Growing fodder for chickens

[sonew123]

Gotta say i dont like these drawer bins DH bought me id rather use them to store my crafts!! Anyone know of a good cheap place to buy about 15-20 trays instead? I have a plastic shelving units I could use already

 

[sonew123]

This is the cheapest I could find..is this a good deal?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/11X22-PLANT...771?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae38d8ac3

 

[pysankigirl]

I started my fodder project yesterday. I have 3 whethered goats that I'm keen to try this with as well, so my trays are pretty large. I did an 8oz scoop for my first tray and the seeds only went about 1/2 way at about 1-2 seed coverage. so moved up to a 16 oz scoop today (gulp.)

cant wait to see sprouting!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

NotAFarm, I have been reading through "The Chicken Health Handbook", by Gail Damerow. On page 140 she lists 5 toxic seeds that accidentally get into feed grains. The 5 she lists are as follows: Coffee Weed (Cassia obtusefolia), gossypol in cottonseed meal, crotalaria seeds and stems, sorghum seed and rye seed. Now, I know some in past posts have talked about dry seed versus "living" seed making a difference in it being harmful or not. Dunno! Anyone have any thoughts on Gail Damerow's list?

Rye seed is toxic?

Oh dear! That's what I sprout! There are a lot of types of rye ... so which one is the toxic type? And is it still toxic after sprouting? Growing to fodder stage? Eeeek!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Today is day 7... Alot longer than I thought but at least its not molding!!! Again Ill give it another 2-3 days then feed to the birds no matter what ! I might hold onto a tray to see how long it really takes to finish out!

Cool! What's in there? It looks like something I'd turn into a yummy salad for myself!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Rye seed is toxic?

Oh dear! That's what I sprout! There are a lot of types of rye ... so which one is the toxic type? And is it still toxic after sprouting? Growing to fodder stage? Eeeek!

I just found this really great resource discussing various grains for poultry (including rye). I'm not sure how "different" this information gets for sprouted grains or grains grown to the fodder stage, but it is still very interesting and useful: http://www.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/feed_ingredients/grains.html#Rye<br>hope

 

[Steemroo]

In so cal this is our green season - no freeze - rain. But I have grown wheat grass in pots - in dirt. Maybe I'm missing something, but you seem to be growing on trays with no dirt (low weight?). What about putting your soaked seeds in dirt? In big garden flats with some dirt in them? Dirt may solve water and mold issues.

Also, if you snip, I wonder if you could get several cuttings and make seeds go farther? That would. Require sun or a grow light after a point, as seed energy would be gone.

 

[sonew123]

Cool! What's in there? It looks like something I'd turn into a yummy salad for myself!

Just boss and navy beans!

 

[Sunflowergirl]

LeslieDJoyce, looked it up and there were a couple of threads on rye seeds. Yes, there are a bunch of different ones and some can be toxic as seeds and some as sprouts. Here is one of the links someone provided and it has sorghum on it too.

http://www.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/feed_ingredients/grains.html#Rye

Here is a thread on BYC where someone is asking about rye grass:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/510064/will-chickens-eat-rye-grass

Rye seed is toxic?

Oh dear! That's what I sprout! There are a lot of types of rye ... so which one is the toxic type? And is it still toxic after sprouting? Growing to fodder stage? Eeeek!

 

[JenEric Farms]

Well, I finally finished reading EVERY post and checking out EVERY link that everybody posted!

SONEW123 turned me on to this thread. Great information..can't wait to start this!!!

The problem is, now I want to raise meal worms, fathead minnows, start fermenting feed, and growing sprouts as well...HA! Off to read through the entire Fermenting Feed thread! Wish me luck.