When people are taking tours of our farm we typically start out in the garage because that's where the quail and chicken chicks are and people seem like those for some reason ;). People always ask what is this huge shelving system that has 7 shelves with just enough height on each shelve to have a 6" tall under bed tote AND why does it look like grass is growing in them?!? My response is because that IS grass growing in them. But whaaa???!?
As the video below explains, barley seed is soaked for 12-24 hours then placed in the trays and then watered for one minute every 12 hours. After seven days it is ready for harvest and turns into a carpet of grass that can be chopped up and fed to our animals. And yes, the picture below and on the video was taken of our fodder.
Growing barley in a fodder system like this is quite remarkable for several reasons:
If you have cows, horses, goats, llamas, chickens, rabbits, or quail then I highly encourage you to look into fodder. Systems can be built to feed just your single chicken Penelope** or chicken on your counter or in a shipping container to feed dozens of cattle and horses. There are DIY systems like ours as well as commercial units that you would have to take a loan out on. There are a lot more videos online as well as great books out there on fodder. Good luck. Please leave any comments or questions below.
As the video below explains, barley seed is soaked for 12-24 hours then placed in the trays and then watered for one minute every 12 hours. After seven days it is ready for harvest and turns into a carpet of grass that can be chopped up and fed to our animals. And yes, the picture below and on the video was taken of our fodder.
Growing barley in a fodder system like this is quite remarkable for several reasons:
- Uses extremely less water than the amount of water to grow in the soil and 100% of the water is collected and reused in other parts of the garden.
- This system has very minimal labor compared to the labor intense of growing fields of grass or carrying large bales of hay.
- Fodder is approximately 80% digestible compared to about 30%-40% with grain.
- Fodder increases protein amounts to about 20%
- The weight of the seed is increased 6x, so one pound of grain turns into 6 pounds of feed for the animals.
- It can be fed to all our animals usually around 75% of their diet.
If you have cows, horses, goats, llamas, chickens, rabbits, or quail then I highly encourage you to look into fodder. Systems can be built to feed just your single chicken Penelope** or chicken on your counter or in a shipping container to feed dozens of cattle and horses. There are DIY systems like ours as well as commercial units that you would have to take a loan out on. There are a lot more videos online as well as great books out there on fodder. Good luck. Please leave any comments or questions below.
**If you ever get a chance to read our newest eBook on raising quail, 'High-Production Quail Raising Primer', which is available HERE for a limited time and then will move to Kindle, Nook, and iBook you will see the joke behind the chicken named Penelope.
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