Fodder sprouting systems, anyone?

[Frecs]

yes, the stems and leaves of Jerusalem Artichokes are good rabbit food. I *think* the tubers are acceptable as well but we should double check that.

 

[ApplegateRanch]

Thanks again. I googled it, and several sources/lists show the tubers as 'safe'. Also, I was happy to note that 3 of our 5 worst garden pest plants are "safe": redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus); purslane; and shepherd's purse; the bindweed & horehound are toxic.

I've already started introducing very small amounts of the sunflower stems & leaves; emphasis on small.

 

[MaggieJ]

Sunflower leaves and stalks are favourites with the rabbits here. Just watch for mould (mold) late in the season if the weather is damp. We get that powdery mildew on some plants and I do not feed any that have it.

 

[ApplegateRanch]

This is not going well. The do eat hay, and a bit of greens, but are refusing to eat radish, pumpkin, apples, carrots, or any stalks/stems/seeds.

I've put small amounts of each (not all at the the same time, but each day try something else) on top of their pellets, and they toss it aside, and just eat pellets. I also tried cutting down on their pellet ration, with the same result. I thought rabbits were smarter than chickens, but they love any of that stuff when I give it to them, preferring it to their layer crumbles.

Anybody have any advice?

 

[Frecs]

I have this one Jersey Woolie who only wants pellets. A few times, he has, begrudgingly, eatin' sprouted foods. He refuses any fresh forage except for the occasional wild raspberry vine. Vegetables? nope, not having it. I think he ate a parsley sprig once...maybe.

Not sure how to deal with such stubborn rabbits. All my other rabbits eat fresh stuff with great gusto.

 

[ApplegateRanch]

Well, they ARE now eating carrot, both tops & roots; and radish stems (Let some of them go to seed), but still won't touch the radishes or sliced pumpkin. Guess it just takes time.

 

[silver0202]

I posted a youtube video on my sprouting station... healthier feed at less than half the cost of commercial feed.

To see the video follow the link at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2haxOZNua7I&feature=c4-overview&list=UUWeKOluQhkeTHkqV5rN_avQ

Feeding sprouted grain is a very economical method of supplying green feed to all classes of poultry and rabbits. Fodder, as green feeds are also called, supply nutrients that are easier to absorb for your animals. Dried grains ready for sprouting are convenient to buy and store.

s.

 

[skysthelimit]

I can't believe i let the whole summer go by without sprouting anythings. The good news is, the alfalfa I tried to sprout is now a nice sized patch in the back yard, and I saved seeds from the spring BOSS sprouts. I plan to by some seed mats and maybe get something started soon.

 

[LBMBarbalooski]

My husband and I want to start a fodder system and are reading up everything we can on the subject. We pick up our first french angora tort buck in less than 2 weeks so we were hoping to start working on how to grow this stuff starting this coming weekend. With only one rabbit to grow for I'm trying to figure out what we have around the house to use for practice. I dove into our recycle bin and found some leftover milk cartons to cut up and use for now. I haven't found any pans to catch the water yet but will hit the dollar stores and goodwill later this week and see what we can find.

The good news today is that my husband has someone he works with who is willing and able to get us free wheat seeds and has connections with the local feed coop to help get us the barley we are looking for! Free seeds! How cool is that?

Now to figure out where in our crowded house we can put our fodder system.

 

[MaggieJ]

Welcome to RabbitTalk, LBMBarbalooski!

It's nice that you are so enthusiastic about growing fodder for your rabbit, but I do want to caution you that most rabbits have been raised on pellets and need a long, slow transition to more natural foods. Otherwise, you may end up with a very sick or dead rabbit. They cannot tolerate sudden changes in diet.

I experimented with small quantities of fodder last winter and found that the styrofoam trays on which meat and produce are packaged work very well. You can pierce them easily for drainage and put a second one underneath to catch the drips.

 

[mystang89]

I just went got to see tray or a flat as its called. They seem to work very well. As far as how to transition them from pellets to foster maggie is correct it does need to have a transition.. What I did for mine was about 3 weeks where is it at first you have a week of pellets in a little bit of fodder next week you have half pellets half fodder and the last week you have mostly fodder and little pellets then after that you should be good to go or at least I was.

 

[3LilMonkeys]

Going through these posts have me convinced...I am def trying fodder for my bunnies.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

well. I just read this whole thread from front to back.. but I do have some concern...The weather changes to much here with four season and I was wondering ,when you have your rabbits on it full time , no pellets and things goes wrong because of weather change.. what happens .. you have no food.. and another concern is the moujd. Mould will start before you see it.. so you are feeding it to your rabbits without noticing mould started and now you have sick or dead rabbits..

 

[Frecs]

well. I just read this whole thread from front to back.. but I do have some concern...The weather changes to much here with four season and I was wondering ,when you have your rabbits on it full time , no pellets and things goes wrong because of weather change.. what happens .. you have no food.. and another concern is the moujd. Mould will start before you see it.. so you are feeding it to your rabbits without noticing mould started and now you have sick or dead rabbits..

Mold/Mould= you can smell it before you see it.

The first concern is an very valid one: what if you have a fodder crisis? what if you get sick or injured and someone else has to tend the animals? These are reasons some people always offer at least a little pellets rather than be 100% pellet free. If one doesn't do that, one should definitely have a contingency plan. Even if you are feeding 100% pellets, you should have a contingency plan -- what if the food delivery system breaks down and you run out of feed? what if your feed store has a crisis and all their feed goes bad and you run out of pellets?

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I had it happen to me.. there truck broke down and it was a day late.. and I got the delivery day mixed up and and I also had mold in the bottom of my bag.. but these are less chances than the fodders... as mold is a problem going on with this.. if you don't have a good nose or know what mold smells like .. YOu can make your animals very sick or kill them. So the problems I had in the past.. I mark on the calendar the days the truck comes in.. .. I also order food when I am down to two bags not one .. and they order my food as I am the only one getting it.. I store my food in a freezer now.. I don't have to much food ahead for food to get moldy.. If the truck dosnt come in when it suppose to .. I have enough food to cover. And they can eat other stuff in the mean time if I have to.. With the fodders.. it seems that is all I am reading is a mold issue.. the temps here goes up and down like a yoyo.. tHIS mold really scares me to much to even think of trying this as my rabbits are expensive to replace.

 

[mystang89]

I don't see any of these being a problem. As far as mold you can see it and smell it before it causes a problem. I have said there and said my rabbits fodder for a 4 year that's for changes in seasons. Not one time have I become sick I wanna have a set there and exhibited signs that would cause me to worry. As far as the possibility of running out of seed Fotter just make sure that when you sit there and you start getting low on seed you get another bag before you run out. I keep my seed in a metal garbage can and when I start getting low I just go to the store and get another bag of seed. I wait until that seed is gone which is normally about a week and then I put him see that I bought.

Maybe I'm just nit understanding the worries. If so sorry.

 

[Frecs]

I had it happen to me.. there truck broke down and it was a day late.. and I got the delivery day mixed up and and I also had mold in the bottom of my bag.. but these are less chances than the fodders... as mold is a problem going on with this.. if you don't have a good nose or know what mold smells like .. YOu can make your animals very sick or kill them. So the problems I had in the past.. I mark on the calendar the days the truck comes in.. .. I also order food when I am down to two bags not one .. and they order my food as I am the only one getting it.. I store my food in a freezer now.. I don't have to much food ahead for food to get moldy.. If the truck dosnt come in when it suppose to .. I have enough food to cover. And they can eat other stuff in the mean time if I have to.. With the fodders.. it seems that is all I am reading is a mold issue.. the temps here goes up and down like a yoyo.. tHIS mold really scares me to much to even think of trying this as my rabbits are expensive to replace.

So, you recognized the potential/real risks of food shortages and took steps to avoid it in the future. One can and should do the same with fodder.

And, I think one would have to be very unobservant to not know the fodder has molded. I don't have the best of smell senses but I can smell it..and feel it...

 

[MaggieJ]

I don't think I would ever be feeding my critters - rabbits or poultry - on fodder alone. Alfalfa hay here is just too cheap and plentiful and nutritious to ignore. The chickens like it in winter too. Having a supply of grain for sprouting and feeding as is seems sensible to me as well. I had no mould issues (I loyally stick to my Canadian spellings, folks!) during the cold weather because the kitchen, where I keep my trays, stays around 60 degrees F. or a bit less at night. When the weather began to warm up in the spring, then I started having mould problems but since the fresh forage (weeds etc.) were growing by then, it did not present a problem. My rabbits are accustomed to seasonal transitions in their feed... We just do it slowly.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

ya,, I see you had mold problem to when it gets to warm.. I think I am going to pass on this idea even tho it sounds and look great.. I just cant take that risk. I have a wood stove and it is up and down with temp all the time.

 

[MaggieJ]

ya,, I see you had mold problem to when it gets to warm.. I think I am going to pass on this idea even tho it sounds and look great.. I just cant take that risk. I have a wood stove and it is up and down with temp all the time.

Growing fodder is not suited to everyone's situation and fluctuating temperatures in your growing area certainly make it more difficult. I wish I had a wood stove though, even if it meant giving up on fodder.