Growing fodder for chickens

[mobius]

I would not use a soilless medium. For one, it wouldn't be fodder. The chickens benefit from the roots and seeds as well as the greens. Some people use hydrogen peroxide to prevent mold. I would just rinse well and drain well to prevent that. Why not experiment and see if you get mold or not? CAn you do this indoors?

 

[3riverschick]

I use plotspike forage oats I get them at Tractor Supply .they come in 25 and 50 lb bags. Http://www.plotspike.com
To bring hens in to lay and to help roosters produce more robust sperm: feed one cubic inch per bird per day of 4 to 7 day old sprouted forage oats . you can also feed to bowel tolerance. . if the stools getting little soft , just back off the amount of Sprouts a little bit until they firm up. Sprouts one to three days old are fed as grain feed as part of the daily ration. on the fourth day a nutritional change takes place in the Sprout and it becomes Green Feed. Green Feed is fed as a supplement to the Daily ration.
there is no nutritional advantage to feeding Sprouts older than seven days . plus you run the risk of the Sprouts spoiling. Sprouts should always feel crisp and smell fresh. if they feel slimy and smell foul they are no good . they are spoiled . do not feed them.
Best ,
Karen

 

[Abriana]

Been wanting to do this!

 

[Lana Leckelt]

I use a bucket for the initial 24hr soak and then spread onto seedling flats. It's really easy and my birds love it.

Sound easy enough and I have lots of buckets and flats

 

[Kusanar]

Will these grow in a thin layer of soilless medium such as peat moss?

I want to grow these but it seems that you need temperature to be less than 70 to not get mold. I'm growing mealworms in the only area that I could grow these and the worms like it between 75-80.

I figured with peat or coco they could grow while temps are higher and not get mold.

I would not use a soilless medium. For one, it wouldn't be fodder. The chickens benefit from the roots and seeds as well as the greens. Some people use hydrogen peroxide to prevent mold. I would just rinse well and drain well to prevent that. Why not experiment and see if you get mold or not? CAn you do this indoors?

I agree, it wouldn't be fodder or sprouts at that point... BUT... in that case, what I would do, if the choice was to not do it at all or compromise, I would grow the "grass" in flats with soil or a soilless medium, then build a wooden box with a hardware cloth top that the entire flat will go into. Then once the flat gets a certain amount of growth, you put the flat with the grass into the box, the chickens can pull pieces out and nibble at the parts that stick up, but they can't get to the ground or destroy it, I would rotate the flats each day so that the flat has a chance to recover and the chickens have fresh growth to nibble each day.

 

[mobius]

Like this? Lol, I planted barley and clover, using repurposed chicken deep litter as a growing medium. It works very well during warmer months! They keep it pretty mowed down and run to it every morning. Before their regular food. I used extra barley seeds leftover and loose from their fodder....and just scattered them. I water it about once a day with the sprayer hose...

 

[Kusanar]

View attachment 1043401 Like this? Lol, I planted barley and clover, using repurposed chicken deep litter as a growing medium. It works very well during warmer months! They keep it pretty mowed down and run to it every morning. Before their regular food. I used extra barley seeds leftover and loose from their fodder....and just scattered them. I water it about once a day with the sprayer hose...

Pretty much exactly, but it looks like with your setup that the grass is permanent, where what I was suggesting, you can swap out crops and keep the grass in a controlled environment so that it's always healthy and growing strong.

 

[mobius]

Yep, it is more or less permanent...your ideas are great too, everyone's situation
varies so much that we each have to work out what works in our environment!

 

[tamiep]

I have never heard of this. I have so many questions! So, you give them the tray and they eat the whole thing? How long does it last after the 8th day of growing? How much do you think 10 chickens would eat in a day?

 

[mobius]

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