Growing fodder for chickens

[h4farms]

Has anyone tried rice???

 

[Lisa Harmon]

I soak my seed in a bucket that has holes which is set inside a bucket without holes. (Actually, it's a pair of empty plastic ice cream containers.) You want your water level twice that of the seed. Rinse your seed well before leaving to soak. The water should be clear. The next day, give the seed a very good rinse and then spread onto the tray. Below is a picture of a set of trays seeded with wheat which is a few days old and just beginning to sprout some green. Wheat grows pretty well and is less likely to mold than barley, (and can be grown at higher temperatures) but barley grows a thicker leaf than wheat so that's what I like when it's available. I gather up my trays in the morning and give them a good rinse in the sink (the tray with holes is nested inside a tray without holes....) and then set back on the shelf. If in doubt, it's better to water too little than too much. You do NOT want water to sit in the trays. Pour out the extra water after rinsing! The seeds themselves hold enough water to grow and usually only need a rinse once or twice a day. You want the seeds moist inside but not overly wet on the outside for very long or you encourage mold. I have my trays next to a window for light. In the middle of winter when it gets dark really early, I have a fluorescent light that turns on with a timer.

okay, die hard gardener that I am, I have resisted not using soil or sand or anything in the flat just probably by force of habit. But I just sowed a couple flats this way, and I hope it breaks the "soil addiction" (grin). Fingers crossed!

 

[Phottoman]

where is a good place to find bulk seed, on the cheap, for fodder?

You might also try looking (or asking) at your local Wal*mart.

Skip

 

[thedollysmama]

Has anyone tried rice???

Inadvertently, yes. I live in a rice producing area. Intrepid souls can chase harvest trucks around and clean up the spilled rice for free, nobody cares, but I have a guy who sells me 50 pound sacks for $5 and delivers. Where the rice has spilled in the yard in the past it has sprouted without issue so if you can source whole in the hull rice you should have no issues in sprouting it. Don't know where you would find it unless you live in a rice producing area.
And it's pretty nutritionally devoid, too. I view it as a bulk filler and not much of a source of nutrients.

 

[BarredCometLaced]

So I have started... *ahem* attempted... sprouting fodder for my chickens. It has not gone so well so far. I set up a stand outside, no room inside, thinking that it just might work. Well, I soak the seeds for 24 hours, wheat berries, and they do just fine. But, as soon as I put the in the trays outside the problems pile up. The trays are tilted alternating so that the trays drain all the way to the bottom of the 4 tiers. That works well- or so I thought. Maybe it is the humidity, but the slugs climbed up my metal shelving and started chilling out on the fodder. The fodder didn't seem to be affected and continued sprouting, but I was grossed out. I took care of the slugs with a little "slug magic" and thought the problems were over. Then came the swarms of fruit flies. Again the fodder didn't appear to be affected. I continued to water in the morning and at night, allowing it to dry out during the day. This shelving unit is out of direct sunlight. The fodder was growing quite well despite the flies. THEN, the tops of the grass started turning brown. I thought they were not getting enough water- NOPE! I pulled up the developing root mat and *shudders* there were little white worms wiggling around in the root mat and the rest of the mat, the side by the drain, was rotting, not molding, rotting.
I am at my wits end. I really wanted to be able to grow fodder for my chickens since they dont have access to grass and feed has reached 16$ for 50 lbs. If you have any suggestions or would like a picture of my set up please let me know! I am willing to try anything

Thanks,
BarredCometLaced

 

[Pent]

Grow it inside in the basement if you have one, or you could try putting mosquito netting over your trays.

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

So I have started... *ahem* attempted... sprouting fodder for my chickens. It has not gone so well so far. I set up a stand outside, no room inside, thinking that it just might work. Well, I soak the seeds for 24 hours, wheat berries, and they do just fine. But, as soon as I put the in the trays outside the problems pile up. The trays are tilted alternating so that the trays drain all the way to the bottom of the 4 tiers. That works well- or so I thought. Maybe it is the humidity, but the slugs climbed up my metal shelving and started chilling out on the fodder. The fodder didn't seem to be affected and continued sprouting, but I was grossed out. I took care of the slugs with a little "slug magic" and thought the problems were over. Then came the swarms of fruit flies. Again the fodder didn't appear to be affected. I continued to water in the morning and at night, allowing it to dry out during the day. This shelving unit is out of direct sunlight. The fodder was growing quite well despite the flies. THEN, the tops of the grass started turning brown. I thought they were not getting enough water- NOPE! I pulled up the developing root mat and *shudders* there were little white worms wiggling around in the root mat and the rest of the mat, the side by the drain, was rotting, not molding, rotting.
I am at my wits end. I really wanted to be able to grow fodder for my chickens since they dont have access to grass and feed has reached 16$ for 50 lbs. If you have any suggestions or would like a picture of my set up please let me know! I am willing to try anything

Thanks,
BarredCometLaced

You don't let it dry out during the day, the key is for it to stay somewhat moist, but not so much that the seeds are floating in water. And you need to grow it indoors. There are too many things that will get into it, as you learned, if it is outdoors. A basement, extra bathroom, corner of your kitchen, or laundry room works well. Depending on how many chickens you have, you don't need to grow too much. I see people trying to go industrial on this...it is not suppose to replace all other food, the greens are a supplement, to their regular food, which they may eat less of if given greens. I have 9 chickens and maintain a nice supply of sprouts with two sets of Victorio seed sprouter trays...very small stacks that I keep on my kitchen counter. See my blog for details about this set up.

 

[BarredCometLaced]

I do have a sprouter (two three tier sets), but it seems to get clogged easily and has trouble draining. We don't have a basement, no laundry room sink, 5 person household with two bathrooms... the humidity has been very high here lately (leading to mold problems in the house) so I doubt my parents would let me set up a system anywhere else. That is why I set something up outside, they were fine with that. We only have six chickens, so the need for fodder is not that high. What I don't understand is why it rotted. It was really gross- I will definitely find some mosquito netting though... that should prevent the flies from laying eggs in the fodder. I will try to make do with my situation!

 

[NotAFarm]

BarredCometLaced, Make sure your seeds are only a single seed or two deep.
They need the air circulation when it is so hot and humid. The mosquito netting will work, or if your mom has an old sheer curtain, you can try that. Make sure there is air moving even with the cover in place.

 

[chick-in-florida]

sorry for your sprouting problems... i quit after a few months. it got really expensive when the squirrels discovered my fodder in my screened in porch and tore the screen to pieces. The expensive part being having the screen fixed. Squirrels really love sunflower seeds! I also had mold problems that started as soon as the weather warmed up. I guess I'll start again next winter. Have to figure out how to keep squirrels away though.