A few weeks ago, after listening to a podcast on growing fodder for animals by Teresa Hord of Quartz Ridge Ranch, I was inspired to try my hand at this task. I read a few different websites discussing the basis of this:
There are some bean seeds in there too, they were left over seeds from a few years ago. I put them in there to see what they could do.
The information I had read on this shows that a kilo of bran produces around 6 kilos of fodder. As fodder is so much cheaper than buying feed for the animals (and so much better for them) I decided it was something that I needed to investigate for the winter months. I bought a 20kilo bag of fodder from the animal feed-store, which was feed quality fodder. This is not the type recommended by Teresa Hord, yet as it was easier to buy I decided to try this first before investing in higher quality bran.
I soaked the 500grams of bran in water for two days and then drained the excess water. I then emptied the grain into a plastic tub which I placed into a small plastic greenhouse in my sun room. Every couple of days I check the contents and ensure that no mold has grown. I haven’t bothered to wash them as other people recommend on the Backyard chicken forums. It has taken around 1 week for the seeds to start to germinate, and two weeks till they grow sufficient to use as fodder.
I am in the process of clearing additional space in the mini greenhouses (they currently are being used to grow tomatoes over winter) and I intend to lay additional tubs of fodder so that I can keep the rabbits fed.
I found you through 13 skills. I am glad you’re interested in growing fodder too. Could you talk about your set up. Is it in a building? Outside? How will you keep your temperatures down in the summer? Is this winter only for you?
I have an air conditioner. I’m thinking of making an insulated box with the air conditioner on the side. I like the idea of using gutters. It makes it a smaller area to feed. Not sure how we can keep mold out of the insulation, I’m thinking about how to set it all up.
Hi Cranberryrose55,
thanks for your question. I am currently using small plastic containers of around 10 liters in size. These fit nicely, two abreast, inside my mini-greenhouses. These mini-greenhouses were purchased at a local hardware store and sit on a table in the front room of my home (kinda like a vestibule. We call it the sun room as it get so warm in summer). I have only started with my fodder so I am making modifications constantly. I will take some more photos and post something about it in a few days, so stop by for that.