Growing fodder for chickens

[dragonlady12]

I was wondering about herbs that are ok to grow around our girls. I know that oregano is ok but is there anything that I might plant that wouldn't be good to grow around them? I'm working on my fall garden ideas and the new place we are going to is situated differently and the garden area will be closer (just a fence jump away) than the current one. I use recycled roof gutters to grow herbs in and want to have a low one just for our girls to enjoy.

any ideas?

 

[HeritageGoose13]

http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2013/05/herbs-and-their-uses-for-your-chickens.html

There's also comfrey, but that's controversial.

 

[dragonlady12]

That's awesome. Thanks. What about Lemongrass? I have buckets of that around my doors to deter the skeeters from coming in where they are not welcome. I have had them for a while and the girls almost ate one to death so I don't think it's a problem, I just don't want to plant anything that could be harmful.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

I don't know about lemongrass, but if they have eaten some it's probably okay. Does the lemongrass actually repel mosquitos?

 

[dragonlady12]

My bad. I meant Geraniums and Lemon Balm. Sigh. And yes, they do keep the mosquitoes at bay. But you need a lot of it.

 

[jheasley]

This post is to big, so I didn't have time to look through it's entirety. I'm sorry if some of this has already been covered here.

For most of 2015 I've been experimenting with sprouting wheat, & rye seed since "barely" isn't available in North Central Indiana. It took me about a month, but I finally had good consistent success in 7 days while consistently producing a 4" mat.

Tip #1-Rye & wheat seem to do good together for me. Just have to watch for mold and treat with bleach as needed.

Tip #2-To avoid getting treated grain, I by directly off farmer's that are growing the grain.

Tip #3-I found a farmer in North Central Indiana that will grow barely for us, but he wants us to commit to buying 10 50lb bags before he will plant some for us.
-Let me know if anyone is in the Grant County Indiana area that might want to split this up, he will make us a good deal.

Questing #1-Has anyone tried sprouting multiple grains together?
-If so in which combination & please state how successful you were.

Question #2-Has anyone sprouted Oats?
-If so how successful were you?

Question #3-I've heard barely isn't as bad with producing mold, how much truth is there to this?
-please elaborate in detail.

Thanks for all the upcoming advise!

 

[CATRYNA]

This post is to big, so I didn't have time to look through it's entirety. I'm sorry if some of this has already been covered here.

For most of 2015 I've been experimenting with sprouting wheat, & rye seed since "barely" isn't available in North Central Indiana. It took me about a month, but I finally had good consistent success in 7 days while consistently producing a 4" mat.

Tip #1-Rye & wheat seem to do good together for me. Just have to watch for mold and treat with bleach as needed.

Tip #2-To avoid getting treated grain, I by directly off farmer's that are growing the grain.

Tip #3-I found a farmer in North Central Indiana that will grow barely for us, but he wants us to commit to buying 10 50lb bags before he will plant some for us.
-Let me know if anyone is in the Grant County Indiana area that might want to split this up, he will make us a good deal.

Questing #1-Has anyone tried sprouting multiple grains together?
-If so in which combination & please state how successful you were.

Question #2-Has anyone sprouted Oats?
-If so how successful were you?

Question #3-I've heard barely isn't as bad with producing mold, how much truth is there to this?
-please elaborate in detail.

Thanks for all the upcoming advise!

When we started growing fodder several years ago, we started with Barley and then went to Wheat around a year ago, because the local Barley wasn't viable and didn't sprout. We have tried Oats, but were not very successful with it. I have found that is true with most people. We have also sprouted Sunflower seeds. We have also sprouted Mung beans and Lentils together. The Mung and Lentil are our chickens favorites. We haven't sprouted for about the last 4 months, since we have had so much wild vegetation growing and have an overflow from our garden.

 

[tmarr]

Brilliant idea!I'm going to try it!

 

[beginnergirl]

I sprouted barley. It sprouted quickly and hens loved it. The oats never sprouted. Probably depends on your source for seeds. It is a little easier for me to sprout one type of seed than a mixture. I also sprouted the scratch. My girls liked the barley better than the lentils but sounds like all chickens have their preferences.

 

[tillyita]

Oats rarely sprout well (except in the paddock where you've had hay - for some reason they sprout really well there). Most of the oats that you buy from feed stores are clipped and dressed. It makes them transport much better but takes some of the kernel off the oat - they tend not to grow after that. The rare batch of oats that does sprout well has a tendency to go slimy and mouldy really easily. I think oats just like it much drier than the fodder system allows for (at least my fodder system).

You can grow most grains together. Some of them need something to grow into (like lupin or sunflower), you get around this by growing your base out of wheat or barley, the other grains put their roots through the root mat of the rest of the seeds - they just don't do well on their own. Seed them all at the same time though. Alfalfa and chia grow well with a base mat too.