160 lbs of fodder per day

[bjjohns]

COuld I grow fodder in my green house or would it be too warm?

I would love to try this on a small scale for the goats.

Most of what I have read says you can. I plan on building a hoop style green house and giving it a try this year or next. I can tell you that there is a very specific lower temp where the seeds will not grow, and that temperature is different for different seed types. I assume (you know what that word means right?) that there is a similar problem somewhere at the higher end of the temperature scale - but I have not gotten there, yet.

 

[Sippie]

What a neat system. Another to add to the 'to do list'!

 

[babsbag]

Any place in particular that you found the plans for your system?

 

[bjjohns]

Any place in particular that you found the plans for your system?

There is a lady here selling plans for the second system we bought. They were worthwhile, as it showed me how to quickly reduce some of the major costs of my first system.

We took the water delivery part, modified to add a water hose 5-way valve, and pvc 'gutters', replaced the pvc shelves with a cheaper option, added lights, and went to town. I'd gladly post dimensions of the stuff I did, but won't step on her toes to post what we got from her plans.

 

[babsbag]

Any place in particular that you found the plans for your system?

There is a lady here selling plans for the second system we bought. They were worthwhile, as it showed me how to quickly reduce some of the major costs of my first system.

We took the water delivery part, modified to add a water hose 5-way valve, and pvc 'gutters', replaced the pvc shelves with a cheaper option, added lights, and went to town. I'd gladly post dimensions of the stuff I did, but won't step on her toes to post what we got from her plans.

Thank you. I respect you for not giving out her plans. But it is good to know that what she offers is of value.

I looked at a commercial system in a trailer a few months ago and was going to cost about 10,000.00. If I had that kind of money to spend I probably wouldn't own animals

I am hoping to build one soon, just looking for a place to keep it in the winter. I will be building a new barn in a year and should probably think about incorporating space for this into my plans. Barn is getting bigger...

 

[bjjohns]

Not that much bigger. That system uses up about 50 sq ft. You WILL need access to water. You could spend a little more up front and make all the pumps and stuff DC, run it solar with maybe one deep cycle battery and stick it in a hoop-house greenhouse , if local code permit. I built a 20' wide by 48' long by 10' centerline tall version using used billboard tarps for less than $1000.00 It's good to note that often local sign shops will sell/give you these for MUCH cheaper as they are expensive as all get out to ship

We want to move ours outdoors year-round, and will. It's just going to take a bit. We need to build a greenhouse anyways, so it might be a fall project.

 

[Harbisgirl]

Awesome system, thank you for sharing. I don't suppose you have more pics? I'd love to see some close up shots of your trays, sprayers, lights and gutter. Also, which trays did you get from the greenhouse mega store? I see generic trays with holes for sale all over, but I'm worried that I'll get some where the holes are too big and the seeds will fall out.

 

[grover]

This is great information and very encouraging! For the last year I've been growing wheat fodder for my chickens. They LOVE it. We are planning to get sheep next year and I'd like to increase my production (lots) to supply them, too. With my little system, I soak the wheat seeds in a bleach/water mixture for 24 hours to start. I also use bleach in the drainage bin so the water doesn't have to be changed out as often because of smelliness (the system is in my kitchen). The soak in bleach prevents mold that was a problem for me at first. I just use my kitchen sink sprayer to water. Obviously my little system is going to have to go through some major changes to accommodate a flock of ruminants!
I'm looking for a system that does not stink or grow mold, that has an auto-watering system and easy drainage and cleaning, and that does not have to be rotated. Basically I want more for less work! It sounds like you have that--right?

 

[jodief100]

Not to rain on anyone's parade here but.....

I have read a lot of research on these fodder systems and they are not as cost effective as it looks. That 160 lbs of fodder is about 80%-90% water. Goats need 4% of their body weight a day in DRY matter. If you feed a high percentage of fodder, they will not be able to consume their daily requirements in nutrition- too much water.

They are a great addition to your feed program giving you healthy, fresh greens year round but be careful you balance it with dry matter (hay) and understand your true costs. 160 lbs of fodder contains 15-30 lbs of dry matter. That is what your yield is.

FYI- the research indicates it does increase milk yields in sheep though it hasn't been proven in goats. It is also much more cost effective for non-ruminants like chickens, rabbits and horses than it is for ruminants like sheep and goats.

 

[bjjohns]

We are generally obsessive about feed analysis and feed development. I think you might be looking at numbers that do not include the entire fed product. I can't give you last years numbers, but I will give you this years when we restart the system in a few weeks.

I will tell you the numbers were remarkably similar to spring pasture when we did them.