hydrophonic fodder?

[Petercoates87]

Hey guys I have saw this ad on Facebook bout hydrophonic fodder for cattle has anyone tried this? I guess it's like sprouts but what's everyone's opinion?

 

[ga.prime]

The feed value of the fodder will be less than the feed value of the seed used to grow the fodder.

 

[ez14.]

I've read about it it sounds pretty good but extremely labor intensive

 

[Petercoates87]

yeah I agree with you guys. it sounds very labor intensive n costly. all I thought was god I got 10 head including calves. so I would need to outfit my entire garage n basement to grow this stuff to keep these guys fed. n that's with several layers of this stuff.

 

[ChrisB]

Remember you won't gain any dry matter. So for the labor involved you could just as well feed the seeds if your doing it just as a way to produce feed. You may have some health advantages though by adding sprouts to your ration.

 

[Nesikep]

return on investment is really poor.. some stupid idea someone who has no idea how much a cow eats came up with it

I could see it for chickens or something to give them something green in the winter, but more as a treat/supplement than a feed.

 

[Son of Butch]

return on investment is really poor.. some stupid idea someone who has no idea how much a cow eats came up with it

I could see it for chickens or something to give them something green in the winter, but more as a treat/supplement than a feed.

Yep, rabbits were my first thought, chickens would probably be better.... cows forget about it. :2cents:
Whoever is trying to market it for large animals is looking out for his pocket and certainly not yours.

 

[ChrisB]

Visited a dairy in PA a few years ago that after some experimenting were big believers in the benefits. I can't remember how much they fed per head, but it went right into their TMR. They had invested $250,000 into their setup. Labor didn't look that intensive until you figured the amount of time vs. the amount of DM you get back.

Should add that they were really into organic.