Fodder Improvements

We (Darling Husband) insulated the fodder room and installed an a/c dehumidifier unit.  He also set up an air bubbler and new seed soaking tub.  It is a work in progress and he plans on redoing some things this weekend.  The fodder is growing so much better and we have only had 2 spots of mold (yesterday) in the months that we have been doing this. A few weeks ago we had record heat that the little A/C unit couldn't keep up with so the fodder room got to over 85 three days a few weeks ago - but this was not when we had the mold.  

Last year we had mostly success with growing the fodder but since the fodder room would get up to 110 we were in a constant battle with mold.  

We start with soaking the seeds for 12 to 24 hours.  The seeds soak in water with an air stone.

We drain and rinse the seeds.

About 6 cups of soaked seeds go into each 2010 tray.  If it is less than 16 hours I use only 5 cups of seed.

 The first day of being in the trays we get roots and tiny bits of sprouts starting 

Day 2 some sprouts are about 1/2 inch long.

 

The third day we have lots of nice sprouts.

 

On the fourth day we have a lot the fodder to a point where we were sometimes feeding this winter.   Somehow I skipped the 5th day

 

The top shelf gets the most light so every day I move the next days fodder to the top shelf. We have 12 trays across and 6 going down.  So 72 trays are always growing.

Here it is getting ready for me to rip it up and put it into 5 gallon paint buckets to carry to the cattle.  The sheep get 1/2 tray as a reward for going into their pen at night.  The chicken get any unsprouted seeds.  The biggest problem at this point is I hate having a pool under all the shelving.  If I had it to do over again we would have the water going into a drain.  I think we are using about 55 to 60 gallons of water each day.  The water goes out into the pasture and hopefully grass will start growing where the water flows.  Right now the cattle are eating it as fast as it grows.

Fodder Room Part 2

Yes, these doors are nicer than the ones we have for my house.

Darling Husband put two vents in the cargo container’s roof and pulled off the doors and put in glass doors to let the sunlight in. 

We put foam with a reflective covering to protect the wall.  We made a pool out of 2x6’s and pond liner under the shelves.  Then we put together the shelves and put the fodder trays on them.  We have increased fodder production to 4 trays a day.

While Darling Husband and I were working on the Fodder Room; Stick Boy and Teen Son were tearing down a huge cactus that is taking over the next pasture we want to fence. 

Darling Husband put a sprinkler system to spray on the top trays then the water will drip through all the trays and into the pool at the bottom.  Eventually I will have a timer and an automatic system but for now I am turning on the water for about 10 minutes 3 or 4 times a day.  

Learning Fodder and a Chicken Coop

Three days into the fodder experiment I forgot to water the seeds and left the soaking seeds soaking for 48 hours not 24.  Since then I have been very good about getting enough water on the seeds and we bought a grow light to help the fodder turn green. The night we fed the tray of fodder with the seeds that soaked an extra day; it was slimy and not all the seeds sprouted so the animals got some pretty yucky fodder.  So soaking 48 hours is not advised!  I also think I may be keeping the trays too wet.  When I put the holes in the trays I put them in the bottom of the trays it is more difficult because the bottom of the trays have little channels in them, Darling Husband pokes the holes into the side as close to the bottom as possible but the channels never empty – it seems the trays with the holes on the sides do not sprout as well.  We are learning.

This Christmas we made a chicken coop for our oldest daughter and gave her 5 chickens and a miniature rooster.  Maybe in spring she will have enough eggs to share with us.  The person who gave us the chickens has offered to give us more.  He knows a lot of local poultry people, I am hoping he may be a connection for getting some Red Bourbon Turkeys in the spring.  

Fodder Part 3

The yellow is from when I had them stacked on top of each other.    

We bought a plastic shelf and a grow lamp to put in the shower until we get the cargo container for the fodder.  In the reading I have done light isn’t supposed to be a big deal for the fodder BUT since adding the light everything seems to be growing faster.  

The seeds and roots seem to be a little thick using 3 cups of seeds so we have cut it down to  2 ½ cups in each tray – I have trouble getting the seeds even with just 2 ½ cups of seed but I will get better.  Also growing for 9 days instead of 8 seems to work better for us but we will see how having the light changes things. 

Christmas Eve we gave the animals the fodder for the first time.  3 of the sheep just turned their noses at it but Blackwell wolfed it down as fast as she could.  Magic was not interested in it but our neighbor’s horse who shares a pasture with Magic LOVED it, the second day we gave it to Magic he ate it after his hay was gone.  

  The cattle prefer their hay but when the hay is gone they eat the fodder.  We only are doing 1, 11 x 20 inch tray every day so the sheep are getting a handful, Magic gets a handful, and the cattle get most of it.  As soon as we have the cargo container and shelving in it I will start doing 3 trays a day and see how it goes.  

Fodder Part 2

The day Darling Husband picked up the seeds and on his way home a friend called saying we may have a great opportunity to get a cargo container.  So instead of making shelving we had to figure out where we would put the cargo container, try to find a shipping company to move it at a reasonable price….

The next day the trays from Greenhousemegtastore.com arrived! Normal people would not start growing the seed until they are ready.  We started growing them in the shower!  Just one tray a day to see how it would grow.  It is surprising how fast a few trays of seeds fills up a shower.  

Yes, it is an ice cream tub I am soaking the seeds in!

Saturday doesn’t count we started 3 cups of barley seeds soaking.  Sunday is the first day we started seeds in their tray.  Tuesday I forgot all about the seeds and didn’t even water them.  Wednesday the first seed tray sprouted – Yay I didn’t kill them when I forgot to water them.  Friday the first sprouts are starting to turn green.  Our first tray of fodder will be ready to feed the cattle on Monday but how am I going to keep them stacked and watered nicely until then?  

The first sprouts.  I will take more pictures later.

Fodder Part 1

The cattle are eating everything much faster than we thought they would and had read that they would.  So far every pasture we have put them in is cleaned out in 1-2 weeks AND pasture rotation doesn’t work if new grass has not grown in the pasture that is resting.  I imagine rainfall has a lot to do with how many acres a cow need to live, and our lack of rainfall = no grass growth so we would need more acres per cattle.  Bummer!  I have been searching for a way to feed our cattle and sheep and not have a $350 or more feed bill per month. 

In my internet searches and looking through farming catalogs I keep reading about fodder systems.  They are expensive but seem to be a great way to give the animals the nutrition they need.  Then we started looking into making our own fodder system.  Quartz Ridge Ranch  http://quartzridgeranch.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/our-daily-fodder-routine/ has done an incredible job of showing how they made their fodder system.  Darling Husband and I decided to put shelves next to his shop that way they would be easy to cover if we decide we need to but temporarily we can just protect the area with a tarp.  We ordered trays to put the seeds in.  Then we started searching for Barley Seed.  Our local stores didn’t carry any but I could order it.  In internet stores many were out, many who had barley seeds at reasonable prices it wanted to charge insane amounts for shipping, others had the seed but higher prices than I wanted to pay.  I spent hours searching then I thought to put California in the search for barley seed. WALLAAAAA! On the top of the second page I searched was an organic seed company near my husband’s work!