I am constantly looking for ways to save my little farm some money. So with this experiment, I am hoping that I can save a lot of money by growing my own feed for my animals instead of buying it all from the feed store. Here is what I have done:
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Step 1: Soak the Grain for 8 to 12 hours.
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Step 2: Drain off excess water and put into your shallow containers. The grain layer should not exceed 1 inch in thickness as this can cause mildew and spoil the hole lot. Make sure your containers have holes in the bottoms to allow the excess water to drain out.
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Day 1: 24 hours after putting your grain in the containers you should start to see new growth as can be seen in the picture on the left.
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Day 2: This is the amount of growth on day 2 that was seen. I really can't wait to see what day 3 will look like. I did several containers of wheat grain and so far they appear to be doing well. I am only "watering" 2 times a day. Once in the morning and once in the late afternoon.
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Day 3: Sprouts are more noticeable on day three and the root system is more developed.
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Day 4: It sprouted up over night and now looks a lot more like a carpet of grass. Its a lot easier to water now because the root system holds everything in place. The roots from my system have already begun to grow through my small drain holes.
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Day 5: It seems to have grown 2 to 3 inches in just 24 hours! There are only 3 to 4 days left before it is supposed to be ready to feed.
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Day 7: I skipped a day on the pictures, no point in boring you with it. I can go ahead and start feeding the fodder now. The chickens are going to get a younger tray of sprouts that are around the 4 to 5 day mark. I do not want them to get an impacted craw with the longer older sprouts as seen in this picture. The sprouts in this picture were grown in a small kiddy pool like you can buy at the dollar store. They are normally $8 each but if you check back with the dollar store in the fall they mark them down. I bought several more of these just a couple weeks ago for $2 each! Very big savings there especially for those needing to save as much money as possible. I also have several others that were sprouted in other containers that have been "re-purposed". Anything can be used.