Growing fodder for chickens

[Roxannemc]

They found seeds in a tomb in Egypt and got 40% to sprout.... they were over 5,000 years old

OH no WAY!!!! That is unbeliveable.!!40%? The sprouting website said the wheat seeds were viable for 6 weeks. thinkthey are a little off?

 

[Roxannemc]

I had no idea that they were so useful! My husband is going to think I'm nuts for growing them on purpose, but it's a fantastic idea.

Here all these years i have been saying oh no MORe of those #$%## things!

.I read the roots will grow a plant even if you take the green off, pull it out of the ground if a bit of root is left..
That they have more than one way to propogate besides seeds...possibly even through the leaf?

 

[Roxannemc]

I just got a good laugh and had to share.

x 2 LOVE the last...

 

[Roxannemc]

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.

MaD COW ETC... GETTING SUED? AND $$$

 

[Lacy Blues]

I agree that chickens need animal protein (bugs, etc...) but be careful buying food with meat & bone meal or other non-specific protein sources (animal digest, animal fat, etc..) These are know to be from rendered animals (often 4d) or containing traces of pentobarbitol as well as other chemicals. Even the FDA will say so ==> LINK

I think fish meal would be ideal but all fish meal is treated with ethoxyquin in the USA and if it is shipped in from china then it was probably fed some kind of toxic cr@p too.

I wonder if I can grow my own fish??- LOL. I have about 10 feeder gold fish in the stock tank right now, hmm.....

DMRippy- you should check with the local farmers markets & such. I get boxes of bruised greens/tomatoes for free that they are just going to throw away. My guys LOVE tomatoes & grapes the best, & apples.

Hey, what about guppies!! I remember having guppies as a child. They bred like crazy. Home grown fish.

I have done some research on raising minnows. Fathead minnows to be exact. They get to be around 3" long, breed prolifically, and are easy keepers. If you've ever seen a chicken swallow a mouse whole, you'll know a 3" minnow would be easy!

All I need to do is get a big hole dug in the ground, put some kind of insert in there (whether an old stock tank, or whatever) get the water ready and order about 500 minnows. I want them to be able to breed and continually perpetuate themselves.

I'm also working on (in my head) ideas about oxygenating the water without electricity... in case it disappears. As well as having a circulating water system for my barn with nipple drinkers without electricity. A solar panel charging a water pump?

Oh... about guppies... how quickly do they multiply? I was also thinking about getting some feeder gold fish just to see if they would eat live fish... guppies are pretty small... maybe have guppies temporarily for the younger birds? hmmmmm

 

[Kassaundra]

I have done some research on raising minnows. Fathead minnows to be exact. They get to be around 3" long, breed prolifically, and are easy keepers. If you've ever seen a chicken swallow a mouse whole, you'll know a 3" minnow would be easy!

All I need to do is get a big hole dug in the ground, put some kind of insert in there (whether an old stock tank, or whatever) get the water ready and order about 500 minnows. I want them to be able to breed and continually perpetuate themselves.

I'm also working on (in my head) ideas about oxygenating the water without electricity... in case it disappears. As well as having a circulating water system for my barn with nipple drinkers without electricity. A solar panel charging a water pump?

Oh... about guppies... how quickly do they multiply? I was also thinking about getting some feeder gold fish just to see if they would eat live fish... guppies are pretty small... maybe have guppies temporarily for the younger birds? hmmmmm

How big a tank would be needed for 500 minnows?

What do you feed them?

How many could you feed out at those numbers and still maintain your system?

 

[ScottM]

.  Then I used a couple of wide mouth rings from canning jars to hold the top pan up off of the bottom so it wasn't flat into the bottom pan.  

Ann, tks for the little tip!

 

[Lacy Blues]

How big a tank would be needed for 500 minnows?

What do you feed them?

How many could you feed out at those numbers and still maintain your system?

Those are the questions I'm looking for answers on. I've contacted a seller of the fathead minnow and have not received an answer. I think it might be time to try again.

 

[pawtraitart]

Those are the questions I'm looking for answers on. I've contacted a seller of the fathead minnow and have not received an answer. I think it might be time to try again.

Please share what you find out! I'm very interested in this.

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

Yeah me too. I don't want to buy them when they are so plenteous world-wide. My aunt thinks I'm crazy already. She says, "I know life's a bit difficult right now, but you plan to eat weeds?"

I explained my purpose to her and she grabbed a few heads that were still in her yard and is mailing them to me!

One thing I told her is that dandelions are extremely nutritious and romaine was probably considered a weed somewhere sometime until somebody tasted it!

my Goats can smell dandelions from across the field I'm sure. They will dig around the tall grass/weeds till they find them. I used to think they were weeds that I didn't want around, now I love them!