FODDER: A beginning. It's comin' along. Final shots.

[grumpy]

Got a long ways to go. I'm tired of being at the mercy of the feed
conglomerates. This is the first step to either: independence or wasted effort.
Time will tell.

The basic frame. If successful, another identical one will be built.

With luck, this unit will produce 20-25 pounds per day.

I'll post updated pictures as the project progresses. My goal is 50+ pounds
of barley fodder per day. About $350.00 to $400.00 per month in savings
on feed expenses.

The project has two steps. The racks producing the feed, and the tight-room
that will be environmentally controlled. I'll have pics of both steps as they progress.

grumpy

 

[3mina]

I'll be following this thread closely. I want to do the same thing once I have everything all in one spot

 

[ckcs]

Looks great already

 

[Miss M]

I shall be watching this space. opcorn:

 

[Comet007]

It looks like a great start. I like how you've tilted the shelves - are those seedling trays that you're using for the fodder? I've been reading about sprouting/fodder a little, and I'm intrigued. It seems like something the buns would enjoy a lot more than just pellets and hay. I like the idea of feeding them living food, as it's more of a nutrition powerhouse. Are you planning to feed anything beside the barley fodder?

 

[grumpy]

It looks like a great start. I like how you've tilted the shelves - are those seedling trays that you're using for the fodder? I've been reading about sprouting/fodder a little, and I'm intrigued. It seems like something the buns would enjoy a lot more than just pellets and hay. I like the idea of feeding them living food, as it's more of a nutrition powerhouse. Are you planning to feed anything beside the barley fodder?

Comet: Yes, those are #1020 solid bottomed nursery trays. I have to put
the holes in the bottoms on the down-slope side.

I doubt I'll ever go completely to a fodder based diet. At least not any time soon.
Until I get my "fodder-legs" well underneath me, I'd worry about a failure
with one day's production. That would leave the stock with the only option
of pellets and hay. I'd still have to have them "pellet-ready" in case this occurs.

I'll be looking for a good source of timothy hay during this change-over.
Right now, I'm feeding an alfalfa-grass hay mixture.

After the situation in late March and early April, I swore I'd be making a change.
I'd been researching this feed-concept for a good while before I had the trouble.
Since then, I've read nearly everything I can get my hands on, and even
visited two farmstead's that use fodder as their only feed source. They were
kind enough to show me their operations and explain their methods. One was
producing well over 2000 pounds per week for their small group of dairy cattle.

They swore by the fodder system and also have a good source of organic
barley seed that I'll be able to purchase by the bushel. $16.00/bushel.
They also offer 2000 pound bags of barley seed with a 20% price-break
and can deliver for a small fee. They're not that far from me and this is
probably the way I'll end up buying my grain.

With the size of my operation, the feed requirements vary on a day-to-day basis.
Right now, I've got well over 200 head of youngsters that are on the verge
of being moved into the grow-out pens. Naturally, the food requirements
will increase dramatically over a week's time. It's going to take some fancy
calculating to be able to produce what will hopefully be 85% of their daily
food with barley fodder.

Right now, this is just the first step to what will hopefully be a major change
in my rabbitry. If all goes well, I will need more room for increased production.
If this is the case, the "tight-room" I'm building will have to be expanded to
double capacity. I'll convert my attached greenhouse into a better suited space
for strictly this purpose. If all goes according to plan, it will be 45-60 days
before everything is in place and running at full capacity.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, this will either be a huge success or
a monumental waste of time and effort. We shall see.

Grumpy.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

oh, wow,, I didn't expect you going that route.. wish I could. The weather here isn't warm enough in the winter and I don't have that much space in my house to do this. ..To scare of the mold and all the rabbits are dead because of it. I will be watching this thread.. Good luck...

 

[grumpy]

oh, wow,, I didn't expect you going that route.. wish I could. The weather here isn't warm enough in the winter and I don't have that much space in my house to do this. ..To scare of the mold and all the rabbits are dead because of it. I will be watching this thread.. Good luck...

Me too........!!

However, down at the barn, I've got plenty of room and with my skills in
carpentry and other building trades, I'm confident I can create a room that
will be easily controlled concerning heat, coolness, air exchange, and
humidity control.

One thing I have learned from viewing other successful operations is the fact
that they DO NOT recycle their water. It's used only one time to water the
seed mats then it's disposed of. The use of clear, clean water each time it's
needed should eliminate the mold issue. (At least, this is my "hope".) I will
be soaking seed with a bleach additive to ward off mold spores to begin
with. The water consumption should be under 15 gallons per day on the
initial set-up. I'm allowing a one-gallon flush per row, twice a day.

Like I said: This will either "work" or be a monumental "FLOP". Either way,
I feel it should be shared with everyone. In doing so, someone might see
something that I haven't and offer a positive suggestion.

I've got three water pumps on hand to incorporate into the flushing, disposal,
and re-filling of water reservoirs in the tight-room. "In my mind"...I can
visualize what I'm wanting to do and wanting to create. Now, comes the
"fun-stuff" of bringing it to a reality.

Something to keep in mind is the fact that for 10 or 15 years, I raised
literally thousands of vegetable plants from seeds in the greenhouse.
So, I've got a good basic knowledge of the different problems associated
with growing stuff. I encountered quite a few normal difficulties when I
did this.

Keeping my fingers crossed. :x

Grumpy.

 

[dayna]

I've played around with fodder for the buns and goats and due to my climate fully grown fodder is just not an option. Too much mold, however I'm looking at 2-3 day old sprouts instead and supplementing their diets with that. Probably the barley route as it's the easiest grain other than corn for me to get.

 

[Miss M]

I haven't seen barley or wheat around here outside of a Whole Foods store. I'm going to have to try mine with oats, which I hear are more difficult.

 

[the reluctant farmer]

Looking forward to seeing this all together, Grumpy. I played around with small amounts of barley fodder this winter and was liking what I saw. A lot less grain waste (natural feed) and good for he buns. As it got warmer here I had problems because the area I was sprouting in was too warm. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping this is successful. Your racks look great, by the way. How tall are they?

 

[Permajen]

That's a wonderful structure, Grumpy. Will you be sprouting barley on its own, or might you do a mixture with some type of legume like peas?

By the way, I read your feeding mishap thread -- what an eye opener.

When my bucket sprouters are outgrown, I might just have to copy this... if I can figure out how to cut timber the right length just once in my life.

Jen

 

[grumpy]

Your racks look great, by the way. How tall are they?

Right at 5' tall. 36 1/2" wide and 24" front to back. It was "fun"
getting all of the pieces cut to the exact dimensions. The entire unit was
made out of that big pile of dunnage lumber that was given to me. Every
piece was very rough and had to be re-sawn to clean it up and "re-size" it
properly. Thank Heaven I'd just bought a new carbide-tip blade for my saw.

That's a wonderful structure, Grumpy. Will you be sprouting barley on its own, or might you do a mixture with some type of legume like peas?
By the way, I read your feeding mishap thread -- what an eye opener.
Jen

I've got a source for organic field peas. I hadn't thought much past being
proficient at sprouting the barley seed to begin with. I may pick up a sack
of the peas and incorporate small amounts into the process. I know peas
have a higher protein percentage straight out of the bag when compared
to barley.

I'm still having issues with that bad feed. Not on the large scale like when it
occurred, but with individual breeders and some of the youngsters that
were subjected to the feed problems. Slow growth on the youngsters that
survived seems to be my biggest concern, and I've lost a doe or two since
then. It was a nightmare and one that made what I'm attempting now,
a reality.

I don't take that kind of nonsense lying down and it's hard to absorb that
large of a "HIT" on my pocket book. I've not put pencil to paper to figure
the entire loss. I'd probably be sick to my stomach if I did.

I spent the bigger part of yesterday morning getting a trailer-load of
high-density, exterior-grade, rigid-insulation a friend of mine gave me.
It's mostly in smaller pieces but something that I can easily "make-work".
Once I realized how much was in the stack, I began making mental changes
on the overall size of the "tight-room" I'll be working on.

It started getting bigger. LOL.

Haven't got a pic of the load yet, but I will sometime today.

BTW: I found a more economical source for my barley
@ $12.50 per 50# bag. I have to buy a one-month's supply at a time.

grumpy.

 

[michaels4gardens]

sounds wonderful, I tried a sprouted grain, growing system a lot of years ago, it worked well, I used fresh water also with a mister system on some of it, and drip system on some of it, I solved some of the slow growth problem by growing kale in my greenhouse for year-round feeding, to add to the sprouted grain mixes, --[and eventually adding some feed concentrate pellets again, to boost the rate of gain to please my boss ]- but there was no problem with the system if you did not mind a little slower growth, [the feed company I was working for at the time wanted faster growth, so the system and project. was eventually defunded] - I did have to make more growout pens to accommodate the slower growth, but-- as far as I was concerned the rabbits were healthy, and I had very few problems. There was less fat on the rabbit raised that way, [and I like the fat- but for some, less fat is a good selling point].

 

[dayna]

That's not a bad price, I pay $18 for a 50# bag here at the livestock feed store. I had the option of normal or malted. I tried the malted and it rotted worse than the normal. Though it did sprout.

 

[michaels4gardens]

I wonder, ...if growing a high energy feed like sugar beet , or carrot , and feeding it along with a fodder system, would solve the "energy crisis" and bring back the faster growth rate.
I have also wondered, ... if a fan blowing on the sprouting trays during the mold issue times of year, would have solved that problem.

 

[grumpy]

I wonder, ...if growing a high energy feed like sugar beet , or carrot , and feeding it along with a fodder system, would solve the "energy crisis" and bring back the faster growth rate.
I have also wondered, ... if a fan blowing on the sprouting trays during the mold issue times of year, would have solved that problem.

The analysis of barley fodder parallels a good rabbit pellet with the exception
of trace minerals. I'm sure, if I search hard enough, I can find a powdered
mineral for rabbits. My thinking is that I should be able to put the mineral
in a "salt-shaker" and lightly add the mineral just before I feed the rabbits.

Air movement and fresh-air exchange should alleviate the mold issues. This
is what I'm hoping for, at least. I'm not saying it will be "easy"...LOL.
However, I firmly believe,.....it can be done!! I'm planning on having two
small oscillating fans running nearly all of the time. And a "bathroom" exhaust
fan set on a timer to remove the upper layer of air on a regular basis.
A small, high-efficiency, room air conditioner will keep the temps down
during the hot part of the year. A small parlor heater will do the opposite
in the winter.

I had a small epiphany last evening....
There's absolutely NO reason I can't have an available water source "in the
room" 8 or 9 months out of the year. Beyond that, I can easily use my
reservoir barrels during the winter months. I've just got to adapt another
valve in the delivery pipe to allow free-flowing water in the tight-room when
I need it. DUH.......sometimes I'm just a "tad" slow when it comes to small
innovative ideas that make one's job a little easier.

AND:: I'm "mentally-working" on some kind of container that I can pour
used water into and have it drain into a buried pipe in my market garden. I
put in a 6"-drain years ago to handle the downspouts on my barn guttering.
I checked last night and I've got room to slip a drain pipe right in beside
my downspout. Easy...peasy...nice and easy. :lol: :lol:

grumpy <br /><br /> __________ Sat May 24, 2014 6:09 am __________ <br /><br /> My old feed room will be the location of the new "grow-room".
Here's a few pics of what it looked like "before" I began. I had to take it
"down" all the way and re-build it to accommodate the fodder stands.

I'm still quite a ways from completion and I chafe over the fact that I cannot
work at the pace I did as a younger man. I just don't have the energy anymore.

I'm even re-working the walls around the water cabinet. It's "tin" with no
insulation. Sure are a lot of "cobwebs" to deal with when I move stuff out of
the way to work. LOL.

I'll take some pics today, to show the progress. Promise.....Ya'll know I'm lazy.

Thanks for looking,
Grumpy.

 

[JessiL]

Looks great. I will be eagerly awaiting reports of how well the rabbits do when transitioned over!

FYI, my fodder producer here discovered that she could almost completely prevent mold issues by using just a bit of hydrogen peroxide in both the soaking and rinsing water. I hadn't heard of that used before (usually it's chlorine bleach), and that made me happy, since hydrogen peroxide will naturally oxidize very fast and just turn into water. Less worry to me that my bunnies were getting too much bleach!

 

[grumpy]

I've had this stored at a friend's house for several months. It's very good
exterior grade, high-density fiberglass insulation. Of course, it's in pieces,
but that's all right.......I can make it work.

I got a pretty good amount.

Here's the changes thus far in the room. I'm a little over halfway done.

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for looking. I'll take more photos as the work
progresses. Just noticed......that old blue trash barrel is headed for the
burn-pile tomorrow, first thing.
Grumpy.

Here's my "cat-herd" LOL. Boots and the throw-away Mama and her babies.
I let them out every afternoon for a few hours to play. They sure have a lot of fun.

__________ Mon Jun 09, 2014 6:54 am __________

I'm "really-slow" sometimes. I wonder if I wasn't dropped on my head one
too many times when I was a baby. "Water" such a simple element, but one
that can never be too handy to have close at hand. Here's my solution.
One that I ""SHOULD"" have incorporated umpteen years ago.

The "spout" can slip-fit into the supply line when needed. It doesn't leak!

My "Super-Charger". Several sites recommended air stones to keep
the water moving during the soak-time. You know me...."More is Better."

The "Super-Charger" slipped into another bucket with the water added.
You can see the multiple holes in the bottom to allow swift exchange of
the water.

Barley seed: After the initial wash and rinse, ready for the "soak".

The seed has been dumped into the bucket with the water pump. More
water has been added to bring up the level. This is usually started around
10 or 11 in the morning and runs until about 6pm. There's a funny thing
about this step. Once all is up and running, the water begins a rhythmic
motion reminiscent of an old wringer washing machine. It's as clean as a
new dime once this is completed.

Afterwards, it's placed in another bucket with clear water and 1/2 capful of
bleach and allowed to soak overnight.

Waste-water is pumped from the buckets into my drain-pipe that dumps
into the downspout drain for my guttering. That funnel screwed to the wall
allows me to empty my buckets completely. Gotta be a little careful though.

First fodder spread into the flats. If you look closely you can see the grain
is already beginning to sprout.

More will come later. Thanks for looking. Hope you enjoyed it.

UPDATE:: These first two flats of seed have already matted
enough for the entire seed-bed to be lifted out in one piece.

Grumpy.

 

[Miss M]

FYI, my fodder producer here discovered that she could almost completely prevent mold issues by using just a bit of hydrogen peroxide in both the soaking and rinsing water.

Any idea what ratio? That would be very nice.

More will come later. Thanks for looking. Hope you enjoyed it.

Grumpy.

opcorn: opcorn: opcorn: