Growing fodder for chickens

[pawtraitart]

Thanks for the feedback. Just a quick update from today's growth.

Up until today I had to keep the fodder in the garage where it's pretty chilly and because of the hurricane this is the first day we've had sun in about 5-6 days. So this morning I put them outside and man did the growth take off. I swear they grew so much in today's sun. I hope it's sunny the next few days because this stuff is finally starting to come in nicely. And i didn't notice any mold!!!!

Yeah!!!! It seems like the growth speeds up as it greens, at least for wheat. At first it's like....you gonna do something?....and then...BAM!

Fun, isn't it?

 

[blaundee]

Well from my 35+ years of Horticulture experience I will let you know this,

Seeds drying out is do to improper watering.
Mold is do to improper air circulation and incorrect watering.
Ideal temperature for most seeds is 65* to 70*
Fermentation most likely isn't going to happen in a growing medium unless the medium is sopping wet and then they are most likely to rot.
If planted and care for correctly germination depends on the type of seed and the quality of that seed.

None of the above should anything to do with the depth of which a seed is planted.

Chris

I am 95% certain that you are misunderstanding here... there is NO soil, medium, etc at all whatsoever involved. "SEED DEPTH" in this context means how thick the layer of seeds is, NOT how far under the dirt they are- there is NO dirt involved.

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

Chris09, the info on the first couple pages will explain

(hydroponic growing.) The depth of the seeds will contribute to the moisture evaporation, acessibility to light for the bottom seeds, etc. so for sure there has to be an ideal depth---too many seeds would contribute to rot/mold on the bottom--not enough seeds will contribute to evaporation/no germination.....so we are trying to figure out the ideal depth

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

Cynthia great idea on the paper towel Gonna try it on my new wheat.

 

[Chris09]

I am 95% certain that you are misunderstanding here... there is NO soil, medium, etc at all whatsoever involved. "SEED DEPTH" in this context means how thick the layer of seeds is, NOT how far under the dirt they are- there is NO dirt involved.

Even if there is no soil involved what I am saying still more or less holds true, in fact you would be far better off with a thinner layer or even a single layer of seeds than a thicker.

Since your growing without a medium it would be better if you have a thinner layer of seed that way there is less nutritional loss do to seedling trying to push through the other seeds.


Chris

 

[Chris09]

Chris09, the info on the first couple pages will explain

(hydroponic growing.) The depth of the seeds will contribute to the moisture evaporation, acessibility to light for the bottom seeds, etc. so for sure there has to be an ideal depth---too many seeds would contribute to rot/mold on the bottom--not enough seeds will contribute to evaporation/no germination.....so we are trying to figure out the ideal depth

The depth of seeds will equal the planting depth.

Chris

 

[pawtraitart]

Another thing to consider is the resulting thickness of the root mat. I like to be able to pull out my fodder biscuits in one clean slab. If the root mass is too thin, it breaks apart and it's not nearly as satisfying as having that gorgeous fodder biscuit. Those who have gotten to that stage of the project understand what I'm taking about. It's awesome! Seed thickness plays a part in how much root mass will be there to support the mat.

 

[Chris09]

Another thing to consider is the resulting thickness of the root mat. I like to be able to pull out my fodder biscuits in one clean slab. If the root mass is too thin, it breaks apart and it's not nearly as satisfying as having that gorgeous fodder biscuit. Those who have gotten to that stage of the project understand what I'm taking about. It's awesome! Seed thickness plays a part in how much root mass will be there to support the mat.

How your growing your fodder isn't much different than how I grow my Microgreen. I can get a mat of root on a single layer of seeds and if you having trouble get a nice thick mat then there could be a number of things causing it, anything from poor quality seed, temperature to over watering. Over watering and lead to short root since the roots don't have to travel as far to get water.

Chris

 

[Oakieridge]

Well we started our fodder Friday night, soaked and then wandering our place yesterday dh found these plastic shelving units someone gave us. He turned them upside down to make our fodder system. He drilled lots of tiny holes in them so that they drain well. Today they were sprouting already!!! We started another shelf of it today and have more soaking. We have enough shelving units for 6 sets. We hope one set will be enough for our birds each day but not sure. But they will still get their pellets so this will just be additional greens for them. I did add some white clover seeds to the first days trays so it is Barley and White Clover, the next days is 1/2 wheat and 1/2 Barley (traded 6 RIR roos for 50#s of wheat lol).

 

[Cynthia12]

Well we started our fodder Friday night, soaked and then wandering our place yesterday dh found these plastic shelving units someone gave us. He turned them upside down to make our fodder system. He drilled lots of tiny holes in them so that they drain well. Today they were sprouting already!!! We started another shelf of it today and have more soaking. We have enough shelving units for 6 sets. We hope one set will be enough for our birds each day but not sure. But they will still get their pellets so this will just be additional greens for them. I did add some white clover seeds to the first days trays so it is Barley and White Clover, the next days is 1/2 wheat and 1/2 Barley (traded 6 RIR roos for 50#s of wheat lol).

Wow! That looks great. That's fun that your DH got interested in doing this. I have also been looking for shelves! Now, I am not sure that I have seen this posted yet or not, but who can tell me how long the fodder will last once grown. I know I can either cut the grass, or feed it all to the chickens, but can I keep it longer in a cool room? As I write, I'm thinking, probably need to feed it pretty quickly. I think I am going to have a lot left over..so, doing small bins and starting them a day or two apart. Just to see how that works.