mix them with greens that I cook. Dandelions are high in iron as well as other nutrients. Guess I will be digging some up and giving to the chickens!! Another good thing is clover. I had thought about taking plant flats..adding soil and sow different grass seeds. Give one to the chickens and when they eat it replace it...then just keep rotating the trays. I wonder about radishes or even just greens like spinach?

 

[Lacy Blues]

Thank you Tennessee barn queen. I just need the seeds. If you're ready to send, PM me and I'll give you my address.

I will be going through all the garden seeds I've collected over the years but haven't had a garden to put them into and using the oldest ones to sprout for my birds... whatever it is and we'll see how they like each kind.

 

[groverlvchx]

I am so excited about this! I'm new and this is my first winter with chickens (MN winter). That's a LONG time with nothing growing outside. I'm going to start sprouting today!!

Took me three days to get through this whole thread but it was worth it--I learned so much. Thank you all for your contributions. I'll keep you posted on my fodder-growing.
grover

 

[ScottM]

Wow this thread is on fire. Started sprouting before coming across this thread. Glad to see the dirt I've been adding is unnecessary. Might just turn this bread into an article for easier reads, or is thre one already?

Oh and Grover, I'm right there with you in a Canadian winter that's already started at -20 C already.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Wow this thread is on fire. Started sprouting before coming across this thread. Glad to see the dirt I've been adding is unnecessary. Might just turn this bread into an article for easier reads, or is thre one already?
Oh and Grover, I'm right there with you in a Canadian winter that's already started at -20 C already.

I don't know if there IS an article on this, but I keep encouraging the knowledgable people here to write one. It really can be overwhelming to hunt through a long thread looking for a consensus of information.

 

[pawtraitart]

I'll probably start a new thread on bird bread recipes once I nail down the exact measurements for each one. I'm also doing some research on how to best add animal protein into the program. I think animal protein is important and is sadly lacking in commercial poultry feed. I tried meal worm farming, but they grew sooooo slowly in my bins.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I'll probably start a new thread on bird bread recipes once I nail down the exact measurements for each one. I'm also doing some research on how to best add animal protein into the program. I think animal protein is important and is sadly lacking in commercial poultry feed. I tried meal worm farming, but they grew sooooo slowly in my bins.

Great, I can't wait! I have a lot of questions about protein. I saw a "new" feed at the store that boast "no corn no soy" and asked what the protein source was, thinking maybe it was fish meal. It is Canola.* I said, so it is chock full of GMOs anyway, and the guy helping me said Canola wasn't GMO ... ummmmmmm ... wow. I started a thread about it, hoping someone maybe has something enlightening to say about Canola protein.

Regardless, what is the reason companies have moved away from animal-based proteins in their feed? Obviously the formulations for the feeds follows commodities markets, and as far as I know they aren't required to specify what is in them beyond being truthful about the claims on their packaging. But should I believe they chose vegetarian sources for protein ONLY because they are less expensive?

*Apparently canola protein meal is a relatively new thing, and will be working its way into human food soon, if it hasn't done so already.

 

[Lacy Blues]

From what I understand, they have moved away from animal based proteins because of price as well as the smell. Also, to make one feed mix with animal protein and one without, they would either have to buy new equipment or clean the other in between batches and that is just too much of a hassle.

I have pretty serious doubts about the Canola being non-GMO.

This from Wikipedia:

A variety developed in 1998 is considered to be the most disease- and drought-resistant Canola variety of rapeseed to date. This and other recent varieties have been produced by using genetic engineering. In 2011 96% of the acres sown were genetically modified canola.[16]

Erucic acid issues

Main article: erucic acid
Although wild rapeseed oil contains significant amounts of erucic acid,[35] a known toxin,[36] the cultivar used to produce commercial, food-grade canola oil was bred to contain less than 2% erucic acid, levels that are not believed to cause harm in humans[37][38] and no health effects have been associated with consumption by humans of the genetically modified oil.[36] Although rumors that canola oil can cause dangerous health problems circulated,[39][40] there is no reason to believe canola oil poses unusual health risks and its consumption in food-grade forms is generally recognized as safe by the United States Food and Drug Administration.[2][37]

Bold purple text is my highlight.

"not believed" and "generally recognized" leaves a LOT of room for doubt in my mind.

 

[pawtraitart]

Yeah, canola is GMO. *sigh* (genetically modified rapeseed)

One reason companies have moved away from animal proteins is because of the fear of spreading disease. The public has been encouraged to demand plant protein products. You know....the mad cow thing. Also, animal protein is more expensive. That is truly the bottom line, mass production convenience and low cost ingredients. If you look at a typical bag of feed, the ingredient list is fairly vague. Most commercial feed formulas are also full of GMO grain and soy. If is says soy....guaranteed GMO. There are superior proteins to soy, but there are shelf life issues as well as availability. That being said, there can be no doubt in my humble opinion that including animal protein in poultry diets is better than soy which is both heat treated (roasted) and genetically modified.