Growing fodder for chickens

[SowdersHomestead]

Well I took the lazy man's approach. I put 7 lbs of oats in a 5 gallon bucket each day. I'm now on day 5. My 1st bucket now has 14.5 lbs of sprout. So this morning the chickens and rabbits will get their trial run.

I cut several holes in the bottom of the buckets with a hack saw. Soaked my oats for 24 hrs. Each day I would flood the buckets for the first 3 days.

I pay $7.50 per 50# bag which is 15 cents a pound. By sprouting that takes the per pound price close to 7 cents.

In essence this is pretty much the same procedure as the burlap bag. Just water and wait.

 

[Sunflowergirl]

Try feeding it at different times in the growth and see what your chooks like. Wow! Five inches!!! That is nice! I have noticed that my girls like to find all the plumped seeds or the smallest sprouts first. Then they go after the rest.

Ok so my question is how tall do you let it get before you feed it? Mine's probably 5" tall and growing like crazy. It's oats btw.

 

[furbabymum]

Try feeding it at different times in the growth and see what your chooks like. Wow! Five inches!!! That is nice! I have noticed that my girls like to find all the plumped seeds or the smallest sprouts first. Then they go after the rest.

I fed 2 flats to them yesterday and they had no idea what to do with it. They were all crowded around but very little eating happened except by the guineas who knew exactly what that was for. So after 10 mins of watching I went back inside. See if it's all gone when I get home. If not I'm not going to grow any more I think.

 

[caj1985]

I fed 2 flats to them yesterday and they had no idea what to do with it. They were all crowded around but very little eating happened except by the guineas who knew exactly what that was for. So after 10 mins of watching I went back inside. See if it's all gone when I get home. If not I'm not going to grow any more I think.

Sometimes you have to give them a couple of days to get used to it and then they devour it!

 

[pawtraitart]

For poultry, it's best to feed it when it's relatively short or they'll just pick at it here and there. For other animals, you can let it grow taller as a hay supplement.

 

[chickengmaw]

My system in not fancy at all. Plastci buckets to soak in for 24 hours. Then drained and rinsed until clean. Placed in 3 grow trays with small holes or cuts in the bottom. I set them on cooling racks in a larger top that came with the grow trays. That way the water is not on your floor. I add water twice aday and empty the catching tray into a bucket. Don't let the water stay to long or it will get stinky. I started giving it to the chickens at about day 5, it now day 8 and they are still loving it. I found another place that has a homemade system. Its really big time go to [email protected].

 

[chickengmaw]

Wow I paid 40 cents a lb. for barley and thought I got a deal. When you break it down after the barley has sprouted and is up 5 inches and the flat weighs 10 /12 pounds . 40 cents a pound doesn't seem like a lot. I went to tractor supply Monday and bought some chick feed for $15.00 for 50 lbs. We have so oats that we feed our horses. I think that I am going to do a side by side test to see which grows faster. My 6th grade grandson was impressed to see the growth on my first batch of fodder. He is thinking about doing a science project on growing fodder. Well we have the seeds barley or oats. He might as well get some extra credit. He can start it over Easter break and take it into school when they go back. I will suggest he try growing it in the strawberry containers. They will be small enough to handle but nice and clear so you can also see the root growth too.

 

[Dagirls]

I said the same thing

 

[Dagirls]

Opps Ment to respond to the what is BOSS ?response as I was also ignorant but the mold ...... too dark ? and what about little drip mist systems they are easy. Air circulation ?

 

[Lacy Blues]

I fed 2 flats to them yesterday and they had no idea what to do with it. They were all crowded around but very little eating happened except by the guineas who knew exactly what that was for. So after 10 mins of watching I went back inside. See if it's all gone when I get home. If not I'm not going to grow any more I think.

I would suggest giving them more than one opportunity. My chickens have never even seen grass as I live in the desert. It took a couple of times. At first it was a hungry alien. The next time the alien was a little more friendly and by the third or fourth time, the alien became lunch!