Chicken Fodder Feeding System

We didn't get egg-laying chickens to save money. We just wanted to know where our eggs were coming from. Even "cage-free" and "organic" egg facilities are often atrocious and I just didn't want to support that any longer. Plus, I love chickens. I think they're delightful. My family raised them when I was a kid and I've been hooked ever since. We live in a town that not only allows backyard chickens, but nearly celebrates it, so why not?

Up until about two weeks ago (when my husband was talking to some of his coworkers who also have chickens), we were feeding them the equivalent of chicken food Big Macs and hot dogs... In my opinion. By that, I mean pellet food. Nutritionally, it can keep them alive, but it's super-pricey and not as natural as we'd like.

A couple of my husband's coworkers had found some information about the fodder system. Basically growing sprouts to feed livestock. Pigs, cows, chickens, etc. One pound of seed produces seven pounds of food. So we tried it. We started with sunflower seeds.

This is after 1.5 days.

This is after four days.

 



This is after six days, the day we harvested.

They were kind of experimental. We wanted to use barley seeds, but our local mega farm store didn't have them, so we had to wait to call our awesome local seed/animal food/supply store (for anyone in central Iowa, the store's name is Brekke's and it's a hugely helpful resource when it comes to this stuff). So we bought a bag. It was roughly $22.

The first step after actually obtaining the seeds is to soak them overnight or even 24 hours.

Next, we set up a makeshift, trial-basis fodder system in an old cooler. We used some flat containers and cut holes in them then ran water over them 3-4 times daily.

It worked, so we set this monstrosity up in our basement:

Basically, we went to Target, bought the wire rack and then went to the dollar store and bought containers that would fit in the rack. Not pictured is underneath the rack where we placed a large container to catch the excess water. Each of the trays is set up at a tilt so when you water, it will run into the tray beneath it and then eventually into the large container at the bottom. This way, we're using far less water and time.

We did the math and figured out that between the kitchen scraps and the fodder, one of these containers of sprouts grown for six days would feed our flock of five. The only issue that we've had is the tendency for the fodder to get moldy. We solved this problem by drilling a few random holes throughout the containers. Most of the holes should be concentrated on the bottom, but a few others throughout rest of the tray allows plenty of airflow.

And if you were wondering, the chickens
LOVE it!