Fodder/Sprouting Personal test

I liked it too.
Lot of good ideas.
Long time ago, kept goats, and various types of poultry,rabbits. I did something similar.

Good deal! Thanks for inspiriing me again!

I thought this was covered, perhaps I missed it, but for variety can one use deer plot seed? I don't know what the cost difference is, but so many of us are limited in what we get.

I have just goats and chickens.

DH and I bought a bag of the Plotspike Forage Feast yesterday at TSC, 40# for $25--well, $24.99 but what's a penny among friends? Anyway, I looked at some of the components like the clovers and Daikon radishes but decided not to buy them. All were coated with an unnamed material and legume innoculant. I didn't think that would be much benefit in a sprouting situation. I was disappointed to pay that price for what is basically wheat, 61%, but wanted to try the legumes and radishes in the mix. I plan to look for a source of those later. I also looked at some of the store's bird mixtures but most bags I saw had either a large portion of cracked corn or were infested with little brown bugs.

Our neighbor who harvests the hay from our place grows wheat and I'm going to speak with him about buying directly from his combine next season.

I would be worried that the coating may be toxic when fed in the sprouts/fodder.

I am seriously considering this, and need to find a source of untreated whole seed. I know I can get wheat from the OK coop, but that is pretty spendy, and one of the reasons I am considering fodder is to save money...

Mary

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In politics the truth is just the lie you believe most - unknown

The legume innoculant should just be nitrogen-fixing bacteria, but no clue what the unnamed material might be.

Have you priced cover crop seeds? They can contain all sorts of tasty things - legumes, grains, turnips...

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"I am not absentminded. It is the presence of mind that makes me unaware of everything else."
- G. K. Chesterton

I had to run to the feed store this morning before they close at noon. They had a bag of mix for deer feed plots that was all clover, alfalfa and radishes. I didn't spot it until I was on my way out and with the other folks trying to make the noon closing, I didn't bother to ask the price. Since it was labeled for deer, I bet it would be pretty expensive as well.

I've been told you can get as good a deer forage plot from a bag of bird seed with the milo and millet, corn and sunflower seed but I passed on that yesterday at TSC due to the bugs. None of the stores in our area carries cover crop seed except maybe buckwheat if you're lucky to catch it at the right time of year.

Sorry, folks. When I made the comment about the legume innoculant, I neglected to address the possibility of a substance that might be unhealthy for the animals and ultimately to me, ie., TOXIC. Sometimes my brain gets too far ahead of my typing.

Hi, new to this forum, it is GREAT. Can you raise chickens on only this? Or would you still need to supplement with layer feed? Thank you!

First WELCOME to this Great Forum!!

I sure am not the one to answer your question, but I will throw in a few words from my experience. If you had some caged up chickens and were to give JUST fodder to them, I feel they will die soon. They would need some grit to help digest this. I personally feel that you can feed chickens that are on the dirt fodder along with some grain like corn for example and they would do good. If I was going to switch over to mainly fodder I would introduce it with their regular food then keep cutting back on their regular feed for a few weeks till I got them switched. I would sure hate to sit down to the table 3 times a day to just some greens only----LOL.

I am curious to what some of the pro's on here have to say about this too.

Thank you PD-Riverman. Right now mine have dirt floors and get to forage for about 2 hours a day, along with layer feed. I also rake up leaves to use in their coops, free bedding that comes with bugs :-).

those little bugs are not fruit flies, they are fungus gnats, they are found in most potting soil and they eat the roots of the plants and will also kill your houseplants..

there is a remedy you can get for fungus gnats from Gardens Alive..a concentrated liquid you use when you water the potting soil..it kills the larvae in a week or two..also yellow sticky traps will trap the adults but won't kill the larvae obviously

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Brenda Groth
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

I was wondering if it would be either a fungicide or pesticide to discourage either fungal or insect infestations. When you sow the seeds and grow a crop from them the animals are not eating the treated seeds. But when you make fodder from them, they will be eating the seed husks in some quantity.

Not sure if it has been mentioned in this thread and no time to go back and check, but there are 4 threads (chapters) on forage production on the Keeping a Family Cow forum (a proboards forum) I have spent several days reading through that.

Mary

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In politics the truth is just the lie you believe most - unknown

I would not feed chickens strictly on sprouts. They do need actual grain and other goodies. Mine get fodder, chicken scraps and a small amount of layer feed. They are also free range. This time of year the ground is covered in snow, but they are scratching through the barley hay and cow manure that has undigested barley from the hay.

I have been feeding my dairy cow on sprouts for over a year now. She also gets alfalfa pellets and beet pulp this time of year...not so in the summer. Her hay is grass hay and barley hay. Her milk production actually went up when I started feeding her sprouts. She was 18 months into her lactation too! I skipped a year of breeding (and will do that again this time).

My rabbits also get fodder as their concentrate. I have a new herd of rabbits that was not raised on fodder and they are not transitioning as well as I'd like. They'll eat the greens but not the root mat. My other herd were happy to eat the entire thing. We'll see if in time these bunnies figure it out. For now I am supplementing them with pellets too.

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Trisha in WA
Visit my blog @
Diamond Belle Ranch

What else does a man have to do in his short time here on earth than build soil and feed people~Forerunner

Thanks Trisha! "Snow on the ground"???? It is going to be a nice 74 here in TX today. I really want Dexter cows for milk and meat, but not set up for that yet. Have 5.5 acres but only fenced on 3 sides....so just my chickens for now.

CountryWannabe, would you please post the address for those specific threads on fodder production? I could find the forum but it wouldn't let me do a search. Thanks, Mary.

Sherry Your pump comes on every 2 hours you stated. How Long does your pump run when it comes on between cycles? Thanks

Edited to Add-----I seen one of the video's and it stated 15 minutes-----Thanks

They are in the Pasture Management and Feed section stickied at the top.

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Trisha in WA
Visit my blog @
Diamond Belle Ranch

What else does a man have to do in his short time here on earth than build soil and feed people~Forerunner

I am really useless at posting links and stuff. IF I get this right - the link below should take you to the pasture forum and you will see four chapters of discussion on fodder.

Keeping A Family Cow - Pasture Management and Feed


Mary

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In politics the truth is just the lie you believe most - unknown

Thank you to Trisha and Mary.

We have a 40 acre ranch in Northern California between Lake Tahoe and Sacramento. Since we do not have pasture we decided to go to a fodder system (I call it portable pasture). We grow barley fodder for our entire ranch (goats, american guinea hogs, chickens, geese, ducks and soon to be rabbits).

It has cut our feed bill to 1/3 of what it used to be! We still feed them some hay to help with digestion and my milkers get a custom grain mix.

You can see a little more about my system on our blog.