Growing fodder for chickens

[highline]

Does anyone know if its okay to feed fodder to your chickens if it has a little mold on it here and there?

Peeps - I would take the fodder that had molt on it, toss it, and give them the rest. : )

~ Aspen

I've seen posts in forums that say to never feed mold to chickens. hogs, etc. but.......... in my younger days I remember we always threw any molded bread, biscuits, rolls to the chickens. When cheese would mold, we never threw it all away, we just cut the mold off and fed the molded part to either the chickens or hogs. We always had a slop bucket for the hogs and grew a bit of mold there too. Never had a problem with either one. Have also had the pleasure to see chickens and other birds (as well as a few rodents) around grain elevators feasting on molded piles of grain. Can't remember ever seeing any layin' dead there either. hmmmmmm

 

[corancher]

The first two pictures show our work in progress fodder system.
We search around the barn and found an old shower pan and the
metal stand that it is setting on. We also found the white shelving and
a plastic bin for the water to drain into. Next we will add a pump and
water line watering system. I am currently taking a bucket of water and dipping
water out with a bowl then pouring the water over the fodder pans. The pans on top get the
most water poured on then they drip down into the pans below and then into the drain and
bin under the drain. As you can see from the growth it's working pretty good. We also
mounted two lights that shine onto the system around the clock. Currently we are using old
heat lights with a 100 watt bulb. We are trying to do this system as low cost as possible.

This pictures shows some of the fodder. There is wheat, boss, corn, & oats in the various pans. The wheat
currently is the best growing and the boss is the second best. The oats and corn are taking much longer to sprout and grow.

This pan of fodder is mostly wheat and at 4 days.

This is showing the root base of the above pan.

This pan is on day 3.

This pan is day 6.

This mixture has a lot of corn and oats. I can't remember what day this one is but I think it has been 5-6 days. As you can see much slower. My husband says it's because oats and corn need warmer temps to germinate. For the last week, once I put my seeds in the flats I place them in non leaking pans then place them on top of my incubator. It does help since it is kind of like a heat mat. I leave them there for a day or two as space allows then move them to the fodder shelves.

 

[corancher]

I've seen posts in forums that say to never feed mold to chickens. hogs, etc. but.......... in my younger days I remember we always threw any molded bread, biscuits, rolls to the chickens. When cheese would mold, we never threw it all away, we just cut the mold off and fed the molded part to either the chickens or hogs. We always had a slop bucket for the hogs and grew a bit of mold there too. Never had a problem with either one. Have also had the pleasure to see chickens and other birds (as well as a few rodents) around grain elevators feasting on molded piles of grain. Can't remember ever seeing any layin' dead there either. hmmmmmm

I agree with this. I have been around a lot of different animals and honestly some of the stuff they find and eat is down right awful. As I posted awhile back, we get produce from a produce stand in the summer months and it does not take long for mold to grow in hot weather. Our animals and birds (except the horse) gets this produce and I have not had one drop dead yet.

 

[All4MrD8a]

If you were to buy seeds for sprouting for human consumption it is a lot more expensive because they make sure that it isn't contaminated with things like e coli before they sell it to you, knowing that it is being served raw. However, if you left a chicken to do whatever a chicken wants to do, he would follow after the ruminants pecking at their poo. I don't see the difference for chickens. Just make sure that there is a lot of beneficial bacteria in their systems.

 

[UrbanMamaHen]

I would say that chickens are exposed to E. Coli in the environment (in the dirt they scratch for food) on a daily basis. As for the possible contamination of the sprouts/fodder with E. Coli, I would think there is that risk if the water is not clean, or if the seeds/grains are contaminated to begin with. If we use food grade seeds/grains, drinkable water to wash/water the fodder with, and clean containers, I'd say there is minimal risk of E. Coli contamination. Of the major outbreaks involving E. Coli i have read about, the culprits have been traced to either contaminated water sources, or unclean equipment.

 

[Sunflowergirl]

I like all the input about E. coli!
I used to work in a lab that studied the organism that causes anthrax. We wiped our lab benches down with a dilute solution of Chlorox bleach to decontaminate the benches from any possible anthrax spores. I think a glug of bleach in your rinse water would go a long way to knocking out easier to kill stuff like E. coli (as compared to anthrax spores).

 

[erinszoo]

Just found this thread ... We've been doing sprouted grains for awhile now but we use a grain blend that was meant for Spike planting to draw deer. It's a whole mix of stuff but our birds are just crazy for it. So far we've just been feeding it as a treat daily but I want to up our production to make more green stuff for them so I can sell my extra produce instead of feeding it. Even our baby turkeys love the stuff. I'll have to start keeping up with this thread!

 

[caj1985]

Just found this thread ... We've been doing sprouted grains for awhile now but we use a grain blend that was meant for Spike planting to draw deer. It's a whole mix of stuff but our birds are just crazy for it. So far we've just been feeding it as a treat daily but I want to up our production to make more green stuff for them so I can sell my extra produce instead of feeding it. Even our baby turkeys love the stuff. I'll have to start keeping up with this thread!

I had wondered whether the chicks would like deer plot fodder. Now is the time to buy it also, since it is on clearance everywhere. I might have to plant some around the coops also if it goes over well.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

The first two pictures show our work in progress fodder system.
We search around the barn and found an old shower pan and the
metal stand that it is setting on. We also found the white shelving and
a plastic bin for the water to drain into. Next we will add a pump and
water line watering system. I am currently taking a bucket of water and dipping
water out with a bowl then pouring the water over the fodder pans. The pans on top get the
most water poured on then they drip down into the pans below and then into the drain and
bin under the drain. As you can see from the growth it's working pretty good. We also
mounted two lights that shine onto the system around the clock. Currently we are using old
heat lights with a 100 watt bulb. We are trying to do this system as low cost as possible.

This pictures shows some of the fodder. There is wheat, boss, corn, & oats in the various pans. The wheat
currently is the best growing and the boss is the second best. The oats and corn are taking much longer to sprout and grow.

This pan of fodder is mostly wheat and at 4 days.

This is showing the root base of the above pan.

This pan is on day 3.

This pan is day 6.

This mixture has a lot of corn and oats. I can't remember what day this one is but I think it has been 5-6 days. As you can see much slower. My husband says it's because oats and corn need warmer temps to germinate. For the last week, once I put my seeds in the flats I place them in non leaking pans then place them on top of my incubator. It does help since it is kind of like a heat mat. I leave them there for a day or two as space allows then move them to the fodder shelves.

What a wonderful system you have going!! I bet your birds love all the fresh greens! How do you geese and ducks like it?

~ Aspen

 

[yodercountrygirl2]

Oh the site is wonderful!!!! I stumbled across this last night and only half way through.
Question: I have some red clover, that I rinsed all the pink stuff off. How long to soak it?
Getting some boss later in the week.