Growing fodder for chickens

[TNBarnQueen]

Regarding your "spoiled" lot, I'd go ahead and dump them into a 10% bleach solution and let them soak for a couple of hours. It won't hurt them. I had to do it with some garbanzo beans that were in a soup bean mix this week. Everything but the garbanzos started to spoil. I rinsed them off really well several times and then dumped them in a bleach solution for longer than I intended but yesterday and today both, they smell sweet not spoiled.

I'd try saving them.

I did as you recommended and they looked great when I got them back out. After I put back in trays I put in a room that stays around 62 degrees. It smelled so good!! Just like fresh cucumbers. I have put the trays on the layered drip system. Do I pour water in the top one and let it drain down or water each one? Or would it do better to mist them with a spray bottle? Thanks again!!

 

[Lacy Blues]

Well, after reading the expert's advice the other day... if you have a mold problem in any of your trays and you let the water run through all of them, it won't be long til you have a mold problem in all of your trays.

I generally take mine one at a time but I haven't gotten mine completely set up yet. I think that running more water over them is the idea that washes away any impurities or extra starches that will ruin your feed so I think watering would be preferable over misting.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

well, i finally have my "tray" idea. daughter works in a bakery. she can get the 1/2 sheet cake tray and plastic lid for me dirt cheap, like 25 cents a set new/unused. She ordered 10 for me, that will give me extra in case one cracks etc. i have 22 birds, 2 alpaca, 2 pigs, so that will give me plenty for a snack daily for each animal. The Alpaca, i may do just grass seed later, and allow to go longer, they need the long grasses more, and lower proteins. May do a separate set just for them. Our winter is usually only 3-4 months at most. It was 68 here today, which is really odd.

 

[pawtraitart]

I did as you recommended and they looked great when I got them back out. After I put back in trays I put in a room that stays around 62 degrees. It smelled so good!! Just like fresh cucumbers. I have put the trays on the layered drip system. Do I pour water in the top one and let it drain down or water each one? Or would it do better to mist them with a spray bottle? Thanks again!!

I prefer to soak/drain each one. Misting doesn't get rid of buildup. My system is still small scale so I take each tray to the kitchen sink once a day for a rinse.

 

[FeyRaine]

All the great posts on this thread inspired me to (1) start doing Fodder Wheat in trays & Sprouted Oats in Burlap & (2) actually join BYC

Here are pics. of the first "test" Fodder Wheat, my house was cold (60F) so this is actually 9 days from first wetting the wheat.
I'm using several different types of trays etc of things I had on hand to see what works for my situation.

I was rather shocked at the cost ($18 for 50# wheat & $22 for 50# on the oats)
this was at our most local mom&pop feed store which carries locally grown corn and is lower cost on everything
than either TSC or Coop both of which are 3 additional miles away.

So I'm not sure I'm going to get the huge cost savings I was hoping for w/ Fodder & sprouts, but I do think the nutrition value will be improved
& all the birds (chickens, Turkey , & ducks) LOVED IT.

Here are pics. of very first ever Fodder





Thanks to everyone who posted about this here before me !
FeyRaine

 

[PacaPride]

Flooding vs. Misting and how grow trays get watered in reference to mold potential -

Again, only from my experience... A flood and drain system has proven the optimum approach for us growing fodder. During the first few days of pre-soaked seed being spread in a grow tray, the flooding keeps the seed hulls from drying out and stopping the germination process (which was triggered during the pre-soak stage). Over the course of the grow period, one will find that the actual seed bed that was spread in the trays will begin to rise up in the tray, being pushed upward by the growing root mat. Continued flooding of the trays subsequently sends the water to the root mat in more mature trays versus the seed bed, which has now risen up enough that the hulls are no longer getting directly watered.

This is important as it also helps contribute to the control of molds. Keep in mind that once a seed germinates, the hull is discarded and started to decay. The hull becomes the starting point where molds take hold. Misting a tray from above will keep wetting these hulls more than they really need. In fact, this is why control of humidity is important as well. Too humid of an environment can be seen when water droplets are appearing at the top of the young grassy sprouts. Roots transport water upwards, the sprouts use it to stretch and grow and also push the excess water outwards to hang on to the grassy tip. A low humidity room will help evaporate that excess off the trays. A high humidity room will allow excess water to accumulate, falling back down to the seed bed, wetting the hulls some more.

Also: do not confuse a fuzzy white root hair as something that is molding. Sometimes, the root hairs will look like a fluffy white cotton has covered the root. This can be seen in root hairs at the top of the seed bed. That is not mold. Bad molds usually appear later in the grow process in trays that drain, and they look bluish or greenish (think moldy bread). The exception to this rule is if a tray has water sitting in it that doesn't drain. Then, fermenting takes hold and you'll begin to see a foamy white in wet spots where yeast is doing its thing.

I've just recently uploaded a set of photos to our Faceboo page where you will to able to discern this notion a bit more:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151297013542962.496318.230401092961&type=1&l=af68d8b131

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Flooding vs. Misting and how grow trays get watered in reference to mold potential -

Again, only from my experience... A flood and drain system has proven the optimum approach for us growing fodder.

...

I've just recently uploaded a set of photos to our Faceboo page where you will to able to discern this notion a bit more:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151297013542962.496318.230401092961&type=1&l=af68d8b131

Thanks again for the useful information and the photos. I had read somewhere else that watering the trays from below instead of from above will help with mold growth. So I've bought some stackable trays to try a two-tray dipping system. I wanted to switch trays anyway not only because of the desire to avoid chemicals leaching from the perforated nursery flats I've been using, but because I have issues with the rye grains falling through the bottom of my current trays ...

The trays I'm trying are food-grade, and are dishwasher safe -- they should stand up to repeated sanitations. I'll do that between every batch of fodder.

The mold I've gotten here is like marshmallow fluff ... sticky and pure white and it stays mostly in the seed bed. Very odd stuff.

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

I know, but until you have one do it you will not believe it. I didn't.. She is in a pen with no way for another hen to get to her and it is closed with no gaps on all sides....just not possible. She was injured so I moved her to these pens. She is in a pen by herself. She kinda quit laying, but would pop out 2 eggs at a time when she did lay for some odd reason. Some have been soft shelled, but most are normal size and regular eggs..... BELIEVE IT OR NOT!

BTW I have bricks on top of the ones with big birds because they can move the screens and get out.

I love this setup! Got any closeups on the feeders and waterers?

 

[Got eggs]

I tried my hand at the fodder trays, I didn't like having to mess with them everyday and I don't really have enough room so I'm now trying my hand at raised planters putting hardware cloth over the top and letting the grain grow(I've got barley in them) the hens can't dig up the roots just eat what's above the wire much easier to deal with

 

[PacaPride]

...

The mold I've gotten here is like marshmallow fluff ... sticky and pure white and it stays mostly in the seed bed. Very odd stuff.

What you've described sounds like Aspergillus Mold. It generally appears as a thick white layer, like marshmallow fluff. (It can also be black or grey too). In general, I've seen it during my early trials (using seedling propagation trays that were manually watered) when the seed bed didn't drain quick enough and sat in water too long, or didn't get enough of a turnover of fresh water. What happens is that the grain seed, during germination produces enzymes and releases starches that, if not rinsed away during the flooding, becomes sticky glop build-up in the seed bed. Yeast in the air take hold, and fermentation begins, typically; however, in dirtier environments, the molds that give us pennecillin take hold and the gloppy starchy base becomes the fluff you described. Be sure your seed bed gets a supply of FRESH water to wash this build-up away, and be sure the trays drain as completely as possible. If recycling water, the starches will get recycled to coat the seeds again as well, more frequent reservoir water changes are necessary. Recycled water via reservoirs, even with filters, means more maintenance of the system, including system stops and flushes, to keep everything clean. During my phase 2 trials, using the actual flood and drain trays, for 9 trays and a 14 gallon reservoir, I had to change the water every morning, sometimes twice a day.

If you are washing, and pre-soaking your seeds in a pre-treatment, I would encourage you also to look towards your grow environment controls: are you growing this in the house, in a shared space in the kitchen? are there other foods or plants nearby? A floor with carpeting? Keep in mind that mold spores and yeast are present in the air and on foods already. Sprouting trays in an "open" environment will give you more mold and fruit fly problems than if the environment was enclosed either in a cabinet or a dedicated room.

This is why many turnkey fodder systems on the market place today are so expensive. They insist on not only selling the system, but the grow environment that contains it as well. They know very well that mold problems are very much a grow environment issue and not due to their system.