The Fodder Project Day 7: Final Weigh In

If you haven't read a post in The Fodder Project series then please read these links first.
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/fodder-project-part-1.html
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/fodder-project-part-2-sequel.html
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/fodder-project-part-1-and-half-forgot.html
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/fodder-project-part-3-sprouts.html
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-fodder-project-part-4-day-3.html
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-fodder-project-part-5-day-4.htmls
http://gonechicken.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-fodder-project-day-6-1-day-left.html




Welcome back to The Fodder Project. This is Day 7 , the day I feed the fodder to my chickens.

here is the fodder , ready to feed to the chickens.

Today you don't have to rinse it , all you have to do is weigh it , dump it out in a bowl , and feed it to your chickens. I guess your wondering how much this weighed ? Well this batch of fodder weighed (drum roll) 5.3 lbs. That's right from one lb. of grain I got 4.3 lbs extra. I'm not guaranteeing that you will always get this. I don't , I have days when I get less than 5 lbs. ,  once I got a 5.5 lb. yield. It just depends on the seed , temp , airflow , and the rinsing.

This is the root mat from this batch. this isn't the greatest I have gotten better root mats.

Here is a root mat from a different batch. this one can be rolled up and it won't tear easily.

Now I have a few last bits of information. You can let the fodder grow up to 9 days , but after day 9 it starts losing nutrition , and will eventually require added nutrients.  The ideal time to feed this to your chickens is days 7-9. I haven't tried going all the way out to day 9 yet , I've only recently got enough space to experiment. Once I have tried going out to day 9 , I will do a post on it , and how it turned out.

Here is my shelf set up.

Well I hope you have enjoyed this series , The Fodder Project. Few more things. From what I have read 5 lbs. is the average yield for fodder ( from 1 lb. of grain ) but I sometimes have yields as low as 3 lbs. Also I have read of people getting 7 , 8 , and even 9 lb. yields but I have never gotten this high. The highest yield I've gotten is 5.5 lbs which is still very good. Your chickens may take a few days to adjust , but after a few days they should be eating it as good as feed ( may take them some convincing on the field peas, but the field peas are worth it).

Well keep visiting and good luck with the fodder.

Chickenman

Sorry for the delay.