Fodder/Sprouting Personal test

I have been looking for trays to use. I have a rack I can use but need some trays.

I found this: Livestock Feed Sproutpod Fodder Growing Chamber 100 Organic | eBay

There must be nutritional value is sprouting for fodder to make spending that kind of money worth it.

Sherry - Do you have instructions/plans to make one of those?? I only have 3 hens at the moment due to feed costs but would LOVE to have a few more if I can find a way to get the feed costs to egg output down.
TIA
Melissa

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I was just looking at one that cost $60,000 and another up to $200,000------Just Looking---LOL. I been picking up some cooking pans---mainly made out of aluminum---I have been using the plastic trays that hold the seed starter cups but they break so easy.

You can buy kits & plans here Half-Pint Homestead

I would love to try this, but have been hitting a brick wall when it comes to finding wheat & barley... Both here, and in the new area I'm moving to soon. Tried a test run on oats.... Nothing grew, though they were just whole, feed oats....

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Half-Pint Homestead makes wonderful set up. This winter, I'm going to try small amounts of grain, and if I can get the goats to get over their EEW-it's-NEW syndrome, I'll by one of the Half-Pint systems.

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

Try Plotspike field oats. It has a great germination rate, as does this: Deer Food Plot Seed: Forage Feast which contains:
"oat along with small grains and 20% premium forage rape, clover and Austrian winter peas" My daughter has great success with both of these. Our tractor supply carries them.

I found some trays!!!!

https://wheatgrassandsprouts.com/sup...00cuhk3mtmo0o6

Do a search for "wheat grass" to find supplies.

Sherry
How does the water spray on it, I mean does it make a mess and over spray?

Mold is a big problem in sprouted grains. Worm casing is great for the soil structure and contains some ntrients. But I think any "tea" from worm casings would have more e coli than NPK.

But, if you are healthy to begin with, I doubt you'd die from it.

Did you make that system or buy it?

This is a subject I think I can contribute to
There is a store in Dyersville, Iowa called FarmTek, where we've been sevral times to get our supplies, and to a sprouting seminar. We bought trays and timers from them. I made my system very similar to the posted pic with PVC, I can work with that. My partner is a welder, his system is steel, but both very similar. Our timers run 2 minutes every 2 hours, the water drains on out the bottom of the tray. The fall is calculated so the water runs out, but not too fast. Trays between us and some friends run from 32 inches to 10 feet. The watering and drainage is the most important part.
OK, we soak Barley for overnight. Then spread the seed into the trays in a thin layer 2 or 3 seeds thick. You do not need fertilizer for the first 8 days. The seed has everything in it that's needed to this point. In 8 days, the optimal time, we get 8 inches of green growth. We feed roots and all, it comes out of the trays in a mat. We feed it to goats, sheep horses, cows, chickens. They all eat it well, better if it's pulled into smaller pieces than if they have to break it up. We stopped with the greening up of the pastures, but will be starting it all up again real soon.

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Seed to fodder is about 1-7.
Amish friends turned us on to this. Their systems can be pretty ingenious, with no electricity! We use pumps on timers, and ceiling fans.
Optimal temp seems to be 65- 70, so we had our experimental systems in the house. This year we are moving them to a refrigerated semi trailer, retired. Fully lined, insulated, wired with lights, fans, etc. Heated with small propane heater.

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Alice, I do not use it, but I may start this year, try to spend less on feed for the hens. > Marc

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Hi Haley,

The system was designed to sit inside on carpet, so the water runs into the top tray and trickles down into the trays below to fall into the sump where it is recirculated again. I change the water every couple of days.

Katy, I designed and built the system. I also sell them. There is a 6, 12, and 18 tray system on my website at index. I just couldn't find a commercial system small enough for me and the prices almost knocked me dead!!

BTW, I had NO luck with oats in my sytem at all. They just sulked, made the water filthy, and smelled. They grew pretty well under the oak tree where I dumped them though.

Sherry

I'm on day 9 of my experiment. My findings so far: I'm beginning to hate hand watering, trying to get dh to move me to a pump/drip situation. Chickens are finicky about eating any of it - the turkeys gobble it all. Good enough but the turkeys get harvested in a few days so then what? The pigs will eat anything. One lb of grain (the amount I've been sprouting per day so far) means just the smallest of treats for the chickens (7) and turkeys (2) and pigs (2). Going to try increasing grain started per day to 2 lbs and see how my garden center-purchased trays handle double the amount and how it sprouts.

Also not getting verdant, lush green growth. Some, yes, but not as thick as I had hoped. Perhaps I have too little grain per tray at 1 lb? Or maybe it wants more frequent watering? Hoping to figure it out.

Cathleen, my dd uses planting trays with lids. She punched holes in the trays with a nail. A dome sits under it and one sits over it. They sprout much better with the dome on. It looked to me like twice as much growth, but I'd have to ask her for exact info. I think her system is to soak the grain overnight in water in half gallon jars. Pour off water the next day and allow it to start sprouting in the half gallon jars for another day. Then it's put into the trays under lights on a shelf. It's the same shelf system we use for starting seeds. (Metal shelf from Lowe's with shop likes hanging off of it w/full spectrum bulbs) I'm not sure if you remember my picture of that or not. Then, she takes the trays to our laundry tub and sprays them off while they're in the tray. The water drains through the holes and they are returned to the shelf. She uses a half cup per tray and it's thick and dense when it's done.

She's feeding several nubian goats on a pound of seed. They look incredible! She's been doing this for several months, but as she's experimented her process has gotten easier with better results.

I wonder if a little baking soda mixed with the water would reduce mold since calcium kills mold?

Pretty much exactly what I am doing other than on Day 2.5 they move to trays with no domes. 1 cup = 1/2 lb wheat, more or less. How many trays per day is she sprouting to feed several nubian goats?

Will try using a dome for day 2.5 - 4 and see what happens. And thank you!

thanks!

Haley1, it's been a long time since I scraped through a chemistry class by the skin of my teeth so I had to look up what was in baking soda. According to Chemical formula for baking soda, the chemical formula for baking soda, sodium bicarbonate is NaHCO3 and doesn't contain any calcium. You're right, calcium does inhibit mold which is why calcium propionate is added to commercial breads as a mold inhibitor. Maybe the sodium in the baking soda would kill mold too. My college chemistry prof would be amazed that I remembered the sodium, carbon and oxygen! Oh, well. As I said, it's been a long time.

BrightBay, I've been feeding sprouts to the chickens but not our goats because of quantity I could produce with half gallon jars. Now that we'll be able to grow larger amounts, I'm glad to hear that goats do well on this feeding regimen.

I don't know whether calcium kills mould, but I know for a fact that there is no calcium in baking soda, which is straight sodium bicarbonate.