Growing fodder for chickens

[Nutcase]

Oh, sorry guys - one other question: the 20 kg bags of livestock barley available in my area are $22 each. However the layer feed I use is $29 for 30 kg. Does this difference in cost per kg defeat the purpose of growing fodder, or is it still worth it to give it a try? I've done the math, but I'd like to hear other opinions. Thanks in advance...
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[BlueMouse]

the barley should be fine as long as it's not steam rolled/flaked/pearled. if it just says barley it's fine.

you get abou 6lbs of fodder per 1 lb. of seed. so do your math based on that. for larger livestock people are reporting only having to supplement with 3d or 4th cutting alfalfa, so the savings in hay is large as well.

 

[Jeanette56]

This sounds really interesting but would you clarify a couple points for me?
Do you put the kiddie pool flat side down on top of the seeds & then fill it with water for weight OR open side down, more like a greenhouse?

Jeanette

I'm sure someone else has discovered this but I'm not going to read 2,000 pages to find out. Sprinkle seeds on the ground. Cover with kiddie pool. Fill it. Ours is for the dogs. Wait 3 days or how ever many needed for your particular sprout. I have not had mold with 3-5 day sprouts. 

 

[SproutGuy]

The only time it doesn't sprout is when it's been heat dried.

 

[SproutGuy]

Hi Darwin-
The $22 seed bag will make 5-6 times the layer feed. So, your cost is about $3 verses $29

 

[Nutcase]

Quote:

Hi Darwin-
The $22 seed bag will make 5-6 times the layer feed. So, your cost is about $3 verses $29

Wow! That's what I call savings! Thanks SproutGuy.

the barley should be fine as long as it's not steam rolled/flaked/pearled. if it just says barley it's fine.

you get abou 6lbs of fodder per 1 lb. of seed. so do your math based on that. for larger livestock people are reporting only having to supplement with 3d or 4th cutting alfalfa, so the savings in hay is large as well.

Yep it just says barley. I’m not going to get any yet because I’m planning on starting a fresh laying flock of 16-20 chickens next year. Right now I only have 4 so giving them greens from the garden is not a big deal, but the fodder will def come in handy once I get more birds.

By the way, do the chickens really like eating the fodder? Should it be introduced gradually alongside layer feed?

 

[BlueMouse]

mine have gone nuts for it both in the brooder and in the winter when there wasn't much for greens. now they have their pick of greens so I'm not feeding it. I did introduce it in smaller portions than what I eventually wanted to feed, just until they got the idea that it was, indeed, food. I'm not growing any now because I don't have any chicks in the brooder, and in the heat and humidity I have had a bad mold and slimeyness problem.

 

[Nutcase]

mine have gone nuts for it both in the brooder and in the winter when there wasn't much for greens. now they have their pick of greens so I'm not feeding it. I did introduce it in smaller portions than what I eventually wanted to feed, just until they got the idea that it was, indeed, food. I'm not growing any now because I don't have any chicks in the brooder, and in the heat and humidity I have had a bad mold and slimeyness problem.

I see, that gives me something to think about. It can get very humid where I am, what do you do to fight the mold?

 

[Nutcase]

I have accessed my local feed store online and found that they also sell bags of wheat - $7 for 5 kg. Has anyone found wheat to be better than barley, or should I stick with growing the barley? Any advice appreciated - thanks!

Costs:

Wheat
$7 per 5 kg
$1.40 per kg

Barley
$22 per 20 kg
$1.10 per kg

Layer Feed (the one I use)
$29 per 30 kg
$0.97 per kg

 

[BlueMouse]

for now I've just stopped growing it. lol. I think it's more the heat than the humidity for the mold/mildew/slimey grossness though. Everything I've read says that fodder grows best in a cool environment. I think what I want to this fall is try to set up some racks under the florescent lights in the basement, it stays cool there year round, and I can set up an automatic waterer. If you're doing more than a couple small trays that seems to be the way to go. Not too expensive to build yourself from a basic pump and some PVC, and takes the trouble out of watering etc. Then all you have to do is go down once or twice a day, change the water (which gets starchy. no big deal for me because we have an open drain in our basement) and swap the trays around/start soaking the new seeds for the empty trays. There's some plans for them earlier in this thread, and you can find a ton of them online. You can even use a basic flood table type setup as in aquaponics.


for me I might be tempted to mix the wheat and barley and offer both. I think getting a diversity of food types is good for any animals (including humans!).