Growing fodder for chickens

[rockingbearanch]

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

The first time was just a fluke. It is really the doggie pool. It is the second smallest from Walmart. The dogs wade and splash around quit a bit. I moved it where the chickens had been scratching and surprise! I haven't figured out which seeds work best. BOSS takes too long. Generic outdoor birdseed made a good assortment.

 

[CrunchyMeatEatr]

Wheat is fine for all of them.  I don't use Barley since it's so hard to find here.  I would try your Poultry wheat first.  The broken pieces won't sprout, but they will ferment during the sprouting process. which ups the available nutrients in them as well.  If there aren't TOO many broken pieces you won't see much difference in your grain to Fodder conversion.

Fodder can be used as a supplement, but most people use it as a main source of feed.  Barley Fodder is slightly more nutritious than wheat, but I don't feel the difference justifies having to ship barley in.  Wheat Fodder is still over 20% protein.  The 12 tray system in the picture above should feed about 80 chickens daily will very little additional feed.

Sherry

I just started looking into growing fodder and I think it would be great to give the birds something to keep them busy but does anyone actually have any nutritional data to support the claim of wheat fodder having over 20% or even 15% protein? I have seen on multiple web sites selling kits with claims that high but the only actual data I have found is from the USDA for sprouted wheat with 7.5% protein http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/6315
I would love to be able to grow high protein feed for my chickens but as Einstein theorized energy can neither be created nor destroyed, and since the you are only adding water and minor amounts of light to the seed, the energy it is using for growth must be coming from the seed. So the only way I can understand that the birds can gain additional nutrition from the fodder is the fact that they can digest it more easily. if anyone has any more information on the subject I would be happy to hear it. It sounds like a great idea an I may still do it just to give them something new to try.

 

[Nutcase]

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!). 

OK, thanks for the info. I don't have a basement, but I think when I start my fodder I'll be able to manage alright. Hopefully if I spread the seeds out a little instead of heaping them thickly into the tray, they'll have enough room to avoid mould. I also read on another site that some people rinse their seeds in water and bleach to fight mould before beginning the actual sprouting process.
...Sorry I asked so many questions...

 

[MainelyChicken]

What is you continued using the flat containers but put wire over them. This way the chicks can have her fodder, but not eat the roots. This guaruntees that the grass will continue to grow...

 

[Nutcase]

What is you continued using the flat containers but put wire over them.  This way the chicks can have her fodder, but not eat the roots.  This guaruntees that the grass will continue to grow...

 

Good thinking. I might do that, as well as feeding the whole thing. I'll have to find out what works for me..

 

[BlueMouse]

spreading thin helps a lot. I think the key really is in air circulation, proper trainage, and regular watering. Which is why the automatic systems are so great. Or at least some sort of tray systems set over a drain where you can go down, water it all, and leave it all to drain with air circulating both under the the trays and over the tops. We'll see how it goes when I re-start this fall. I have a little while to figure it out, because our forage is pretty good straing through the beginning of october.

 

[dawnpel]

I have some BOSS that has been growing for 7 days now. How much of it should I feed my girls at one time? Do I put it down and just let them eat freely?

 

[Lacy Blues]

I feed fermented grains and when I sprout other grains, like BOSS or lentils, I mix them into my fermented grains when they're being served out, that way, they are evenly distributed to everyone (but then I have a lot of pens). If you have just one pen, you can toss them on the ground and enjoy the show.

 

[dawnpel]

I feed fermented grains and when I sprout other grains, like BOSS or lentils, I mix them into my fermented grains when they're being served out, that way, they are evenly distributed to everyone (but then I have a lot of pens). If you have just one pen, you can toss them on the ground and enjoy the s

Thank you Lacyblues. I didn't toss it in their run and they seem to enjoy it. I just wasn't sure how much at a time I should serve. Can they eat to much of it??

 

[Lacy Blues]

With the amount of fiber in the hulls, they MIGHT have a problem if its something they're not used to having. I'd say maybe a couple tablespoons per bird unless they are bantams, then only half of that.