Growing fodder for chickens

[Odon]

Wow what a great thread pawtraitart, I am picking up a 50# bag of barley feed tomorrow and will try to start growing fodder for the girls and see if they like it. I was told not to buy barley seed as it may have growth chemicals and fertilizer in it and I do not want to feed that to my girls.

 

[kaisabaijai]

I am growing sun hemp for fodder and masa corn instead of feed corn. I compared white corn nutrients with the yellow corn nutrients and decided to go with white corn instead.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I am growing sun hemp for fodder and masa corn instead of feed corn. I compared white corn nutrients with the yellow corn nutrients and decided to go with white corn instead.

Could you explain the benefits of masa corn over feed corn? I don't use feed corn and I'd like to know more about the masa corn. I wonder if I could find it anywhere?

With white corn, if you're feeding the kernels, you'll need to be sure to provide something else that has more vitamin A than the white corn. I put a lot of shredded carrots in my birds' fermented feed but no white corn. Or are you planning to feed these as fodder?

 

[kaisabaijai]

Masa is the flour made from white corn so I just call white corn Masa corn. Picked the habit up from a friend that gave me the corn to plant.

White corn is higher in B1 and B2 vitamins than yellow corn. Yellow corn is slightly higher in Niacin but In my opinion not enough to make up for not having any riboflavin.

I plan to feed the kernels and the stalks as fodder.

Thanks for the info on Vitamin A. I see that the Rice bran does not have Vitamin A either. Hopefully the layer feed has Vitamin A. I will also look for a cheap source of vitamin A for them.


Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)
White corn, 0.41 mg <<<
Yellow corn, 0.17 mg

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
White corn, 0.12 mg <<<
Yellow corn, 0.00 mg <<<

Niacin (a B vitamin)
Yellow corn, 2.1 mg <<<
White corn, 1.7 mg <<<

Choline (a B vitamin)
Yellow corn, 37 mg <<<
White corn, 37 mg <<<

Calcium (a macro-mineral)
Yellow corn, 18 mg <<<
White corn, 18 mg <<<

Iron (a micro-mineral)
Yellow corn, 2.7 mg <<<
White corn, 2.7 mg <<<

Corn (yellow and white), 680 mg manganese, 121 mg magnesium

 

[kaisabaijai]

The free vegetables I get from the market should have enough Vitamin A. There is quite a bit of Bok Choy included in what i get and it has a fair amount of Vitamin A.

Spinach​

41​

​

377.3%​

Kale​

36​

​

354.1%​

Collard Greens​

49​

​

308.3%​

Swiss Chard​

35​

​

214.3%​

Mustard Greens​

21​

​

177%​

Romaine Lettuce​

16​

​

163.7%​

Bok Choy is 63% RDA per cup.

 

[Shoshana]

Does anyone know where I can get plans for a fodder system? Or just explain to me how the systems work?

I'll be growing fodder for my chicks starting in a few weeks and made a fodder system similar to the one Renee (MichiganSnowPony on Youtube) did a video on:

. I bought a 4-shelf greenhouse at Big Lots for $30 and 7 Sterilite 12-quart bins. You tape two wood shims to the bottom of one side and drill holes for drainage. When you arrange the bins on the shelf, one bin has the shim at the front of the shelf, so it drains towards the back, and the bin under it would have the shim in the back, so it drains forward. Arrange them so the water drains all the way to the bottom. Under the whole thing will go an old towel and cookie tray (with sides) to catch leftover water. Just pour water in the top bin and it will filter down to the lower ones... EASY!

My local feed store was the cheapest source of grains... I'll be doing a mix of wheat, rye, BOSS, alfalfa, and lentils. I would have liked to add millet (found in wild bird seed), but every bag I found contained cracked corn, and I thought that might induce mold with the high sugar content and the fact it wouldn't be growing. Here's a pic:



The bins are upside down right now just to keep them clean until I'm ready to use them.



HTH! ~Shoshana

 

[kaisabaijai]

I'll be growing fodder for my chicks starting in a few weeks and made a fodder system similar to the one Renee (MichiganSnowPony on Youtube) did a video on:

. I bought a 4-shelf greenhouse at Big Lots for $30 and 7 Sterilite 12-quart bins. You tape two wood shims to the bottom of one side and drill holes for drainage. When you arrange the bins on the shelf, one bin has the shim at the front of the shelf, so it drains towards the back, and the bin under it would have the shim in the back, so it drains forward. Arrange them so the water drains all the way to the bottom. Under the whole thing will go an old towel and cookie tray (with sides) to catch leftover water. Just pour water in the top bin and it will filter down to the lower ones... EASY!

My local feed store was the cheapest source of grains... I'll be doing a mix of wheat, rye, BOSS, alfalfa, and lentils. I would have liked to add millet (found in wild bird seed), but every bag I found contained cracked corn, and I thought that might induce mold with the high sugar content and the fact it wouldn't be growing. Here's a pic:



The bins are upside down right now just to keep them clean until I'm ready to use them.



HTH! ~Shoshana

Very Interesting. This looks like a pretty good system for someone with only a few chickens.

 

[Zanna]

Masa is the flour made from white corn so I just call white corn Masa corn. Picked the habit up from a friend that gave me the corn to plant.

White corn is higher in B1 and B2 vitamins than yellow corn. Yellow corn is slightly higher in Niacin but In my opinion not enough to make up for not having any riboflavin.

I plan to feed the kernels and the stalks as fodder.

Thanks for the info on Vitamin A. I see that the Rice bran does not have Vitamin A either. Hopefully the layer feed has Vitamin A. I will also look for a cheap source of vitamin A for them.


Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)
White corn, 0.41 mg <<<
Yellow corn, 0.17 mg

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
White corn, 0.12 mg <<<
Yellow corn, 0.00 mg <<<

Niacin (a B vitamin)
Yellow corn, 2.1 mg <<<
White corn, 1.7 mg <<<

Choline (a B vitamin)
Yellow corn, 37 mg <<<
White corn, 37 mg <<<

Calcium (a macro-mineral)
Yellow corn, 18 mg <<<
White corn, 18 mg <<<

Iron (a micro-mineral)
Yellow corn, 2.7 mg <<<
White corn, 2.7 mg <<<

Corn (yellow and white), 680 mg manganese, 121 mg magnesium

Do you have access to dandelions? They are prolific weeds here. Extremely nutritious and high in vitamin A. I dig them out of the lawn daily and give them to my chickens in the breeder pens. They love them!!!

 

[Lacy Blues]

I got some dandelion seeds from my aunt in Tennessee. I need to get outside and get them planted. I really hope they will grow. I've never intentionally planted a "weed" in my life. This should be interesting.

If some of your dandelions go to seed, would you be willing to mail some to me?

 

[Zanna]

I got some dandelion seeds from my aunt in Tennessee. I need to get outside and get them planted. I really hope they will grow. I've never intentionally planted a "weed" in my life. This should be interesting.

If some of your dandelions go to seed, would you be willing to mail some to me?

Absolutely! There are lots around that have gone to seed already. PM me your information and I will get them out to you this week.