Hydroponics Online Home Home Store Blog Forums FAQs Lesson Plans Pictures

Go Back   Hydroponics Forums Discussions > Hydroponics Discussion Forums > Your Hydroponics Setup

Animal fodder


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 10-17-2013, 11:10 PM
fintuckyfarms fintuckyfarms is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Southeast Washington State - Right on the line of growing zones 6b & 7a
Posts: 347
Default Animal fodder

My fodder for my chickens is coming along nicely. I want to get it automated and on a timer but I just haven't found the time. I purchased some more matching containers and I know the design I want I just have to find the time to do it!

On a different note, where is everybody???

Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	DSCF5199.jpg
Views:	1691
Size:	92.3 KB
ID:	2545  
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 10-19-2013, 03:54 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Lake Havasu AZ.
Posts: 1,855
Default

Hello fintuckyfarms,
Your folder looks nice and healthy. I would love to see more of your setup and how your growing it. As for where everyone is, I'm guessing busy doing their own thing. I know I have been quite distracted working on my own projects. With working on building prototype hydro systems that are planed to be sold early next year, and working on the greenhouse when I have time, I don't have time to post much anymore.
__________________
Website Owner
Home Hydroponic Systems
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 10-20-2013, 06:21 PM
fintuckyfarms fintuckyfarms is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Southeast Washington State - Right on the line of growing zones 6b & 7a
Posts: 347
Default

GPS, I hear ya on the busy part. I have starting converting my property into a homestead raising chickens, getting them set up, planning the greenhouse and other projects. Master Gardeners has slowed down thank goodness so I have a bit more time but I have been working a lot of OT. Winter is fast approaching so I have been finishing up the garden (which I NEVER plan to grow food in the soil again, except containers) putting away the hydro units and remodeling our lambing barn into a chicken coop. I have been doing a ton of research on everything homestead related and I even learned to crochet this week.

As for the fodder, right now I am just hand watering it. I purchased plastic food storage containers roughly the size of a small shoe box, I drilled several very small holes in one end and it is set up to be either a manual system or to animate it later which I plan to. I soak the seed for 24 hours, drain into a colander, rinse and put into the container. I sometimes just spray it when I get home from work if I am just too tired to rinse it. Then when I get up in the afternoon I rinse them a few times to get the nastiness out and let drain. I feed what I am going to feed that day and replace it with the soaked seeds which I rinse several times. I also wash out the used containers with bleach or hydrogen peroxide. I have not had a problem w/mold or any other problems doing it this way but I would like to put it on a pump and timer soon.

Really interested in your system, can't wait to be able to see the design. Keep up the good work....
Tracy
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	DSCF5212.jpg
Views:	1450
Size:	86.5 KB
ID:	2546   Click image for larger version

Name:	DSCF5171.jpg
Views:	1462
Size:	96.1 KB
ID:	2547   Click image for larger version

Name:	DSCF5190.jpg
Views:	1563
Size:	101.2 KB
ID:	2548  
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 10-24-2013, 06:02 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Lake Havasu AZ.
Posts: 1,855
Default

Hello fintuckyfarms,
I remember you asking how to automate the folder system without all the gunk in the runoff, and recycling it back. I believe I suggested not recycling it and using only fresh water. The hard part is getting the right timer so you don't waist a lot more water than you need. I don't remember if I mentioned using a cycle timer, but that's the type of timer you would want to use. That way you can have really short pump "on" times, rather than the minimum 15 min on times for regular light timers.

Recently I found a good relatively inexpensive digital cycle timer. It's the same timer we are going to be using in the hydroponic systems we are building. For digital cycle timers it's a great price, it's even $20 cheaper than the analog cycle timer we were planing to use. Anyhow you can set it for as short an on time as one second, and as long as an off time as up to 24 hours. If you used a small fountain pump, and that timer set for short intervals, and with a little trial and error playing with the on/off times you'd hardly use any water at all. Short on times just to keep the seeds moist.

This is the timer I'm talking about:
CT-1 Digital Recycle Timer
__________________
Website Owner
Home Hydroponic Systems
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 10-24-2013, 06:50 PM
fintuckyfarms fintuckyfarms is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Southeast Washington State - Right on the line of growing zones 6b & 7a
Posts: 347
Default

yes, I already have one really similar and plan to use it as I think 15 minutes will be way too long. I plan to use two 5 gal buckets, one clean and one waste. I have been watching lots of youtube vids and I have a solid idea of how I want to go about it. I need to get it done because I am the only one who tends it and just like yesterday, I got called into work "right now" and they set dry till I got home at 2am. With it automated I would only have to take care of it once a day instead of twice or three times. Right now I rinse it in the afternoon when I wake up and start new seeds soaking and I sometimes rinse it in the am when I get home but it's more likely that I will just spritz it real good and go to bed. What I have been doing is working great but I think it would do better getting three good rinses in instead of two to get some of the fermenting water out more often.
The chickens love the fodder both at day 3 and day 7. They coming running when I go out to let them out to roam and scratch. They use to go straight into the garden area but now I am tripping over them to get to the fodder feed station. I know they will really love the greens when all the good stuff is covered by snow and I know that I am feeding them the best quality feed that I can. I also have cut way down on the commercial chicken feed I buy because they are eating the fodder.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	DSCF5205.jpg
Views:	1548
Size:	99.7 KB
ID:	2549  

Last edited by fintuckyfarms; 10-24-2013 at 06:53 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 11-29-2013, 08:17 PM
fintuckyfarms fintuckyfarms is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Southeast Washington State - Right on the line of growing zones 6b & 7a
Posts: 347
Default

Here is an updated non-automated fodder system. It takes about 15 minutes a day to walk to the sink and rinse each one and start the next batch soaking.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	image.jpg
Views:	1423
Size:	77.5 KB
ID:	2550  
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 06-16-2014, 01:46 PM
michaelkennedy michaelkennedy is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 1
Default

Fodder or animal feed is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, goats

Online Casino


Last edited by michaelkennedy; 06-17-2014 at 08:18 AM.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:44 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.