Growing fodder for chickens

[myfivehens]

Ok, trying to read through this but there is just so much! My biggest question is how do I know how much fodder I will use per day for an estimated 12 hens? I read somewhere that it is anywhere from 2% to 5% of the bird's body weight, is this talking about dry seed or finished fodder?

 

[Lacy Blues]

Ok, trying to read through this but there is just so much! My biggest question is how do I know how much fodder I will use per day for an estimated 12 hens? I read somewhere that it is anywhere from 2% to 5% of the bird's body weight, is this talking about dry seed or finished fodder?

Finished fodder, I believe you should plan on 1 square inch per bird per serving. That is a tray that is 2 inches by 6 inches. You'll want the seeds to be between 1/4" and 1/2" deep after soaking... so... get your tray that is this approximate size and pour your seeds in it until they are at least 1/4" deep. Soaking will cause them to swell. Measure this amount and then you'll know how much per day.

 

[darkside1]

I give my 24 rirs that are 8 weeks old an 11x22 tray every day. They eat about 2/3 of it and the rest gets flung around and stomped into the dirt. I think they know that if they clean all of the fodder out of they tray i will give them a scoop of dry feed in the afternoon . A few of them prefer the fodder to the dry feed but most still like the dry feed better. I think its because they've had the dry feed since they were peeps.

 

[CrosStitching]

Is it ok to just feed them once or twice a day? The four of mine are about 8 wks too. They just finished off the bag of starter feed, and I'd like to keep them off bagged feed if I can. They really like this "new zealand spinach" plant I have growing and eat some of that every day and random healthy kitchen scraps (beans, rice, vegetables) and I have lentil fodder sprouting now which they each ok. I ordered some beet seeds to grow for them and plan on starting those asap.

 

[Dagirls]

I don't know what I am doing wrong. I am starting to have trouble with mold. Maybe because the weather is getting warmer? Anyhow I don't know what to do. I add a splash of bleach when I soak my seeds and then rinse after 24 hours. Do I need to add bleach every time I water? Right now I am sprouting wheat and just started adding a bit of sunflower. I tried oats but it wouldn't grow. Suggestions? I keep my trays in the laundry room, I have a small window across the room that remains open. Like I said this just started happening and I can only assume it's the weather. Unless sunflower are more prone?

I think you need to get rid of any mold spore that might be on your equipment. bleech and less water mist more often and maybe more air circulation, Maybe change whre you get your seed?

 

[kukupecpec]

I was wondering if I could use the scratch from walmart? Last spring the dog shredded a bag we had lying around that we bought in a pinch and when the monsoons came we had crazy grass everywhere!!!

 

[Kassaundra]

I was wondering if I could use the scratch from walmart? Last spring the dog shredded a bag we had lying around that we bought in a pinch and when the monsoons came we had crazy grass everywhere!!!

Yes scratch is normally just seeds and will sprout well. If your scratch has broken seeds though (like cracked corn) those will not sprout and could mess up the sprouting environment in that it will make it harder to keep things from molding or fermenting.

 

[corancher]

Quote: I think you need to get rid of any mold spore that might be on your equipment. bleech and less water mist more often and maybe more air circulation, Maybe change whre you get your seed?



I also was having some mold problems. I did clean all my equipment with bleach as mentioned but also changed the way I was watering. It has been 3 or 4 weeks since I changed how I water and not a bit of mold and my fodder is growing much faster and greener.

I was using a drip system to water but changed to a flood system. I believe that misting and/or the drip system does not allow for enough water to wash away any mold spores that may be around. I do not put bleach in my soak water or rinse water and I use the same water which collects into a tub and then is pumped 6 times in 24 hours to flood the trays. I change the water in the tub once a week and add a little water a couple of times during the week as the water in the tub lowers. I have not had to bleach my trays since I changed to the new system.

The wheat seed I am currently using is from a feed mill which was $12 something for a 50 pound bag. The wheat is very dusty but I have used this system with the current wheat and wheat from Walmart which was pretty clean and there has no change since I have not had mold with either.

My fodder is ready to feed at 5 days with this system. I soak six cups of wheat and 2 cups of BOSS for 24 hours then rinse the seeds several times. I then place the seed into one of those cheap turkey roasting pans with no drainage holes, making sure the seeds are still pretty wet and place the pan on top of my Sportman's incubator for 24 hours. I then take the seeds and separate them into 3 plastic garden flats with drainage hole which I then place on racks in the fodder system. Most of the seeds are already sprouting when I put them in the flats. In two days I have green about 1/2" inch tall and if I leave it another day or two the fodder is around 5 inches tall.

I think a heating pad would do the same thing as the top of the incubator but I already have the bator running so it's costing no additional electricity for me. I really do believe that the flooding is the key to getting rid of the mold and speeding up the growth. Hope this helps.

 

[wormrun]

Quote:

 

[michellemcfeely]

I would love to know how to do this

In the interest of spreading my poultry feed budget, I'm growing fodder for my flock during the winter months. So far, for every one pound of seed, I'm getting 6 1/2 pounds of green fodder. They eat the seeds, the roots, and the green shoots. I prefer to use barley, but I haven't been able to get bulk barley this year so I'm growing wheat with a handful of black oil sunflower seeds per flat. Anybody else grow fodder for their birds?