End of fodder test
Well, I got 39oz of fodder to my 10oz of barley. Not quite the 8:1 I have heard about, but 4 times isn’t bad for a first run. There are quite a few grains not sprouted, I would say up to 20 percent or more. Maybe a longer soak or a different container would make a difference. For now hopefully the chickens will enjoy it.
I think they do, of course they always run up to me when I go out there, but it looks like they have been eating the barley.
Day 7
Today is the 7th day. Tomorrow morning the chickens will get to try their new food source. And holy cow does it grow fast! In 3 days it has grown over 4 inches. Tomorrow morning I will weigh it and then I will know how much it has really grown. Here is the photo from this morning.
The cantaloupe is just poking up in the pots to the left side of the picture. Another exciting development. Last year the bugs got all but 2 melons. I am going to keep a closer eye on them this year and apply sevin when necessary, I really want a good melon harvest this year!
Day 6
Holy cow! This stuff has taken off like a rocket!
Day 5
Holy cow they have grown quite a bit in the last day!
Fodder day 2,3,4
Here are photos of the fodder growth, I split the 10oz of seeds into 2 1 gallon ice cream tubs. Hopefully that will allow just the right amount of room for them to grow. The seeds were layered roughly 1/2 inch deep in the tub. I had drilled 1/8 inch holes all over the bottom of the tubs for drainage.
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Half way through, hopefully they grow more the next 4 days than they have the last 4 days. The ulitmate goal is for the fodder to weigh 8 times as much as the seed, thus turning a 50 lb bag of grain into 400 lbs of feed. Usually 50 lbs feeds my flock for 3 to 4 weeks as they mostly eat grain. However with all the weeds we have been feeding them and they have been grazing on they are slowing down a bit on the grain. But with a good fodder system 50 lbs will feed for 6 months or more, cutting way down on the cost of feeding these eating machines.
