Sprouting Seeds with NO Mold

[Altairsky]

Try. Some people use nothing at all. Molds are not on all seeds. I germinate seeds (for human consumption) without using any chemical and never got molds. I wash them carefully in water and change water often.

 

[jthornton]

I'm just starting with fodder...can I just use peroxide? I'm highly allergic to bleach...

I would try without anything first to see if you actually need to use something to kill mold. I did use peroxide at one point and eventually stopped using anything.

My remaining two hens only like chickweed so I don't grow anything for them any more.

JT

 

[gtaus]

I'm just starting with fodder...can I just use peroxide? I'm highly allergic to bleach...

I would try without anything first to see if you actually need to use something to kill mold. I did use peroxide at one point and eventually stopped using anything.

I would agree with @jthornton. The only reason to use any bleach or peroxide would be if you have a small mold problem during sprouting.

I have been growing barley fodder for my chickens for about 4 winters. The only time I ever had a mold problem was during the COVID winter. It was old barley, dumped from storage bins, with poor germination rate, and dusty as all heck when I bought it. There was no fresh barley grown that year and everything was cleaned out of long-term storage silos, I guess. Good enough for dry feed, but not for sprouting as fodder.

When things got back to normal, and fresh barley was grown and sold at the mill, I have not had to use any bleach in my sprouting. The past two winters I have not used any bleach at all in my fodder process.

My lesson learned is that if I ever get "bad" barley again, that grows more mold than sprouts, I'll just use the grain dry in my chicken scratch and forget about trying to sprout it as fodder. It's just not worth the effort to fight a bad mold problem.

My system of growing fodder works great with fresh seeds, mold free. But if the grain is heavily contaminated with mold spores, then spouting the seeds will produce that mold. If you only get a very small amount of mold in the sprouting process, bleach or peroxide might be enough to kill the mold. I would certainly try growing fodder without using bleach or peroxide first, add a little bit if I see any mold, but get different (fresher) grain if there is a lot of mold in the spouts.

My remaining two hens only like chickweed so I don't grow anything for them any more.

I am on my third flock since I started growing barley fodder. Each flock has different preferences. My current birds ate the fodder this winter, but it was not their first choice in treats. Also, it is interesting to watch some birds eat the grass blades on top, whereas other birds like to eat the grains in the root mat of the fodder.

My fodder tower system only requires a few minutes per day to grow more than enough fodder for my 10 chickens. Barley fodder is the only greens my chickens get for our long northern Minnesota winters lasting 4-6 months. That fodder does make a difference in the color and quality of the egg yolks. My hens lay eggs with a darker orange colored yolk compared to store bought commercial egg yolks which are pale yellow. Our egg customers notice the difference.

In any case, fodder is just a supplement to their commercial feed. They don't need fodder for a balanced diet which is provided by the commercial feed. I just think fodder is something a bit special for my chickens during the winter months.