Deer Farmer

virgil · May 21st 2014, 10:27 AM

Ryan give me a call sometime when you have time. Would love to look into this.

redgolds · May 26th 2014, 02:39 PM

Where can I get seeds or started plants? Does the fodder have to be planted in the ground or can I plant it in flats and set them near the feeders?

RyanR · May 26th 2014, 03:26 PM

Virgil, I just saw this message. I will give you a call, what is the best time to reach you?

*

We buy our seed from Deer Creek Seed. We plant them in plastic trays, in a dark room and then remove and set in a trough in each pen. This gets it off the ground and away from any fecal matter.

Padencreek · May 27th 2014, 01:55 AM

If you search YouTube, there are numerous videos that can walk you through a small scale operation. Basically you make a shelf that can hold 8 trays. The first seed tray goes on the bottom and gets moved up each day. You place holes on one end of each tray and make the end with holes about an inch lower than the other end so when you water the top tray it drains through and waters them all. Soak the seeds over night then place them in the tray. Water trays twice a day and by day 8 you have a large root mat and several inches of sprouts. I do this for my meat rabbits and chickens.

RyanR · May 27th 2014, 05:18 AM

John, have you seen increased production in your animals? As far as birthing/egg rates?

Padencreek · May 27th 2014, 09:11 AM

I haven't been doing it long enough to tell as of yet (2 Months). *I've been researching it since about a year ago when you first posted a topic on fodder. *I was really fascinated by it and began to do some research * I like the fact that I can produce a natural feed for my animals that is so highly nutritious. *On top of that, it produces about 5 times the weight of seed so my feed costs have decreased and I'm getting a better product. *The only problem I have found is I was getting some mold. *I'm sure yours is climate controlled and you probably don't have that issue. *I have tried soaking the seeds in bleach or vinegar *but was solved my problem was just watering it with water that had a very small amount of bleach mixed in it. *I haven't given it to my deer yet because I didn't want the bleach residue in the rumen. *It probably wouldn't hurt but I'm paranoid when it comes to the deer. *I plan of using fodder to replace about 90% of my feed for the rabbits and chickens. *I plan on getting a dehumidifier and possibly a fan to circulate the air around my system. *I'm learning as I go. *I'm still amazed what grows in the bin by day 8, it's crazy. *I did try oats and I can say barley is definitely easier. *I might try some beans now too.

RyanR · May 27th 2014, 10:45 AM

We actually found that soaking the seed greatly increased our mold issues. Once we stopped doing that mold was almost non-existent. A good product to try spraying on is hydrogen peroxide which will not harm your animals at all. What happens is when it reacts with and kills the mold it loses an oxygen molecule making H2O2 into just H20. Of course like everything you don't want to over do it, we got some peroxide test strips and would spray at the back of the tray and then test the run off to determine if we were using to much or not enough. It really is incredible to go from 5lbs of seed to over 30-40lbs in a weeks time. Ryan

Padencreek · May 27th 2014, 02:52 PM

Thanks, I won't soak it and I'll try the hydrogen peroxide.

black bayou whitetails · May 30th 2014, 07:19 AM

ryan, do you guys use growing lights* or in the dark or just natural light to grow this product

Padencreek · May 30th 2014, 07:49 AM

It doesn't need light to sprout. *You feed it prior to the point where light would be needed. *It still grows 4-6" of greens without light.

black bayou whitetails · May 30th 2014, 08:01 AM

thanks John for the information

RyanR · May 30th 2014, 08:10 AM

Yup we provide very minimal light, and the light we do have is for human safety more than plant growth. We used to have a complete lighting system and found that it on average it weighted more with out the lights on. Plus, it then cost less. Win-Win. Ryan

virgil · May 31st 2014, 02:16 PM

Food grade hydrogen peroxide is what they use in green houses to get rid of mold.

agusmario · Jan 26th 2021, 11:54 PM

I m new to deer farming ! Can you advise what deer species is good for production and breeding in an equatorial tropical climate like in Kuching,Sarawak ,Malaysia. There are deer farm in Malaysia that go for timorensis and Chitai ( axis axis ). Thk u

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