INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I thought I saw posts about it here not too long ago, but I don't remember who it was or how far back. Does anyone here sprout fodder for your birds over the wintertime? I've been thinking about getting things together to try it out and am wondering what others do with it. Mainly, what species do you sprout and where do you get the seeds? Also, how do you set it up and how long does it take before it's ready to toss to the girls? All I can really find on the subject is something about soaking seeds daily and letting them grow so many inches, etc. (But to be honest, I haven't spent too much time looking at it. )




And since I'm posting, we're getting pretty close to one month away from the Lebanon Central Indiana Poultry Show. I've asked before, but who's going? Anyone planning on showing birds? How difficult is it getting out of there without 10000 more birds? I'm getting excited for looking for Call Ducks there, especially since we're finally starting to get things around for the duck coop and yard (hopefully... soon... ish... ). Can't stop browsing the Duck section and looking at Call Duck pictures.

I am going. I show there. I don't know how to help you on not coming home with much, because I plan to spend lots if money there lol. I do every year. Last year I went down with 11. Sold 2, showed 9. I came back with 2 dozen

 

[racinchickins]

I thought I saw posts about it here not too long ago, but I don't remember who it was or how far back. Does anyone here sprout fodder for your birds over the wintertime? I've been thinking about getting things together to try it out and am wondering what others do with it. Mainly, what species do you sprout and where do you get the seeds? Also, how do you set it up and how long does it take before it's ready to toss to the girls? All I can really find on the subject is something about soaking seeds daily and letting them grow so many inches, etc. (But to be honest, I haven't spent too much time looking at it.

)




And since I'm posting, we're getting pretty close to one month away from the Lebanon Central Indiana Poultry Show. I've asked before, but who's going? Anyone planning on showing birds? How difficult is it getting out of there without 10000 more birds?

I'm getting excited for looking for Call Ducks there, especially since we're finally starting to get things around for the duck coop and yard (hopefully... soon... ish...

). Can't stop browsing the Duck section and looking at Call Duck pictures.

I'll be there too. Hope the weather is better this time. Really cold with rain last year. We were hoping to have a meet up with other BYCers there, but it was just too miserable to hang around outside. I'm thinking of trying to find a source for either a white or white laced red cornish rooster to cross with my bresse hens. I'm really happy with how my bresse boys are turning out, but it could be a fun project.

 

[pginsber]

Small scale fodder overview (works with barley or any grain)

Take two nesting plastic containers. Put drain holes in one and leave the other intact.


Nest the containers, placing the one with drain holes inside the one without holes.



Put water in the nested containers so that it is about 3 inches deep in the container with the drain holes.
Adding bleach to the soak water helps control mold that may grow in the days to come, but this is an optional step. Add a small amount of bleach to the soaking water.



Add one cup of seed into the water.



Soak for 24 hours.



Carefully drain the soak water, leaving the seed in the container. If you added bleach to the soak water, be sure to rinse the seed well.


Continue to keep the tub with the drain holes nested inside the tub without the holes. It allows for the seeds to properly drain. After the water is drained off, let the seed sit in the tub, rinsing and draining every 12 hours. The seeds should not be left in standing water after the initial soak period.


This is what the seeds look like after soaking for 24 hours.



Rinse the seeds every 12 hours for three to four days after the soaking period. The rinsing provides sufficient water for the seed, and the nested tubs provide the adequate drainage. This is the seed on the first day. Notice the sprouts beginning to come out of the seed.


The second and third days, the seed will continue to sprout roots.


On the fourth day, the seeds will have even more roots sprouting. At this point, the seeds need to be delicately spread out evenly into a black plant tray. Be careful not to break off the roots.
Continue to water and drain off the seed every 12 hours until harvest.
Leave a few inches in the black seed trays without any seed, so you can tip the tray up and confirm there was not excess water left in the trays after each watering. Overwatering is very easy to do. It will cause your seeds to ferment and smell like vinegar.
The sprouting seeds should smell fresh, like cucumbers, and not be moldy.



For 8 chickens, soaking one cup of grain every four days provided a half-tray of sprouts/fodder every other day. This kept the chickens happy and the yolks a dark yellow all winter long.
This could be scaled up by having several nesting tubs with draining holes. The soaking seeds would be in the bottom tub, inside the tub without holes. The day 1 seeds would be nested on top of that, day 2 seeds nested on top of that, and day 3 seeds nested on the very top. Since all the nested trays have drain holes, the seeds can be rinsed while they are nested, the water draining down through all the seeds, and coming to rest in the soaking tub.
It works well, but be careful what you start. You’ll end up flats of sprouts and fodder everywhere.

 

[gunchief25]

Morning all Cockadoodledoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Check this out... for those that consider lighting during the winter months this may be of interest:



Quote: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...gn=20140918Z1&et_cid=DM55968&et_rid=662622887

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[Leahs Mom]

@pipdzipdnreadytogo

I don't usually take my sprouts to the fodder stage - just the sprout mat stage. I love @Kassaundra s burlap bag sprouting and before I read how she did it, I just did the sprouts on the counter or in fodder pan like above. (Here is a post I did a long time ago about the counter top sprouts and fodder for a SMALL flock )

Now I use Kassandra's method and I LOVE it. Easy, easy easy to do, easy to feed.

Edited to add: This is Kassaundra's video demo of how she does the sprout bags.

Invert the bag on a post you pound into the ground. They'll help themselves and clean the bag right up! (I also throw some around on the ground so the lowers can get them.

 

[ChickCrazed]

Check this out... for those that consider lighting during the winter months this may be of interest:

​

This is one area I definitely agree that natural is better. Their physiology naturally causes them to slow down on egg production when the days get shorter. I don't think that is something to mess with. Especially after losing one to a prolapse this year (RIP Margo!!!).

But, it is also easy to have that mentality when you are rolling in eggs. Even if production goes down to1/10th of what it is now I will be fine on eggs all winter!

 

[Leahs Mom]

PS: I don't do sunflower seeds in a burlap bag on Kassaundra's advice. She said they tend to grow mold. And they also don't have the anti-nutrient issues that other seeds do so it's not as important to sprout them... If I do sunflower seeds I still do them in the counter top method in the strainer.

This photo has sunflower and wheat together.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thought I'd better give a better explanation of the burlap bag sprouting so it will hopefully make more sense:



I sewed burlap bags like Kassaundra shows in the video that I posted before, but made some smaller to start with.

When I feed them, I open the bag and shake as many of them as will fall out all around the run so they have a treasure hunt (boredom buster). Then I had pounded a wood post down in the run and invert the bag and set it on top. They clean all the sprouts right off the bag.



At a given time, I have 4 bags going so there is always one ready to feed and 3 others sprouting. The steps:

-Put the sprouts in the bag and thoroughly rinse. K uses hot water; I've been using cold as the hot water here is coming through a softener.

-Put the sprout bag in a bucket and fill with water; soak overnight.

-Remove bag from soak bucket and rinse thoroughly with clean water.

-Lay out flat on whatever surface you're using. K uses the lid from a rubbermaid tote. Works well. Distribute the seeds flat over the whole surface of the bag. Set something on top to keep it dark.

-Each day you're starting a new bag repeating the steps above; stack each successive bag on top of the stack when it's done with it's 24 hour soak and start the next bag soaking and on and on

At day 4 you feed from the first bag and then keep the cycle going. Each day there will be a bag ready to go.

Great for providing winter greens!

 

[chick rookie]

Goat milk is awesome!!! I have pygmy/nigerian crosses and they have delicious milk. The problem I was having is it was a lot of work for a small amount of milk. I decided to get Lamanchas also. Their milk is great also, they produce so much more then my mini girls. I think that the personality has a lot to do how they were raised. Mine are like dogs and follow me everywhere. I was there when they were born and they have a lot of attention every day. Goats are also just very fun to have

My goats do make me laugh allot!! they are nuts for the most part.