Fact check please? Fact of fiction article on fodder... & questions

[Nao57]

So...I found this article online about fodder and wanted to ask others what they thought about it, and if they agreed or disagreed.

Hydroponic Fodder: Growing Grains to Feed Our Furry Friends

I was walking through my local pet store recently and noticed they were selling a small pot of grass for cats at what can only be described as an outrageous price. Is growing grass for pets making …

atlantishydroponics.wordpress.com

Specifically the part I wanted to fact check is there's a line that says... "Fodder can be used to feed horses, deer, cattle, pigs, poultry, alpaca, sheep and goats, as well as dogs and cats to a lesser degree."

This is the part to ask about...

Is this real that people can do some fodder with dogs and cats?

I wonder if this is a dumb idea or not? And I wouldn't even bring it up except that fodder is so so so cheap. And when I look at the price of cat food... easily 30 dollars on up to 70 dollars for a bag. Even finding cat food over 100 dollars a bag is doable with google. Its seriously sick what these corporate perverts are trying to charge people for pet items.

I've no doubt that some dog items are expensive also.

So that's why I'd really like to know if mixing fodder with dogs or cats is possible? Or would it at least be possible to do a minimum of like 50% fodder and then something else for them? I wonder also what some of you have tried for keeping this down also?

Part of this becomes so real because when our cat has kept the mice population down around the house. And if I ever move to a rural area I would have to consider a guard dog for ducks or geese, especially because the mountain west and southwest US has coyote problems, etc. But I would not want to afford a dog I think without some kind of fodder thing. (Assuming it could work.) I mean jeez, people are really paying 100 a bag for food for 'man's best friend'? Really?

 

[Finnie]

I think maybe part of your question is how that article defines “fodder”. They make it sound like fodder=sprouts. But I clicked on their highlighted words “hydroponic fodder”, and it took me to this Wikipedia article:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fodder

Which defines fodder as any livestock animal feed you supplement their foraging or grazing with. Dogs and house cats aren’t livestock, such as those listed in the Wiki article, and are pretty much fed 100% by us, not by grazing in the wild. So does that mean all bagged dog food can be considered “fodder”?

If you specifically want to know about feeding sprouted grain to house pets, as a way of reducing your pet food bill, I think you would have to consider how that would affect the entire balance of nutrition. That gets into the realm of concocting your own home made diet. People do it, but I think a lot of calculating percentages of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, calcium and other nutrients is involved. It’s not as simple as just diluting the kibble with half sprouted grain.

I have a dog who is allergic/sensitive to a LOT of ingredients. It was super hard for me to find a dry dog food that excluded all of his triggers. Actually, there are none. I considered a home made diet, and decided it would be way more work than I wanted to do. That’s how I know you CAN make a balanced home made diet if you want to. And I’m sure sprouted grains can be a part of that. I’m also sure they can make good treats, too. But like with any treats, you don’t want to throw off their nutrition by giving too many.

 

[Finnie]

Also, I forgot to answer about how expensive dog food is. You don’t HAVE to buy the $100 bags! There are plenty of reasonably priced options out there. I think you can find many good brands for around $1/pound and less.

 

[Kusanar]

OK, what they mean by that is that cats and dogs, especially ones that are fed pet food exclusively will eat grass if given the chance, it is not a nutrition thing, it is simply fiber that they are lacking (they would typically eat the hide and hair of their prey to clean out their insides, that is missing from kibble) and they use it to help clean out their gut much like humans way wheat bran or similar cereal.

People do grow wheat grass for their cats and dogs for this reason, it's more of a treat and fiber additive than a food and is typically grown in soil in a pot and the animals just grab some when they want it.

Please do not grow hydroponic fodder and try to use it as a portion of your dog or cat's food. Especially not cats..

 

[Beekissed]

How I find out if something is fact or fiction is to try it out in my own backyard. If it works, it's fact, if it doesn't, it's fiction. You could ask a hundred people and get that many different answers, but most have not tried out anything at all, but are merely quoting another article, book or website. Most people are too afraid to put theory into practice to find out if it works, so they rely on the word of others and call it "fact".

I'd say...try it. Either the animal will eat it or it will not. Either they will maintain good wt and health on it if they do actually eat it, or they won't. You can pretty much tell in a short amount of time if feed is going to provide what they need by watching body and coat conditioning.

 

[Baymule]

It is my understanding that hydroponics involves a lot of chemical fertilizers. I have not grown hydroponic food, just what I read. I would think the chemicals wouldn’t be good for your dog. Just my opinion.
I can chicken and slaughter offal for my dogs to mix with their kibble. If the garden is producing, they also get vegetables in the jars. They gobble it all down. We get chicken leg quarters on sale in 10 pound bags, I put a cup of cooked rice in each quart jar. We buy 50 pound bags of Pedigree kibble at $25 per bag, we go through 4-5 bags a month and 1 jar of home canned dog food per day.

Dogs are meat eaters for the most part. Like Beekissed said, they will eat grass, but not half of their daily diet.

 

[thistlebloom]

Cats are obligate carnivores. In my observation they eat grass primarily to vomit. Dogs are facultative carnivores, which just means they can survive on carbohydrates but need the meat proteins to thrive.
Wolves apparently eat a lot of spring vegetation to cleanse their systems and a lot of prey animals eat the stomach contents of their catch first.
My domestic dogs eat grass too, but it sure seems like the purpose is so they can throw it back up later.

I don't think a fodder system would be worthwhile for cats, which I got from your post would be what you would be considering it for at this point.

 

[Kusanar]

It is my understanding that hydroponics involves a lot of chemical fertilizers. I have not grown hydroponic food, just what I read. I would think the chemicals wouldn’t be good for your dog. Just my opinion.

You are correct in general. Typical hydroponic systems do use a lot of chemical fertilizer. However, they don't have to, I actually just saw a youtube video where a guy has an entire greenhouse full of lettuce that is run completely off of a worm farm (food scraps go in, lettuce comes out).

This is also not actually talking about hydroponics but fodder which is just grains grown to 7ish days old and then fed without anything but water and sunlight provided to them.

 

[Grizzlyhackle]

I'm sure it's already been said here, but here's my two cents. Cats and dogs are carnivores. Yes they both will eat grass, it helps clear their gut. Carnivores across all 4 legged species rip open the abdomen and eat the stomach contents. Soft easy , to chew, may even taste good. They get fiber and nutritional value from it. But feeding them "grass" as a diet check with a veterinarian. Watch some old Mutual of Omaha with Marlin Perkins or David Attenborough's trials of life videos. They'll empty the chest and stomach cavities quick.

 

[Grizzlyhackle]

I'm sure it's already been said here, but here's my two cents. Cats and dogs are carnivores. Yes they both will eat grass, it helps clear their gut. Carnivores across all 4 legged species rip open the abdomen and eat the stomach contents. Soft easy , to chew, may even taste good. They get fiber and nutritional value from it. But feeding them "grass" as a diet check with a veterinarian. Watch some old Mutual of Omaha with Marlin Perkins or David Attenborough's trials of life videos. They'll empty the chest and stomach cavities quick.

By the way did you figure out how to grow fodder with out mold?
Hydroponics now your spending money on fish or fertilizer, plumbing and electric. Drugs to keep the fish healthy. Gotta protect them from eagles,seagulls. You need a place to put it all ,got to build a canopy or shed. Then the county taxman comes around up goes your taxes for a property improvement.