Guess what season it is in the Northern Hemisphere?! - Its FODDER Season! 🍀

[Yolkahontis]

To sprout seeds (I did not know it was called that ) you do not need all that equipment. Try’s and stacks i have been doing it for months with Macdonald’s large drinking cups. I just put two handfuls of oats in the cup. Cover these seeds by about 1/2 of fresh water. Put in on top of the fridge. ( I know weird place) i start a new cup each day. I have 6, on the third day I cover the seeds with water again and poor out the access. The green fills in so fast after the third day. I take the massive root bell and green of the 6 day cup to my girls. I then start that cup again. It is by no means a blanket of green but it is super easy and quick to do. put in seeds put in water three days later water again. Three days later feed to girls.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

To sprout seeds (I did not know it was called that ) you do not need all that equipment. Try’s and stacks i have been doing it for months with Macdonald’s large drinking cups. I just put two handfuls of oats in the cup. Cover these seeds by about 1/2 of fresh water. Put in on top of the fridge. ( I know weird place) i start a new cup each day. I have 6, on the third day I cover the seeds with water again and poor out the access. The green fills in so fast after the third day. I take the massive root bell and green of the 6 day cup to my girls. I then start that cup again. It is by no means a blanket of green but it is super easy and quick to do. put in seeds put in water three days later water again. Three days later feed to girls.

How many birds are you feeding from one MCD cup?
I have 40 hungry bills to feed every evening and a $-Store dish-bin is barely enough for my ducks. I could offer them two bins full of greens every day and they would devour it without a trace … well the trace is all over the duck-run in the morning…

 

[Janell2Me]

What is fodder and what is it good for?
Fodder is the process of germinating seeds and feeding the resulting sprouts (and remaining seeds) to your animals. By feeding the sprouts to the animals the animals will benefit from both the seed's energy and the plant's energy. They will also enjoy eating some fresh greenery during the cold months, when nothing fresh grows outside and foraging. Side effects of feeding fodder may be a more active flock, healthier birds and an increase in egg production, even though it is winter.

How to grow fodder and isn't that a lot of work?
There are several methods to grow fodder, for small amounts you can grow fodder in jars, like described in last year's thread »Starting a Fodder adventure« from @FnWeirdo.
To grow larger amounts of fodder using a fodder-system is recommended. There are commercial solutions available, but those are expensive and are built to grow really large amounts of fodder, like for dairy farms. But there is an affordable solution available right here on BYC: @gtaus built himself a fodder-tower out of some scrap-wood last year and published the instructions in his article »My $10 Inexpensive DIY Fodder Tower with Dollar Tree Dish Bins«. I built one for myself, have used it last winter with great success and just started to grow fodder this year for my ducks.
With the fodder tower in place i can grow one large bin of greens for my ducks per day, spending less than 20 minutes of time per day:

Morning:

1. Take the top-bin out to feed the ducks
2. Weigh grains into a jar and cover them in water
3. Pour water into the top bin and let it flow through
4. Place the fodder-bin into a south-facing window so it can green up

Evening (after feeding the :

1. Clean the fodder bin that was just used
2. Move the remaining bins up one level
3. Empty the water-catch bin at the bottom
4. Pour the soaked grains into a cleaned bin and place it into the bottom rack

Now you made me curious, is there more information available?
Yes, there is:

• Last year's thread from @FnWeirdo »Starting a Fodder adventure«
• @gtaus Fodder Tower article: »My $10 Inexpensive DIY Fodder Tower with Dollar Tree Dish Bins«
• @gtaus hilarious thread how he unsuccessfully tried to hide the fodder tower from his wife: »Don't tell the wife, I'm growing fodder in the 2nd bathroom!«
• My Fodder-Album with lot's of pictures from my fodder-tower and the fodder I grew: »Fodder Album«

I want to grow my own fodder now, where to buy the grains and what kind of grains?
Let me start with the kind of grains first: I have tried Alfalfa, Rye, Oats, BOSS and Winter-Wheat and so far Winter-Wheat grew best and the Oats were the most difficult ones. Soak the oats too short and they don't sprout, soak them too long and they don't sprout, too cold, too dry - they are just difficult. @gtaus was most successful with Barley - which seems to be unavailable in West Virginia.
Where to buy: Local seed- and feed-stores are a good source, fodder grains don't have graded for human consumption. And there are some large companies who sell seeds by the pound over the internet:

• Greencover Seed
• Hancock Seed Company
• Outside Pride
• Stock Seed Farms

And of course the usual suspects, like Amazon and eBay, also you can buy bird feed at the local grocery stores and let it sprout.

No more excuses! Do something good for your animals and grow some Fodder!​

Here's a warning on something that happened very early when I first began raising chickens. I had only 3 chickens. I grew wheat to about 8" tall and cut it and gave a couple handfuls to them each day. One of them got really sick and her crop was full. I didn't know what happened and she ended up having to be put down. I continued on with my winter feeding of the grass and not long after, a second chicken became sick in the same way and had to be put down. I searched and searched the internet for an answer. It turned out that the chickens were not able to grind the long pieces of grass in their gullets properly (they were getting sufficient grit). Be sure to cut the grass in short enough pieces that the chickens can grind and digest it properly. If your chickens free range, you'll notice they take little snippets when eating grass. It may not happen to anyone else, but why take the chance.

 

[ZephyrCoveFarms]

I post this in the “other” fodder box thread. I made treated ground contact grade 2x4 frames with 1/2” hardware cloth and ripped 3/4” off the bottom 2x4s to use as seam and perimeter covers for the hardware cloth and added hinges so I can open the lids and work the fodder. The last sprouts were two days ago and under the dirt there was a ton more. I bet after work today there will be a bunch of green! Left box got fall deer plot mix and right box got rye grass. It looks like the red clover sprouted first. Rye grass is a little more delicate and takes longer to push through the organic potting soil.

 

[spaceylocust]

I have thought a lot about mold too: That mold that i have in my bins is less than one dime in size, white and doesn't smell bad, definitely not like moldy food, it smells more like earth or compost and it dies off in a few hours when exposed to sunlight. I think it might be that kind of (good?) mold that one can find on several kinds of cheese, like brie. And in the end yeast is also just a fungus and we all love beer, don't we? (Not me, i hate beer!)

I seem to have more problems with those dang fruit flies than with mold here...

To nix the fruit flies, get a small container (small sour cream tub or like it), put in about an inch of water, about a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, and one drop of liquid dish soap. Stir and set it out near your bins. The fruit flies are attracted to the ACV and the soap breaks the water tension on the surface and the little buggers sink to the bottom and die.

 

[Yolkahontis]

That is a fantastic idea. We get snow and frost so that would not work for me but it is great idea. I only have 6 chickens so it works well for my small flock.

 

[spaceylocust]

This is a wonderful thread but I have a problem with all the bleach being used. Chlorine bleach is toxic. You're feeding that to your birds. Their crop depends on a healthy bacterial and yeast balance to work properly. The bleach will kill both of those good guys. Yes, the bleach is in the water but it sticks to the seeds and it doesn't go away.

Instead of bleach, please try white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. H2O2 is also an excellent alternative and is non-toxic. We even used 35% food grade H2O2 to treat our well. Don't want bleach in my house or my water supply!!

I grow microgreens which are just what the fodder is but a few days younger. The white material on the surface is probably just the root hairs from the seeds. You're seeing these since the seeds aren't planted in soil. Microgreens, young fodder, will mold if they are too wet and there isn't enough air circulation. If your grow space doesn't have good circulation, try putting up a small fan on low to move the air some. You might get better results to water once, cover your bin until the seeds sprout, uncover and water once daily.

As a disclaimer, I haven't grown the fodder but I have grown a LOT of microgreens--I sell them to the local health food store. My girls aren't interested in the microgreens so I haven't pursued the fodder. Since it is now winter, I'll give it a try and see what they think.

Thanks for all the good info here.

 

[karenm52]

What is fodder and what is it good for?
Fodder is the process of germinating seeds and feeding the resulting sprouts (and remaining seeds) to your animals. By feeding the sprouts to the animals the animals will benefit from both the seed's energy and the plant's energy. They will also enjoy eating some fresh greenery during the cold months, when nothing fresh grows outside and foraging. Side effects of feeding fodder may be a more active flock, healthier birds and an increase in egg production, even though it is winter.

How to grow fodder and isn't that a lot of work?
There are several methods to grow fodder, for small amounts you can grow fodder in jars, like described in last year's thread »Starting a Fodder adventure« from @FnWeirdo.
To grow larger amounts of fodder using a fodder-system is recommended. There are commercial solutions available, but those are expensive and are built to grow really large amounts of fodder, like for dairy farms. But there is an affordable solution available right here on BYC: @gtaus built himself a fodder-tower out of some scrap-wood last year and published the instructions in his article »My $10 Inexpensive DIY Fodder Tower with Dollar Tree Dish Bins«. I built one for myself, have used it last winter with great success and just started to grow fodder this year for my ducks.
With the fodder tower in place i can grow one large bin of greens for my ducks per day, spending less than 20 minutes of time per day:

Morning:

1. Take the top-bin out to feed the ducks
2. Weigh grains into a jar and cover them in water
3. Pour water into the top bin and let it flow through
4. Place the fodder-bin into a south-facing window so it can green up

Evening (after feeding the :

1. Clean the fodder bin that was just used
2. Move the remaining bins up one level
3. Empty the water-catch bin at the bottom
4. Pour the soaked grains into a cleaned bin and place it into the bottom rack

Now you made me curious, is there more information available?
Yes, there is:

• Last year's thread from @FnWeirdo »Starting a Fodder adventure«
• @gtaus Fodder Tower article: »My $10 Inexpensive DIY Fodder Tower with Dollar Tree Dish Bins«
• @gtaus hilarious thread how he unsuccessfully tried to hide the fodder tower from his wife: »Don't tell the wife, I'm growing fodder in the 2nd bathroom!«
• My Fodder-Album with lot's of pictures from my fodder-tower and the fodder I grew: »Fodder Album«

I want to grow my own fodder now, where to buy the grains and what kind of grains?
Let me start with the kind of grains first: I have tried Alfalfa, Rye, Oats, BOSS and Winter-Wheat and so far Winter-Wheat grew best and the Oats were the most difficult ones. Soak the oats too short and they don't sprout, soak them too long and they don't sprout, too cold, too dry - they are just difficult. @gtaus was most successful with Barley - which seems to be unavailable in West Virginia.
Where to buy: Local seed- and feed-stores are a good source, fodder grains don't have graded for human consumption. And there are some large companies who sell seeds by the pound over the internet:

• Greencover Seed
• Hancock Seed Company
• Outside Pride
• Stock Seed Farms

And of course the usual suspects, like Amazon and eBay, also you can buy bird feed at the local grocery stores and let it sprout.

No more excuses! Do something good for your animals and grow some Fodder!​

.

i'm easily confused these days. to clarify: soak seeds ~12 hrs; drain. mount drained seeds in rack. rinse and drain (how soon?) allowing rinse water to flow into bin below - rinse twice a day.

 

[Beccackle]

So, my fodder ALWAYS gets moldy after about 2-3 days post soak. Suggestions?
I'm leaning towards growing it in some dirt at this point just to control the microbes and just feeding the greens not the seed....

In my experience, rinsing the sprouts in their trays at least twice a day and ensuring that they are not sitting in water eliminates mold.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

In my experience, rinsing the sprouts in their trays at least twice a day and ensuring that they are not sitting in water eliminates mold.

Unfortunately this isn't an effective solution for me. I've done exactly this and it doesn't help much.