Growing fodder for chickens

[Lacy Blues]

Yeah me too. I don't want to buy them when they are so plenteous world-wide. My aunt thinks I'm crazy already. She says, "I know life's a bit difficult right now, but you plan to eat weeds?"

I explained my purpose to her and she grabbed a few heads that were still in her yard and is mailing them to me!

One thing I told her is that dandelions are extremely nutritious and romaine was probably considered a weed somewhere sometime until somebody tasted it!

 

[pigeonguy]

That was a pic of one of the bags turned upside down with the roots growing threw the bag.

Thanks. Do the roots grow into the bag underneath so that they have to be pulled out of it.
I have some burlap tater sacks but they look more loosely woven than your bags.

 

[DMRippy]

Guess I need to look around before hubby cuts the grass one last time.

 

[MarineCorpFarmr]

They found seeds in a tomb in Egypt and got 40% to sprout.... they were over 5,000 years old

They found some other stuff that was 5000 years old and still green...

 

[pigeonguy]

Yeah me too. I don't want to buy them when they are so plenteous world-wide. My aunt thinks I'm crazy already. She says, "I know life's a bit difficult right now, but you plan to eat weeds?"

I explained my purpose to her and she grabbed a few heads that were still in her yard and is mailing them to me!

One thing I told her is that dandelions are extremely nutritious and romaine was probably considered a weed somewhere sometime until somebody tasted it!

We take it for granted to walk outside and just munch on them. I would imagine though if they don't grow where you live they would be a delicacy.

 

[Kassaundra]

Kassaundra... would you care to comment on this please?

My difficulty is this: you put one new bag on the bottom in a tray, after the 24 hour soak? Does the water in the try underneath the prostrated bag wick up through the other bags?

You don't rinse them even one time after the initial soak?

I think it was pigeonguy that mentioned putting the bags on a shelf for sprouting. This sounds good to me as I don't want to have to lift all the other bags in order to put a new one on the bottom either. Would this make them too dry? Or would it be a good idea to have a drip tray underneath each bag or would that keep them too wet?

Do you do this sprouting only when you can maintain 60 - 75 degree rooms?

This sounds like a really good and easy way to do this sprouting. I also want to let them grow a bit after the sprouting so that I can feed greens. I'd like to do it year round if its possible. I hope to have a garden soon but right now I don't.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Yes new bag goes on bottom the stacking seems to keep everything moist w/o drying out, if I didn't stack them I would definately put a loose cover over the top, don't know about the drying out that way though.

I never rinse again, first soak w/ fresh water each day that is it. Lifting the bags isn't any trouble at all you want to anyway to keep the roots from growing the bags together, I generally turn them when I do so the roots are "occupied" growing in the new direction. lol

I do it in a spare room in the house w/o light generally around 65-70 degrees and usually only through the winter for green even though I never had let it get to fodder size. I know of no reason you couldn't do it year round, my chickens have plenty of grass so I just don't through the summer, but if they were in a dirt run I would.

You do want a "drip tray" under them anyway I use an old plastic lid, it just keeps things from getting to messy under the sacks, and sometimes I hurry the drain just after the soak and before laying the sack out

 

[Kassaundra]

Is this turned inside out or is the root growing threw the bag.

That is the roots growing out of the bag, not turned inside out yet.

 

[Daloorashens]

Wow, the thread has been very informational the past few days!!!

Chickens like to have a full crop, especially during the winter. The amount of feed they are happy with is going to vary based on the size of the chicken, in some cases the breed as some are more greedy than others, and the food availability throughout the day. Birds that don't have free access to food will gorge and stretch out their crops. Birds that always have something to nibble on will have a more normal sized crop and better digestion. In my runs, I use 4th crop alfalfa hay as their 24/7 source of food. This time of year, they also get pumpkins and other large squash. I've done that for years and it works well for my birds. Of course I work out of the house so I can feed them their other food during the day. Not everyone can do that. Anyway, you can get a good idea of how much food your birds need by feeling their crops. If they are full, the bird is happy. If it is overlarge, your bird is gorging. (A birds crop is like a balloon) Observing natural behavior will give you another clue. Your birds will tell you how much they need.

I knew it was good for them to have access to food 24/7, didn't know why, though and that makes a lot of sense..

www.groworganic.com

I believe they have rye. They have quite an assortment of certified organic grains and others that aren't certified but are raised organic.

Thanks for the link!!

That's a great idea! I'll have to save some dandelion seeds next year. They are indeed a very good food for poultry. Yummy!

Really like this idea, too.. especially when they are sooooo plentiful certain times of the year!!!

Yeah me too. I don't want to buy them when they are so plenteous world-wide. My aunt thinks I'm crazy already. She says, "I know life's a bit difficult right now, but you plan to eat weeds?"

I explained my purpose to her and she grabbed a few heads that were still in her yard and is mailing them to me!

One thing I told her is that dandelions are extremely nutritious and romaine was probably considered a weed somewhere sometime until somebody tasted it!

 

[Kassaundra]

Thanks. Do the roots grow into the bag underneath so that they have to be pulled out of it.
I have some burlap tater sacks but they look more loosely woven than your bags.

I let the chickens do the work, they like it more then I do. Yes the roots grow through the bag, but the chickens have a great time picking it clean and don't hurt the bag at all. Just turn it inside out they can get the seeds that barely sprouted and then pull the rooted seedlings out to eat.

 

[Lacy Blues]

We take it for granted to walk outside and just munch on them. I would imagine though if they don't grow where you live they would be a delicacy.

You eat the dandelions in your yard?

I haven't but read that you can, especially if you catch a young one. You apparently put a bucket upside down over it so it is blanched and then you toss them in your salad. A delicacy? Never tried it. They aren't for me... they're to sprout for my birds.

Hopefully I'll get lots of seeds as I want to plant a patch of dandelions so I can save my own seed.