Fodder sprouting systems, anyone?

[OneAcreFarm]

I like the idea of this....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Small-Hydroponi ... 1e7321e2b3

 

[MaggieJ]

Nice! I like that it handles the rinsing etc. for you. Ask them how it deals with mould problems before you invest.

Edited to add:

I wonder if one could make a homemade version of this with a rack of some kind, trays slanted so the water dribbles through one after the other and an aquarium pump to move the water. Timers aren't expensive... I think I have a couple kicking around and perhaps an aquarium pump too. Hmmm... Worth thinking about. It would be good for the rabbits, geese and chickens.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Here the website for the lady that makes them...she also sells the plans for the system for $20....

http://www.half-pinthomestead.com/

 

[MaggieJ]

Very cool! I hope she has much success. It is a very reasonably priced homestead sprouting system... Just more than I personally can afford. It is nice that she makes the plans available... but I think I might just wing it. MidnightCoder will be inspired if it means his Silkies can share in the output.

 

[3mina]

I read a post on FB yesterday about sprouting. Take a mason jar, the metal ring, window screen/cheesecloth and the seeds. Place seeds in the jar, put the screen/cheesecloth under the metal ring, rinse the seeds and place in a sunny spot. Rinse the seeds every day.

I have not tried this but I'm going to

 

[Piper]

These are links that I have been pinning, some have some great ideas.
- http://pinterest.com/laurall21/feeds-sprouting/

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I read a post on FB yesterday about sprouting. Take a mason jar, the metal ring, window screen/cheesecloth and the seeds. Place seeds in the jar, put the screen/cheesecloth under the metal ring, rinse the seeds and place in a sunny spot. Rinse the seeds every day.

I have not tried this but I'm going to

That is basically what this is 3mina, but on a much larger scale....this setup grows enough to feed 25 rabbits on a daily basis.

 

[3mina]

I read a post on FB yesterday about sprouting. Take a mason jar, the metal ring, window screen/cheesecloth and the seeds. Place seeds in the jar, put the screen/cheesecloth under the metal ring, rinse the seeds and place in a sunny spot. Rinse the seeds every day.

I have not tried this but I'm going to

That is basically what this is 3mina, but on a much larger scale....this setup grows enough to feed 25 rabbits on a daily basis.

Ooohhhh.......me likey

 

[Miss M]

That is basically what this is 3mina, but on a much larger scale....this setup grows enough to feed 25 rabbits on a daily basis.

:shock: It does???

What would you sprout?
How expensive are seeds for this?
Could this and salt be all you need?

I apologize, as I obviously haven't been paying attention. But you've got my attention now!

 

[MaggieJ]

You can use it to sprout just about any kind of grain, Miss M. Each tray takes about 2.5 pounds of grain... but the end product is more nutritious than the grain itself.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

That is basically what this is 3mina, but on a much larger scale....this setup grows enough to feed 25 rabbits on a daily basis.

:shock: It does???

What would you sprout?
How expensive are seeds for this?
Could this and salt be all you need?

I apologize, as I obviously haven't been paying attention. But you've got my attention now!

Great link with info about sprouted fodder....

http://www.peakprosperity.com/blog/grow ... dder/72618

Most folks sprout wheat, oats or barley. The seeds are not that expensive, you can get a 50# bag for $10 or so at your feed store. You can feed fodder and add a mineral block and have a complete diet. Sprouting the grain raises the protein and fiber % and increases the amount of actual food by quite a bit. You feed 3-5% of the animal's body weight of fodder each day, so a 10lb rabbit would be fed 5-8oz of fodder a day. The 6 tray system makes 15lbs of fodder each day, or 240oz.

 

[Frecs]

I like her suggestion to start sprouting the larger seeds (wheat, oats, or barley) and after the root mat is form, sprinkle on smaller seeds. That way, you don't lose the small seeds through the drain holes and have a nice mix of sprouts to feed.

I cannot afford her system but I might see about setting up something workable for my small homestead...the rabbits, chickens, and ducks would all enjoy it, I think.

 

[skysthelimit]

That's really neat. I'd have a hard time keeping any place 60F in the wintertime.

 

[trinityoaks]

Hmmmmm. . . Don't know whether it would work for us to go 100% to fodder, but I'm very interested.

 

[Frecs]

Okay...after doing some research, here is what I have found for my situation/area:

1. TSC (Conway SC & Whiteville NC) carry whole oats at around $12-13 per 50lb bag. The only other whole grains they sale are "sweet feed" which would not work for fodder (both because of the corn and because of the molasses).
2. No other feed stores carry whole grains of any sort.
3. Mail order is extortionarily high once postage is included.
4. Through Sam's Club, I can order 50lb of whole winter wheat for a tad less than $50. This seems at the moment to be the only game in town for getting wheat to grow wheatgrass fodder.
5. Per a few websites, oat grass fodder is reasonably close in nutritional make-up to wheatgrass fodder. Does anyone know the nutritional data for fodder from wheatgrass, barleygrass, and oatgrass?

I had purchased several 10lb bags of "gourmet birdseed" from TSC which is wheat, milo, and millet. I'm going to conduct an experiment to see how well it "fodders". The bags were on sale for $5 per but normally run closer to $10. These may be a good option IF they grow into nice fodder.

Other options yet to be explored: the co-op in Wilmington and the HFS in North Myrtle Beach both have bulk organic winter wheat but that is likely to be too expensive for my purposes -- I may see if it is possible to get on their "oops" list for when grains are spilled and can't be sold to humans...

I think the best option is going to remain oatgrass supplemented with sunflower sprouts, lentil sprouts, mungbean sprouts (these are okay for rabbits, right?), and herbs and weeds and such...and the flax which they seem to be liking.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Okay...after doing some research, here is what I have found for my situation/area:

1. TSC (Conway SC & Whiteville NC) carry whole oats at around $12-13 per 50lb bag. The only other whole grains they sale are "sweet feed" which would not work for fodder (both because of the corn and because of the molasses).
2. No other feed stores carry whole grains of any sort.
3. Mail order is extortionarily high once postage is included.
4. Through Sam's Club, I can order 50lb of whole winter wheat for a tad less than $50. This seems at the moment to be the only game in town for getting wheat to grow wheatgrass fodder.
5. Per a few websites, oat grass fodder is reasonably close in nutritional make-up to wheatgrass fodder. Does anyone know the nutritional data for fodder from wheatgrass, barleygrass, and oatgrass?

I had purchased several 10lb bags of "gourmet birdseed" from TSC which is wheat, milo, and millet. I'm going to conduct an experiment to see how well it "fodders". The bags were on sale for $5 per but normally run closer to $10. These may be a good option IF they grow into nice fodder.

Other options yet to be explored: the co-op in Wilmington and the HFS in North Myrtle Beach both have bulk organic winter wheat but that is likely to be too expensive for my purposes -- I may see if it is possible to get on their "oops" list for when grains are spilled and can't be sold to humans...

I think the best option is going to remain oatgrass supplemented with sunflower sprouts, lentil sprouts, mungbean sprouts (these are okay for rabbits, right?), and herbs and weeds and such...and the flax which they seem to be liking.

Any feed store should be able to order 50lb bags of whole barley for you. Barley makes the best fodder, but oat and wheat are good too.

 

[Frecs]

Any feed store should be able to order 50lb bags of whole barley for you. Barley makes the best fodder, but oat and wheat are good too.

The "feed stores" around here are Purina outlets it seems. Tonight I will post to the Facebook "trade it" group for Conway to see if all the horse folks on there know of a feed store that carries or will order barley in 50lb bags.

 

[skysthelimit]

Any feed store should be able to order 50lb bags of whole barley for you. Barley makes the best fodder, but oat and wheat are good too.

The "feed stores" around here are Purina outlets it seems. Tonight I will post to the Facebook "trade it" group for Conway to see if all the horse folks on there know of a feed store that carries or will order barley in 50lb bags.

That's my problem too, the only "feed" stores are really bagged food outlets. They sell national or regional branded whole oats. Oats are $15.99 a bag, so that's what I'm going with.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Any feed store should be able to order 50lb bags of whole barley for you. Barley makes the best fodder, but oat and wheat are good too.

The "feed stores" around here are Purina outlets it seems. Tonight I will post to the Facebook "trade it" group for Conway to see if all the horse folks on there know of a feed store that carries or will order barley in 50lb bags.

That's my problem too, the only "feed" stores are really bagged food outlets. They sell national or regional branded whole oats. Oats are $15.99 a bag, so that's what I'm going with.

I plan to use oats as well as barley, since mine LOVED the oat grass that sprouted from oats that escaped the feeders! Oh, and look at this other link I found...

http://pacapride.wordpress.com/2012/06/ ... installed/

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

I am thinking on trying a mix of barley and wild bird seed, then once is sprouts adding the flax seed and pasture seed (containing grass and clover seed) to the fodder mat.

Now can this replace all feed for rabbits? or do we still need to supplement and feed hay. On the page with the fodder system it said hay wasn't any longer necessary for rabbits. Is that true? If I no longer need to feed hay or supplements other than salt then I would love to switch to this for feeding my Rabbits, ducks, and pig. Otherwise I will do it just for a daily portion.