When I first decided to start raising rabbits, the plan was to grow my own fodder in order to make this adventure cost effective. I read blog after blog about fodder growing and decided that it should be a piece of cake (or blade of grass).
There are several different types of grain that can be used for a fodder system. Wheat grass seemed like the best option for nutrients.
The first step was to call around and see if any of my local farm stores had it in stock. No such luck.
Ok, fine, no biggie…you can find anything online, right? I consider myself a decent online searcher but for some reason the only bulk wheat grass that I could find was organic. Seventy bucks later and that 50lb. wheat grass bag was shipping to my doorstep. The price was a lot steeper than I originally counted on but I figured that it was what was best for the health of the rabbits so I could deal with the high price tag.
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Next step was to get a good set up going. Since Tobi loves plant destruction, the fodder system had to be set up in the basement away from prying paws.
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We had some plastic tubs hanging around so I took a knitting needle and painstakingly poked drainage holes in them.
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Then I went ahead and soaked a jar full of wheat grass seeds overnight.
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Some blogs say to soak them in bleach too but I skipped that step. I have a problem with soaking something in chemicals and then feeding the product of that soaking to my animals. We aren’t necessarily organic on our homestead but we do the best we can to limit the chemicals that our animals eat.
After soaking them in water overnight, the seeds went into the prepared tubs.
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Most blogs say 7-9 days of sprouting is best because that is when the edible nutrients are at their peak.
My wheat germ never made it that far without growing into a moldy mess.
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At first I thought it was something that I was doing wrong. In order to fix what I considered a drainage problem, I bought baskets and drilled a bazillion (well maybe not a bazillion, but it felt like a lot) of holes in them.
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Then I tried again. No success.
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Back to the research grind.
After researching wheat germ mold, I found that wheat germ is known for its moldy behavior. Instead of arguing with the grass, people who use wheat grass for juicing simply cut the grassy top off and throw away the roots.
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It’s easy to see how that would work for a juicer but you need the roots for fodder. I sure wish that I would have read that at the beginning of this adventure. It would have saved me a lot of heartache and brain cells trying to figure out what I was doing wrong.
Fortunately, the grain elevator that we get the chicken feed from also sells oats. Oats also make a nice fodder. A bonus feature is that the bag of oats cost a whopping $8!
Oats in hand, back to the seed soaking, then to the growing.
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In the winter we added a grow bulb to help the grass in the decreased daylight.
And now, no mold, no headaches, just lush baskets of sprouting oats and happy rabbits.
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Until Next Time,