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

[ZephyrCoveFarms]

That label stating that the deer plot mix is treated means it’s not made to feed the seed directly to animals. It can be fed after it grows, that’s what it’s for.

 

[thelittlegraybarn]

That label stating that the deer plot mix is treated means it’s not made to feed the seed directly to animals. It can be fed after it grows, that’s what it’s for.

That was my bad. I didn't mean to post that. HAHAHA. It was residual from a post a few weeks ago I abandoned.

 

[ZephyrCoveFarms]

That was my bad. I didn't mean to post that. HAHAHA. It was residual from a post a few weeks ago I abandoned.

I was wondering why my email alert showed it but the thread didn’t.

 

[gtaus]

I soaked them for 12 hours, which seemed to be long enough; thank you @gtaus for the information! I spread them out and have them about a foot away from a fluorescent light in my kitchen, as I don't have a sunny window. I dribble water on them 3-4 times a day to keep them moist; it's very dry in my house right now. I'll be giving a beautiful fodder cake to my chickens in a couple days.

I don't have a fodder tower built, and probably won't be building one, as that would mean setting up growlights.

I am glad to hear about your success. There are many ways to grow fodder, and the tower system I use is just one that works for me. I do want to mention that you don't need any sunlight for growing fodder. The seeds should germinate and grow on their own for about 5-6 days without any need for sunlight. You could certainly feed that fodder to the chickens at that point.

I adopted the suggestion by @WannaBeHillBilly and take my fodder bins off my tower and let them sit in front of my south facing windows for an additional 2-3 days. That allows the root mat to dry out more and the grass really turns a darker green. But I never used any grow lights for fodder because I typically feed the fodder to the chickens around day 8.

 

[Sally PB]

I gave the chickens their first bit of barley fodder yesterday for "snack time." They LOVED it! I gave them half of the pan (it's growing in a pie pan). They'll get the rest tomorrow. I like to change up the treats so that they stay treats. I've already soaked the seeds for the next batch.

Sorry, hubby... the pie pan on the counter is going to stay there. At least until the grass and weeds start growing in the spring.

 

[ZephyrCoveFarms]

My rye grass was not growing through the wire any more and was laying over. I opened the top and wired it to the fence and let them have at it. The oats are still growing to the wire. I think I need to raise the bedding next time on the rye side so it doesn’t have to far to grow since it’s thinner bladed grass.

 

[gtaus]

My rye grass was not growing through the wire any more and was laying over. I opened the top and wired it to the fence and let them have at it. The oats are still growing to the wire. I think I need to raise the bedding next time on the rye side so it doesn’t have to far to grow since it’s thinner bladed grass.

The first time I saw this concept of a grazing frame was on YouTube. The guy would plant 2 or 3 such frames and rotate them, lifting off the frame when the grass was high enough and just let the chickens tear it all apart, while the other frame(s) were still in the growth stage.

I think my chickens would probably tear apart the plot of grass a lot quicker than the others would grow. But, it might be another approach to using those frames.

 

[ZephyrCoveFarms]

The first time I saw this concept of a grazing frame was on YouTube. The guy would plant 2 or 3 such frames and rotate them, lifting off the frame when the grass was high enough and just let the chickens tear it all apart, while the other frame(s) were still in the growth stage.

I think my chickens would probably tear apart the plot of grass a lot quicker than the others would grow. But, it might be another approach to using those frames.

Aaaand it’s gone. They mowed it all down and tilled the soil haha. It looks like there was never any grass there.

 

[Newyorkrita]

Aaaand it’s gone. They mowed it all down and tilled the soil haha. It looks like there was never any grass there.

They had a great time of it!!

 

[gtaus]

Aaaand it’s gone. They mowed it all down and tilled the soil haha. It looks like there was never any grass there.

That just makes it all the easier to replant some seed, throw the grazing frame back on top of it again, and let the grass grow. I guess that is why the guy on YouTube had a number of frames that he rotated around the chicken run.