# Growing your own fodder?



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Depends on what you'd want to grow and what sort of soil and weather conditions you have. Also if you'd have to use a contractor or if you have your own machinery


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Like Jaydee says - it depends. Where we live, we have approximately 30 acres that we cut for hay (I've got 4 horses). There will be fluctuations in the quantity of hay we get off the fields based on the growing season. I do the haying by myself which required purchase of equipment like mower, rake, baler and automatic bale wagon (some new; some used - either way, dollars were involved); skill in maintaining and repairing said equipment (I'm still on the learning curve with that one) and the ability to dedicate time to getting the hay cut, baled, picked up and stacked (there's frequently narrow windows of opportunity with haying because of weather - specifically rain which is not your friend after the hay has been cut).


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## Left Hand Percherons (Feb 1, 2011)

Fodder is not a traditional crop. You grow it indoors on grow trays with an elaborate water and lighting system. Do your research. It's not as attractive as it's made out to be. You have to feed approximately 5X the fodder to make the equivalent hay. (fodder is about 85% by weight water while hay is usually less than 10%) Say you feed 20# of hay a day per horse, that would be 100# of fodder. 5 horses, that's 500# a day. A typical "biscuit" (tray) is 13#. If you only fed fodder and no hay, that would be 38 trays a day. Average 5-7 days germination, you would have 228 in production at any given time.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I wasn't understanding that the OP meant hydroponic fodder but some sort of harvestable horse feed - also called fodder (at least it is in the UK)


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## Left Hand Percherons (Feb 1, 2011)

I realize as well that fodder can mean other things. If however the OP did mean fodder make from cereal grain residue is that the best thing to be feeding (we're talking 5 horses not 100 feeder calves)? If we are making fodder out of hays, why not feed hay? With all the misinformation about (hydroponic) fodder out there, I'm going to immediately think that's what people are talking about.


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