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- #31
BarredBuff
El Presidente de Pollo
What do you feed your hens?CJW said:
The Homesteader's Way of Feeding Chickens
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i_am2bz
Lovin' The Homestead
Can you go into any details about how exactly to sprout wheatgrass or alfafa?lwheelr said:
kcsunshine
Almost Self-Reliant
Okay, how do you ferment grains for your chickens? We have some field corn I need to get off the cob before the varments get them. Wish I had my grandfathers old sheller. I've run many ears through that thing to throw out to their chickens.
lwheelr
Lovin' The Homestead
I'd sprout the corn to substitute for greens.
I ferment a mix of whatever grains I am normally feeding the animals. Just toss it in a bucket, cover it with water with a little to spare on top, and put in a little bit of something with bacteria - whey, yogurt, raw milk, kefir, etc. You actually don't HAVE to have the bacteria, they'll ferment on wild bacteria, it just goes faster and you can control the good bacteria that is in it if you put in your own starter.
You can keep that going for a week or two - ours averages two weeks, just tossing in more and wetting it down in the evening when it gets low, then starting a new batch when we feel like this one might be tending toward being funky (actually it isn't usually, people just respond differently to the smells than animals do, we refresh it just to make sure it stays safe since we are in an area with a LOT of mold spores in the air).
Ferment overnight before feeding it to anything, then just keep it going.
To sprout wheatgrass, just get one of those plant starter trays, without the little pots in it. Fill it with dirt. Sprinkle wheat over the top, sprinkle a little more dirt or perlite, or anything that will help hold the moisture in (or you can use a lid over the top). Soak it completely, and make sure it stays very moist until it sprouts. Let it get 3-4 inches tall, then you can harvest it for up to three or four "haircuts". This works best for people, or to cut up to feed to chicks that are over about a week old, as a treat for rabbits, etc.
You can also sprout wheat in a bucket, which works just as well for animals when you have a lot of them to feed. Toss the wheat in a bucket (I do mine about 1/3 full in a square bucket, which is about how much my animals can use in a few days). Soak it overnight, keeping it completely immersed. Drain it, then rinse it once a day. It will sprout roots, then shoots. You can feed it to animals any time after it sprouts roots, but the more green it has on it, the better it is for them.
Sprout any other grains the same way as the wheat.
Feed the animals fermented grain instead of their regular grain. Feed goats about 1 cup of sprouted corn, oats, or barley as a once a day treat (instead of veggies in the winter), toss sprouted wheat, rye, oats, millet, or corn to chickens, or other poultry.
For alfalfa, either use a sprouter system, or lay down paper towels, dampen them and sprinkle seed on top. Keep the towels wet, and they'll sprout in a few days.
I ferment a mix of whatever grains I am normally feeding the animals. Just toss it in a bucket, cover it with water with a little to spare on top, and put in a little bit of something with bacteria - whey, yogurt, raw milk, kefir, etc. You actually don't HAVE to have the bacteria, they'll ferment on wild bacteria, it just goes faster and you can control the good bacteria that is in it if you put in your own starter.
You can keep that going for a week or two - ours averages two weeks, just tossing in more and wetting it down in the evening when it gets low, then starting a new batch when we feel like this one might be tending toward being funky (actually it isn't usually, people just respond differently to the smells than animals do, we refresh it just to make sure it stays safe since we are in an area with a LOT of mold spores in the air).
Ferment overnight before feeding it to anything, then just keep it going.
To sprout wheatgrass, just get one of those plant starter trays, without the little pots in it. Fill it with dirt. Sprinkle wheat over the top, sprinkle a little more dirt or perlite, or anything that will help hold the moisture in (or you can use a lid over the top). Soak it completely, and make sure it stays very moist until it sprouts. Let it get 3-4 inches tall, then you can harvest it for up to three or four "haircuts". This works best for people, or to cut up to feed to chicks that are over about a week old, as a treat for rabbits, etc.
You can also sprout wheat in a bucket, which works just as well for animals when you have a lot of them to feed. Toss the wheat in a bucket (I do mine about 1/3 full in a square bucket, which is about how much my animals can use in a few days). Soak it overnight, keeping it completely immersed. Drain it, then rinse it once a day. It will sprout roots, then shoots. You can feed it to animals any time after it sprouts roots, but the more green it has on it, the better it is for them.
Sprout any other grains the same way as the wheat.
Feed the animals fermented grain instead of their regular grain. Feed goats about 1 cup of sprouted corn, oats, or barley as a once a day treat (instead of veggies in the winter), toss sprouted wheat, rye, oats, millet, or corn to chickens, or other poultry.
For alfalfa, either use a sprouter system, or lay down paper towels, dampen them and sprinkle seed on top. Keep the towels wet, and they'll sprout in a few days.
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- #35
BarredBuff
El Presidente de Pollo
Can you sprout Alfalfa in the bucket?
lwheelr
Lovin' The Homestead
You can sprout alfalfa in a bucket, but you won't get the green tops, which is where most of the valuable nutrients come from in alfalfa sprouts.
Some things are better done in trays.
If you sprout alfalfa in a tray with dirt, you can pull the sprouts and toss them to the chickens. They don't mind a little dirt on the roots, they gobble them up like candy. They do take longer to sprout this way, but you can wait until they have more leaves on them to use them, so each seed gives more nutrition - reduces cost some, takes a bit more time.
If you sprout them without dirt, then it is faster, you feed them when the tops are green and most of them have a couple of leaves. They won't usually get as tall as commercial sprouts.
So the basic rule is:
If you don't necessarily need green - just need it to sprout, then use a bucket to sprout it in - takes the least room, and is the fastest way to do it.
If you need green, but not a lot of growth, use sprouter trays or damp paper towels to sprout them on. Still fairly fast, not too space intensive, and a lot of seed packed into a small space.
If you need it to grow for a bit (for multiple harvests, or to a multi-leaf stage), then use trays with dirt, and either cut or pull the plants. I only do wheatgrass (for me and the animals) and alfalfa (for the chickens) this way. You can do microgreens, or baby lettuce this way also, for either you, or the chickens (they love both microgreens and baby lettuce).
Our chicks have never eaten commercial feed, and I plan to keep it that way. Even if there is a continuing learning curve, we will keep working it until we develop a method of raising them that is natural, affordable, and systemizable (so that we get the management of it down to a low amount of work so it doesn't become overwhelming).
Some things are better done in trays.
If you sprout alfalfa in a tray with dirt, you can pull the sprouts and toss them to the chickens. They don't mind a little dirt on the roots, they gobble them up like candy. They do take longer to sprout this way, but you can wait until they have more leaves on them to use them, so each seed gives more nutrition - reduces cost some, takes a bit more time.
If you sprout them without dirt, then it is faster, you feed them when the tops are green and most of them have a couple of leaves. They won't usually get as tall as commercial sprouts.
So the basic rule is:
If you don't necessarily need green - just need it to sprout, then use a bucket to sprout it in - takes the least room, and is the fastest way to do it.
If you need green, but not a lot of growth, use sprouter trays or damp paper towels to sprout them on. Still fairly fast, not too space intensive, and a lot of seed packed into a small space.
If you need it to grow for a bit (for multiple harvests, or to a multi-leaf stage), then use trays with dirt, and either cut or pull the plants. I only do wheatgrass (for me and the animals) and alfalfa (for the chickens) this way. You can do microgreens, or baby lettuce this way also, for either you, or the chickens (they love both microgreens and baby lettuce).
Our chicks have never eaten commercial feed, and I plan to keep it that way. Even if there is a continuing learning curve, we will keep working it until we develop a method of raising them that is natural, affordable, and systemizable (so that we get the management of it down to a low amount of work so it doesn't become overwhelming).
CrimsonRose
Lovin' The Homestead
I sprout mine in mason jars just like you would sprout them for yourself...
I got some screan netting (like on your windows) and cut out round circles to fit the tops of my wide mouth quart jars and for bigger batches I will sometimes use my half gallon jar... I have a small flock of girls and don't do this for their main source of feed it's just an extra 2-3 times a week to help with getting them some good greens...
To sprout...
put about a table spoon of seeds or just enough to barely cover the bottom of the jar (a tad more if you are doing the half gallon jar) Then add about a half jar of water and let them sit over night... drain the water in the morning and rise them out (this is where the screen that I cut out helps!) you just run water through the screen swish the seeds around and tip it upside down to drain... Keep rinsing them 2-3 times a day...
For the first few days I leave mine sitting on it's side on the counter top and cover it with a dish towel (leave the side with the screen open for air but the towel draped over the glass part will make it dark like growing in the ground) Then once they start to sprout... I will set them up in a window sill for sun so they green up really nice... it's the green part that has all the good chlorophyll that's the healthy part!
once they turn green you can feed them at anytime... I try to grow mine till they fill the jar... once they fill the jar they can't get air as easily and can go sour... you can also put them in the fridge and they will keep for a week or two!
I got some screan netting (like on your windows) and cut out round circles to fit the tops of my wide mouth quart jars and for bigger batches I will sometimes use my half gallon jar... I have a small flock of girls and don't do this for their main source of feed it's just an extra 2-3 times a week to help with getting them some good greens...
To sprout...
put about a table spoon of seeds or just enough to barely cover the bottom of the jar (a tad more if you are doing the half gallon jar) Then add about a half jar of water and let them sit over night... drain the water in the morning and rise them out (this is where the screen that I cut out helps!) you just run water through the screen swish the seeds around and tip it upside down to drain... Keep rinsing them 2-3 times a day...
For the first few days I leave mine sitting on it's side on the counter top and cover it with a dish towel (leave the side with the screen open for air but the towel draped over the glass part will make it dark like growing in the ground) Then once they start to sprout... I will set them up in a window sill for sun so they green up really nice... it's the green part that has all the good chlorophyll that's the healthy part!
once they turn green you can feed them at anytime... I try to grow mine till they fill the jar... once they fill the jar they can't get air as easily and can go sour... you can also put them in the fridge and they will keep for a week or two!
kcsunshine
Almost Self-Reliant
Thanks - I'm always looking for good treats for my ladies and this sounds just like what I'm looking for. Can you sprout BOSS the same way, or is it just as nutritious fed raw?
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- #39
BarredBuff
El Presidente de Pollo
Now I just have to get some alfalfa seeds
lwheelr
Lovin' The Homestead
You can do BOSS the same way, in a bucket.
Pretty much everything is going to have higher nutrition sprouted. Most things will also be softer, so they can be handled by smaller animals sprouted than dry.
Same with fermenting, it not only adds nutrition, it also helps break it down a bit and soften it up so younger animals can handle it better.
Pretty much everything is going to have higher nutrition sprouted. Most things will also be softer, so they can be handled by smaller animals sprouted than dry.
Same with fermenting, it not only adds nutrition, it also helps break it down a bit and soften it up so younger animals can handle it better.
