Growing fodder for chickens

[Diannastarr]

I sprout hard wintervwheat and farrobas a treat. At what point is the protein lost? I tend to give it to the girls before I even see any green. But wondering about the nutilritional value whe the grass is just one inch long?

feed before the sprouts turn green , i read that 1 to 2 days growth is the hi point of the total protein in the sprouts , feed it before you see any green. then its at its best nutritional value..!!! i had problems growing the sprouts in the hot weather here in AZ so i didnt want to just suddenly drop my hens off of that level of protein, & i had an abundance of eggs so i switched over to feeding my hens hard boiled eggs blended up in the blender in water shells and all and made a mash feed with it, and the grains sprout better in cooler weather, so

im switching back to the sprouts as soon as the cool air arrives .one thing dont let it grow past the stage in the last pic' here at the bottom .

 

[tigger19687]

I got some Rye and Millet, WON'T be doing Millet or Chia anymore as they are too tiny (chia is a rubber blob and I new that would happen).
Went to $1 store to see what they had and got these, drilled holes and stacked.
I will rinse them in the kitchen sink which is probably easiest to do. There is a plastic recycle tub under for left over catching.
Have then stacked as close to the only south window I have

I think this is day 2, I rinse 2 times a day.

 

[rowechicks]

I can't find the seed I need to do this at my local Tractor Supply and the local co-op looks at me like I'm crazy. Can I get a simple run down so that I can articulate what I need in a way that makes sense? I know I need feed seed, but co-op said they can get me untreated winter wheat and winter peas, but they cost about $0.80-99 a pound. What are other options and how well do they work? I want to be able to clearly ask for what I'm looking for. My chickens keep searching for green everytime I open the run door and I'm surprised I haven't squished any feet with the door yet.

 

[Diannastarr]

I can't find the seed I need to do this at my local Tractor Supply and the local co-op looks at me like I'm crazy. Can I get a simple run down so that I can articulate what I need in a way that makes sense? I know I need feed seed, but co-op said they can get me untreated winter wheat and winter peas, but they cost about $0.80-99 a pound. What are other options and how well do they work? I want to be able to clearly ask for what I'm looking for. My chickens keep searching for green everytime I open the run door and I'm surprised I haven't squished any feet with the door yet.

unfortunately THE GROWING SEEDs like a farmer uses to grow a crop in the grown, the TRACTOR supply does not carry it, they told me ,if you want seeds to sprout like barley or wheat or oats or other sprouting seeds you should call around & look into a privet feed store, i get my barley seed from a small privet feed store near me in AZ , and they get the barley seeds from a place in Albuquerque new Mexico. sorry your having problems finding growing seed, i wish you luck..!!! ONE THING be careful you dont get the kind of seed that is covered in a fertilizer coating , that would poison your birds.

 

[tirnan]

Probably the Onate Feed Co.
http://www.onatefeedmill.com/

I live in Albuquerque and get a number of our feed products from them.

 

[Kusanar]

I just had a realization... I know that strictly speaking, fodder is grain grown without any growing media, but, I was cleaning my pigeons cage and he is bedded in sweet pdz (essentially sand), there are some grains in his mix that he doesn't like and they get buried in his bedding. Every now and then he has completely liquid poops (pigeon thing) and he splashes his water around, so some areas of his bedding stay slightly damp... well, the grains are sprouting and look super healthy... Since you feed grit to chickens anyway, why not take say 50 pounds of a semi-fine sand, get it damp, dump your grain in it, mix the top layer up so that the grain is mixed in, and wait, then just use a sifter to get out the sprouts from the sand. You could rinse the sprouts off afterwards or not, it won't hurt the birds.... The sand would hold water, but not so much as to cause molding or rotting like a badly draining plastic sprouting container...

You could even give them the tray of sand and sprouts and let them dig through it for the sprouts and let it be a toy as well as treat, just put the tray of sand in a larger container so that you can reclaim the sand to do another batch.

 

[henaynei]

If one is growing fodder to add live greens to a chicken diet and to decrease the amount of dry feed - for laying stock of an organic layer feed...how much fodder and how much layer should each chicken get if they get 1/4-1/3 lb each daily of soaked layer feed?

 

[That guy Mike]

Can someone give me a ratio of a good seed mix to fodder for my 20 meat birds. I would like barely and maby black sunflower seeds??.
Great thread

 

[fjasmint]

When yall mention rinsing off excess starch, is this something you would do daily? & should peroxide be used daily to keep mold away?

 

[MichelleT]

When yall mention rinsing off excess starch, is this something you would do daily? & should peroxide be used daily to keep mold away?

I saw something about growing microgreens for humans, and they soaked the seeds in a very small amount of hydrogen peroxide at the beginning. It may not be necessary (someone here probably knows more about this than I do), but do the same... I put about 1/2 tsp of HO in with the soak water. Then, I rinse twice daily. It may be to get rid of starch, but on those few occasions when I forgot to rinse twice (only once), the seeds/sprouts were very dry... I think the rinsing is as much to rehydrate the seeds as to rinse away the starch. But I live in a very arid climate.