Official BYC Poll: Do You Grow Fodder For Your Chickens?

[JCaseyHammond]

I want to try it, but my chickens are so incredibly picky with food, especially anything green, that I don’t want to waste a bunch of time and effort only to have them laugh in my face and walk away.

Picky chickens! I gave mine some beautiful collards but they refused to eat it.

 

[woodworm]

I plan to, just not sure where to start.

I have an old wheelbarrow I was planning on making into a planter and just wheel it in when it's ready and until that time it can sit in a sunny spot.

Will buy some veggies first to see what they like ...

 

[PioneerChicks]

I plan on starting sometime soon, but don't have a good set-up at the moment.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Good morning chicken friends!

I LOVE to experiment including fermented feed (no longer after ONLY for 2 years with flock size 82+), meal worm farming (too slow turn around for a TREAT), AND of course fodder.. But selected NO longer do for a few reasons, which follow.

My number one reason for no longer doing FODDER.. is with over an acre of year round lush pasture.. either bugs or greens.. my flock tends to pick the SEEDS off and leave the green behind!

Originally though, and still on occasion.. we do need to go on lock up for heavy predator load, nest retraining, etc..

So I do still offer fodder and other things at times JUST as ENRICHMENT.. which is ALL it's good for.. does NOT save money, increase feed energy amount, or EVEN truly impact nutrition if you already use a formulated ration, as far as I can tell. Formulated rations are complete and OUR need to "add green items with chlorophyll in tact is a bonus but not an actual need.

My link (and all other research I've done) states that DRY MATTER not water weight is where calories, aka energy comes from.. and sprouting or fodder offers VIRTUALLY the same benefit AT day 3 verses day 7 without all the time spent rinsing or hassles of mold..

Fodder Nutrient values

Also states barley is about the easiest to be successful with. I TOO made a gummy chia/flax seed mess!

People report good results both sprouting and flock appreciation wise with red and white wheat. Oats are more challenging. I've also tried peas and legumes.. again MY temps do NOT cooperate.. but I would go with the most nutritious (or highest protein) things I could find..

My house is NOT warm enough at ANY time of year to sprout/fodder regularly.. 75 mid summer is about the hottest and the stated time frame to achieve fodder at my temps, is almost double if it sprouts at all. I did consider using a heated sprouting mat.. but at what point when it cost WAY more just for equipment and doesn't even account for my time or space, etc.. did I realize that my entire life is being consumed by "enriching" a chicken's life.. WELL, I'm NOT done YET!

It enriches MY life too, be the truth.

All my animals DO love clover!

ONE word of caution.. IF using that deer or other grass mix etc.. it MAY be fine for PLANTING.. but I'm not 100% sure about just sprouting/fodder use.. one KEY thing to note on SOME seeds is the difference between feed grade and planting grade.. not sure of the exact terminology.. but SOME have coatings to help them start, root, etc.. maybe a fertilizer or something like that.. Just be informed AND be aware, stay safe.

Yes, my (obligate carnivore) cats do seem to munch on some plants outside.. I never imagined them demolishing tomato sprouts.

Some ideas..
https://the-chicken-chick.com/sprouting-grains-for-chickens-fodder/

A quick look at some chicken specific forages offered, noting that I find it challenging to sprout "variety" mixes as fodder since they sprout at different rates.. but still some good ideas..

https://www.amazon.com/Barenbrug-25.../dp/B07MV2D1TJ/ref=psdc_3751361_t1_B00NLL5Z00

Will buy some veggies first to see what they like

Veggies and sprouting or foddering greens is not the same thing as the vegetable themselves.. so what veggies they like MAY not tell you what good fodder/planter choices would be for your flock. Generally you will be growing grasses or grains as fodder and have a vegetable garden separate.

Marigold might be a fun treat to grow for your birds in the wheel barrow.. the flower petals are often added to commercial feeds to increase pigment in yolk. (and by your birds, I mean mine!)

Picky chickens! I gave mine some beautiful collards but they refused to eat it.

Creatures of habit often take more than one introduction of a new feed stuff they've never seen before.. sometimes depending on flock size.. larger flock tend to have more adventurous individuals who will sample something and react with curious delight enticing others more quickly. While smaller flocks *can* be a bit more cautious of anything new. It also may have to do with what other things are already available to them.. if they got it TOO good, (YOU know). My husband says he loves delicious collards.. I've never met a (cooked) green I can appreciate.. but with regards to the chickens and other animals.. they tend to enjoy the freshly spouted, tender, sweet, new growth.. far above the more mature, fibrous, and more bitter in most instances larger stuff.. just for informational and conversational purposes.. let's just say, I LOVE talking about chickens! Try again..

 

[3KillerBs]

I live in a mild climate. If I manage to exhaust a couple acres' supply of false dandelion, which is still green and healthy right now, I might plant an extra row of collards or turnips just for the chickens next winter.

I give them all the vegetable trimmings from our meals and toss in a few green weeds a couple times a week.

 

[3KillerBs]

Yes, my (obligate carnivore) cats do seem to munch on some plants outside.. I never imagined them demolishing tomato sprouts.

I don't know how much of my seed starts the cats *eat*. I do know that they dig up, bat around, and destroy everything I attempt to grow indoors.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I have a large chicken/goat run that has lots of some nameless weed that no one will eat and virtually no grass. I bought some fodder seed for chickens but haven't been able to germinate it because the chickens simply fly over any barrier I put up to keep them out of it....

But someone on this site just gave me a good idea. I need to make a 2x6 frame that can lay on the ground over the area I'm trying to seed and cover it with hardware cloth. This should give the seed 6" of growth before the chickens can even get to it.... Once it reaches that height, I can move the frame to another spot and start new seed....allowing the chickens full access to the old spot. Maybe start with a 10'x10' frame....

Thoughts?

 

[Morrigan]

I feed sprouts daily. I mix together barley, red or white wheat, sunflower seeds and occasionally lentils, or some other odd seed I have around.

I sprout in medium sized tupperware tubs with drainage holes drilled in the bottom. I use my laundry room/mud room for sprouting as I have a utility sink I can use to rinse, and I put the sprouting tubs on top my dryer. I sprout approximately 2 cups of the dry mix per day for a flock of 20 chickens. I've been at it for 5 or 6 years now, and the chickens have yet to tire of it. Now that I've been at it for a while and know what works and what doesn't in my set up, managing the sprouting routine takes me maybe 5 minutes each day.

I find that 3 to 4 days is a good time frame. The root mat has developed and the tops are 1/4 to 1/2 tall, and just turning green. Like @EggSighted4Life, I've found most don't care for it much once the tops get too long. We also feed fodder to our rabbits and they are the same way about preferring shorter sprouts to longer fodder.

 

[alwaystj9]

TJ Anonymous: I think your frame is a good idea. I think the 6" growth height is good, hopefully the plants will have enough root development that the chickens will break it off without pulling it out of the ground. Several coop articles have similar frames. I remember that Matilda Belles Coop article had some. Ask her how they held up. I have some old, old dishwasher racks that I have put over greens to protect them from chicken scratching. They can nibble what pokes through but not tear it up.

 

[ChickenMathLady]

I've just been looking into sprouting grains/making fodder. I haven't tried it yet but am thinking once I have my greenhouse setup this next year it is on my list.