Growing Sorghum for FREE Backyard Chicken Feed
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- čas přidán 9. 06. 2015
- I'm always looking to save money on feed for my chickens so I thought I would experiment in my vegetable garden and grow sorghum as a FREE and EASY grain to grow for my flock to eat. Here's what I found...
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Sorghum is my chickens' favorite whole grain. I soak it for a day at least, ferment or sprouted, they dont like fodder just the day or 2 day old sprouts
Thanks for this note... I thought of doing something like that myself and good to know it works. How long does it take to sprout please.
my chickens also like it. they were eating the volunteers. So I bought a sack and mixed it with the other grains. I soak their grains and they eat all of it. I will be planting sorghum.
May I ask what kind of chickens you have?
I was wondering if the seeds were sprouted, that would make a difference
I bought a pound of grain sorghum seed this year as an experiment in adding organic matter to my sandy zone 9a Florida soil. I read up on it a bit more and see that sorghum grain is good for human consumption and even makes a gluten-free flour! i look forward to experimenting with that.
Sorghum can be boiled down into molasses. I have a video on it on my page, 4godliv, the local historical society makes the molasses once a year, using a mule driven press, and a tractor driven press. The molasses can also be boiled down small time in a cast iron frying pan.
I’ve never seen your older vids! You have such luscious bangs 😂
Nice video as always! Great to see the chicken enjoying them. From what I have heard, the chickens love sorghum and millet because they are not only delicious but also healthy food for them!
California Gardening Thank you again for your kind words and information! Cheers :)
This is how I wound up with sunflower plants replanting themselves in my front yard, and eventually moved them to our off grid community in another state. Excellent point. The sunflower was sold as chicken feed too, and didn't all get eaten.
I feed my chickens a mix that has sorghum in it. Mine would eat all the other grains but sorghum. I started to let mine set in water for a couple days then feed them and they ate the sorghum. I even went back to feeling the dry and the ate everything but the sorghum again. Stay safe and good luck.
Mine do that, too.
Don't touch it unless it's soaked.
I accidentally grew a sorghum plant from the bird seed packet and now its almost 2 yrs old and has produced alot of seeds. Now that i have chickens, im glad i let it grew coz now i can just let them take over my garden. Also my guineapigs and rabbits love the leaves
Grew sorghum this year for the first time. They are super hardy and produced big seed heads full of seeds. Unfortunately the wild birds decimated it before it turned red and was ready to be harvested. I suppose if the birds like it still green then the chickens will too so next year I will harvest it as soon as I see that the birds have taken an interest in it.
Wowzers Mark.... This is a step back in time
you've just saved me a whole bunch of time and money! I was considering growing this specifically for my chickens
do chicken like sorghum
can set up a paultry farm
Exactly the same situation for me. One plant produced in early spring. Harvest, cut of the plant and several heads grow and more productive even.
Mark, We love your channel over in Colorado at Dominick Farms! We are going to start growing Alfalfa and Quinoa Sorghum White and red types. We will be doing this in San Luis Colorado Valley trying to improve the soil and the land. We found it very interested to see that they did not really like eating it. No one likes to eat the healthy greens growing up. The Quinoa and Sorghum is supposed to be very healthy for them to eat. Have you found they have been very healthy from eating the amount they have been eating? Have you noticed egg differences in taste and laying amount? We aim to get a chicken flock when we get the soil and land under control.
You are such an amazing Gardner with so much info for us all. Have you found something else to feed them, as what if we loose our food suppliers due to world events? Thank you so much.
lovely update thank you for sharing
Linda Penney Hi Linda and thank you!
This video motivated me to check the seed mix I feed native pigeons.
Sorghum is listed first and the big red seed seem to be the biggest component in the mix.
Anyway I can say the pigeons seem to quite like the sorghum and start on it immediately after the sunflower is done.
George Gibson So pigeons like sorghum hey? Well, that's very interesting! Come to think of it, I have noticed some of our wild pigeons cleaning up the sorghum heads so I guess that's true! Thanks for the indo, Sorry for the late reply I only just saw this post, cheers :)
Thanx for the experiment! I find that chooks are pretty good and knowing what they need to eat and when. I don't know much about sorghum but perhaps it offers some of their needs but they intuit it's not good for them to eat too much at once. Just a thought....
I agree, my chickens don't seem to like to sorghum (I buy sorghum-free chook food) Having said that, it IS a very hardy grain and easy to grow. I'm now in my 2nd year of growing broom corn/millet, a very tall variety of sorghum with long tassels of seed heads that straw brooms are made from (I've also learnt to make traditional brooms). Grew so well, and always on the hunt for reducing inputs, this year grew white sorghum (a shorter plant, denser seed head like yours) White sorghum is called Jowar, available in Indian food supply stores, cooked like rice and often sold as a gluten-free flour, less bitter and better for human consumption than the red varieties. Sweet sorghum is another variety, crushed stalks used to make syrup/molassis. Old-time farmers apparently cooked sorgum mash for their chooks -they loved it. Sprouted is allelopathic, so not so good for them and can inhibit growth of surrounding plants when young. Still experimenting. Food security always an interest so what will we feed our chickens when supply chains are interrupted?
They avoid it because it’s high in tannins but after sprouting and/or fermenting it the tannins lower and the protein digestibly increases.
I was planning to use sorghum for my future plans of growing poultry feed but then turns out just like corn, they also don't like sorghum. I guess chickens aren't into grains after all unless they are dead hungry. Thanks for the heads up. I've been your subscriber for almost 2 years now? since I started farming back in 2019. I love your enthusiasm. Chicken feed has been a big problem for any poultry grower.
Bird feed seeds most of time regrow and chickens love it I use it and i grind corn to small pieces and I heat the egg shells to dry them grind them to a powder and put it in the water for calcium. make egg little bit stronger
maybe they will eat it when it sprouts. My chooks dont like the wheat in the mixed feed, I find myself wondering what it might have been sprayed with.
We need to do another video on this at some point in the future I’ve been watching you all your new stuff but I’ve never seen you do another video about it program is a great tool for people to be able to use this to eat or a grow or fattter for your animals…
Thank you for this, as it's something I've been thinking about, good info here and in the comments. What about for goats, sheep, cows, or just using it for personal food?
Use none gmo and your good. Take in mind using compost in your rows. Any gardening takes time. It can be done easily and well. Nice vid but please mention none gmo seed.
Non gmo is important but sadly few of us understand this
Hey, Mark try growing "Amaranth" easy and good for the chickens and people.
Mika Lee I've heard this a few times now Mika - I will give it a go for sure because amaranth is pretty easy to grow here I believe... although I haven't really tried it myself. Sounds good, thanks :)
by weight sorghum seems more productive. although there are some monster varieties out there. The seed is far less dense tough
@@Selfsufficientme
Do you have any tips for growing food for quail? I’m having a hard time finding information on it.
I have found amaranth much hardier where I live (tropics,) than sorghum. But no idea if chickens would like it more than sorghum. Would be interesting to experiment.
True, chickens simply love sorghum if sprouted for few days esp in hydrophonics.
I know this is an old video but have you tried fermenting the grain, am wondering if they'd like it more? Doing some research on free chicken food and this video came up. Thanks Paul.
it could also be because theyr just not used to it.
grind it.
i run mine thru a 40s model hobart coffee grinder.same w the pearl millet
Take the stuff probably high in protein and they only need so much of it but I know they putting the blocks that you feed your chicken have these Big Blocks that you can get and they put that in there too cuz I just kind of glues together on the Block.....
Hello !!, greetings from up here :-). I have read a few things about sorghum. One aspect is that it contains a hormone that if eaten by hens, they are more likely to lay fertilised eggs that will hatch as female chicks. Rooster may not eat it because of the same hormone...hmmmmm. The one that I have noticed is that there is a very fine field dust on it (something like electrically static dust that draws very fine fibrous matter to form like a tiny spiders web; not the best description) that even gives me a head ache and nasal congestion if I separate the seeds from the seed head...just wondering if that is one reason they dont like it...perhaps you should remove the seeds from the seed head before you offer tchem the sorghum seed. Might be an idea to mist the seed head with some water before you start to remove the seeds. Thanks.
It's high in protein for layers. It's in all chicken scratch grains.
I grow mine for the bread because I have celiac and can't have gluten of any kind. You can get sorghum molasses from the stalks too so don't forget to double your harvest
Those are very healthy birds.
+ayatti26 Thanks for the feedback! Cheers :)
Thank you. Have you tried growing anything else other than sorghum which was an efficient conversion of effort to chicken feed?
My birds love sorghum! I grow two species White African Giant and Mennonite. The chicks and the ducks along with the geese prefer it to their regular feed. That said their feed is sorghum and peanut based, ie no gmo.
Don't know why I miss this video
My chicks really enjoy golden amaranth seed and kaniwa seed. They digest the seeds best when soaked for 24hrs, based on their poo.
You can use it in your home backing. Good flat bread and mixed with other grain, starches and gum a great gluten free loaf bread.
Indeed...i eat sorghum in replacement of rice😍
Hey Mark, have you thought about planting it out where they can eat them as greens? Make a square with some wood, about an inch or two high. Cover in wire. When the girls eat the greens, they can up-root the whole plant. If your girls are like mine, they'll love it.
McDowall Manor Yes Andy, I've been meaning to make a live feed pit as you described for ages it's on my todo list! Sorry for the late reply I only just saw this post, cheers :)
Mark, oh my gosh - do you think Australia was once attached to the Eastern part of the U.S. and just broke off and floated way South!! LOL! I told you about singing the "Kookabura" song in school and can you believe that my father actually grew up in Kentucky (before moving to WV & becoming a coal miner) and he told me on the family farm they made Sorghum Molasses!!! I don't know very much about it - other than it being a sweetner. And this is totally cool - because it is the first time that I am seeing it and now I know what it looks like!! Thank you so much!
Annie65H Thanks Annie, yes we were all joined at one stage according to the scientists LOL Sorry for the late reply I only just saw this post, cheers :)
i found out when i bough dove feed that was containing 2 varieties of sorghum the normal one and the white kind
And as i watched my beloved feathered friend eating i noticed that they are overwhelmingly pick our the sorghum seeds first before picking on corn or rice
so i decided to sort out and select my sorghum in the package mixed with other seeds to sow them indoors because it's cold
here in nothwest europe.
You releaved me when you said all year around i commonted at the first half of the video but how hardy are they during winter ?
This intro was a trip
I laughed when I saw the title because I buy a mash with no sorghum. You're right they do eat it if they run low but it wouldn't be my first choice in food to grow for chickens. The video was informative mate and I really enjoyed it. PS -.my chooks love the stems and leaves from Qld arrowroot (it's easy to grow and prolific).
Ben Jamin Hey Ben! I sometimes buy the sorghum free stuff too but since it was so bloody easy to grow I just had to see if my chooks would like it better... Nup LOL I have some arrowroot down the back and do throw it into the pen at times but never actively farmed it for feed - I will try growing more if you recommend it? Cheers :)
They definitely eat it to the stalk. I grow it all around my run as it's low maintenance and easy to cut and throw over the fence. I imagine it has protein but not that high in calories. For the lack of effort I recommend it but it will dominate a vegetable bed.
Ben Jamin Will do... You've given me some ideas! Thanks ;)
will they it it if you souk it in water or cook it? I think there is some weird rubber like after taste to it that repel chickens. or just plain boil it
Sorghum originated in Africa. Also fermenting the sorghum is best or grinding it even would be better because It has a largely indigestible outer casing to protect the grain.
I was reading about a lower tannin sorghum that chickens like better.
Hello! What would you suggest growing for chickens?
Hello Mark,
Dale from Japan here, I just subscribed to your show;) Watching your video on sorghum grass/grain how come your chickens are eagle eyed and not chicken eyed, just joking.
What I thought you might end up in telling us, is that the grain is covered with a wax and needs soaking in water to remove it like quinoa, but you didn't.
As Dale C mentions making a porridge would probably go down a treat, mixed with black solder fly larve.
Cheers Dale.
Dale Oodhas Hey Dale, I didn't give out that info about the wax covering because I didn't know that! I've learnt something new again today :) Yeah, that porridge idea is a rippa and I reckon the hens would love it... BTW, thanks for subscribing! Cheers :)
Have you tried fermenting the sodium for the chickens? I wonder if they would eat it better that way?
At 0:09, was that a worm in his food? Look at the moving thing on the side of the pan closest to the camera.
Interesting information thanks.
Just read that sorghum can contain some toxins like cyanide and tannins, some varieties much more than others.
Maybe this makes it somewhat unpalatable.
Also that soaking, fermenting and/or boiling can maybe reduce the toxins.
George Gibson Thanks for the info George my birds do prefer the sorghum fermented I must say... Sorry for the late reply I only just saw this post :)
Pearl millet is also a good bird seed
I am planning on growing a few different grains so I can see what my future chickens like best. I plan to grow food specifically for them, anyway. Their job is to make me great compost out of garden "waste" (there is no such thing as "waste" really), but I want it to be top quality, so, they do not get my "extra" stuff...they will get their own food grown just for them!
Did you try sprouting the sorghum grains? They might like the sprouts better than the grains.
+Fototrotter No I didn't try sprouting the sorghum but that's an excellent suggestion! Maybe even my quail would eat the sprouted version and it's certainly worth a try. Thank you and Happy New Year!
+Self Sufficient Me I can tell you an easy way to sprout it. I wasn't thinking one year and put fresh sorghum seeds, I had let them dry for a week or two, in some ziplock bags. A silly thing and I just wasn't thinking. Well every single seed germinated. I was impressed the all sprouted perfectly. There's enough moisture in the seeds if you just wrapped the heads in plastic they'd sprout in a few days time. The sprouted grains would be easier to digest. Another thing to try would be fermenting the sorghum seed. They should ferment really well in a couple of days just soaking them in water with maybe some vinegar mother.
@@grayhand9676 Some grains get very toxic when fermented tough.. Learned that even pigs die from eating rotten fermented failed to dry quinoa buds.. (Smelled like soapy beer). I know barley is a killer too
Would fermenting sorghum make it more palatable?
How do you know when the seed heads are ripe for harvesting?
The reason why poultry refuse to eat sorghum because of it has a reduced nutrient availability compared to corn. However, this plant can be modified to increase its nutrient value making it desirable to your poultry.
More info please
Quinoa and amaranth do the exact same things but millet does the exact same thing but this is how we need to feed our chickens and I think if you get them condition to it at a early age then you've done the right thing under chick stage
If you ferment it, would it help?
If they aren't eating raw grains, you can actually "Prepare" the feed.
There's alot of chicken feeds that people take to fermenting here in the USA. Corn and some wheat come to mind.
That's effectively just soaking the grain for 24 hours before feeding it to the chickens.
People report that the Chickens seem more interested in fermented grains than raw grain, but i can't confirm or deny.
You could try "Parching" the sorghum, but that's more expensive and time consuming. You effectively "pop" the sorghum grain like corn.
Very Interesting ! We grow sunflowers , and I also tried amaranth and millet this year for the chickens. Im glad we didnt try Sorghum.
WashingtonShooter How did the amaranth go? That's a nice plant and pretty easy to grow also isn't it? Thanks :)
Self Sufficient Me Its summer here in Washington now... Its about a foot tall, not flowering yet ! I hope it does well . We still have 3 more months of growing season. So Im currently in the middle of my test ! Another thing I didnt mention we are growing for the chickens, and its so far going to plan, is zucchini , we just give them the entire fruit when it matures, and its prolific !
WashingtonShooter I know people like giving chickens whole cucumbers and I have done this myself - it keeps them occupied that's for sure! Haven't tried whole zuccs but I'm growing some now so will give it a go.
Eat it yourself. Its wonderful.
I read about this, but found that some are actually poison, especially when the plants are young, so I passed on trying it. I think I would go with the Amaranth that someone else here mentioned. I read about that too, and it seemed to be really good for animals and humans! Farmers here grow quite a bit of it. I think I'm going to try that one. However there are many types of it as I remember, so I will have to research it again.
Bless, Sheila
Sheila6325 Amaranth would be the better choice Sheila yes I agree! Cheers :)
If you sprout it they will eat it. You can also eat it yourself. Makes good popcorn.
Did you dry it?
Look like they just taking what they need and you chickens are pretty healthy so it's not like they're being starved a little bit to get them to eat whatever..... but I have 40 chickens and ducks and everything they sell the eggs and things occasionally here on the side you know something more is a project Farm we've been running that for about 5 or 6 years
Guuuyeeei...
I was all excited to you call them Chooks. :(
Hi Good day- I am attempting to grown sweet sorghum in the West Indies - Trinidad and Tobago, they were planted in January and now the heads are comming out. From what I can see the sorghum has have seen the rust -puccinia purpurea. But the sorghum on the stalk has a powdery white substance. The florets do not appear to have ergot and do not have the "honeydue", There does not appear to be any downy mildew on the leaves. This is the first time I have ever planted sorghum. Your response will be greatly valued.
+Rhom Arts Hi and congrats on winning the world cup 20/20! Yes, I have seen rust on my plants but the heads or growth in general doesn't seem to be affected. Sorghum is a very hardy grain crop. I'm not sure what the powdery substance on the stems would be except for guessing that it might be powdery mildew but I'm, certainly not an expert in growing sorghum on a farming cultivation scale so that's about all I know... Cheers :)
Do quail like it?
I am growing it for chickens, syrup, and flour.
Do your ducks like sorghum?
I cant believe you dont harvest the sorghum stalk and make syrup!!!???
Guinea like it
Apparently you can pop this like corn!
If you dry it first it will be more palatable for poultry
so what about quinola and chia seed
That interesting that chicken would the sorghum grain. I thought they would go through anything. It is an interesting looking wheat. Don't human eat it as will?
yack f zay Yes, correct, it is a popular food in African and Asian countries - mostly because it's cheap and easy to grow. Cheers :)
Thumbs up for the range target. Figure 11 I believe
+Charles Namadzunda Yes correct figure 11 indeed! You're the second person in the past 24 hours who has noticed the targets and in the past 2 years I can't recall anyone ever mentioning them even though they appear in several videos lol... funny coincidence. Cheers mate :)
+Self Sufficient Me I've used figure 11s a lot in my career and it was nice seeing them not on the range. Anyway, keep up the good work. I hope to have a similar lifestyle to yours in the future.
👍🐣
Have you thought of spraying with a sugar/water mixture. I add sugar to my wet crushed egg shells and give it to the chicks when it drys. They gobble it up.
Hemp seed is preferred by all poultry. Far better nutrition all around.
did you try to fermented ?
+dmacosta1 Yes I have but only mixed with other grains - I would guess the hens would prefer it if I fermented the whole heads of sorghum.
Can you use this sorghum for popping like pop corn?
I buy and use sorghum, that looks just like this, in the kitchen (one of the few grains I tolerate) and it does pop like popcorn. Teeny tiny fairy popcorn 😂 It's very good. I just soaked and sprouted some too. I expected it would take ages to sprout, given how hard the grain is, but it was sprouting tails within 48 hours (may have been less... I didn't pay super close attention) I'm going to try growing it in the garden, given how easily it sprouted! Going to try giving it sprouted to our chooks too 👌
I feed sorghum to my buffaloes.
That was interesting. Will they eat millet?
Gardening With Puppies Hi Paula, yes I guess they would because I see them eating all sorts of seed and grass heads growing wild in the backyard so they probably would eat millet. Cheers :)
Chickens will eat Millet aswell
That must be the reddish seeds in my feed that my ducks absolutely will not touch!! They eat everything else & leave those seeds.
HoneyBaer It could well be! My ducks aren't fond of sorghum either. Sorry for the late reply I only just saw this post :)
I've done some research and the actually have chicken eyes two of em...
Even chickens prefer 'sweet feed'.Have you tried sorghum as fodder? East to grow, easy to sprout.
Yes I have tried sorghum and grew it but my hens weren't that impressed... However, I didn't try fermenting it so perhaps that would work.
By fodder, I meant, sprouts. If the chickens will eat the sprouts, it might still be cheaper to grow the sorghum.
6 years!wow!... I've learned you know how to grow everything. Except hair! Just kidding mate, keep it going!
ever thought about doing Sorghum syrup?
+MsTokies To be honest no I have not, but you got me thinking about it so I watched a few videos and it seems the canes just have to be pressed and then the juice cooked off until it turns into syrup so maybe it's possible to do at home! Thanks for the suggestion! Cheers :)
Self Sufficient Me no problem lol im looking at my backyard and im thinking about doing quarter acres of sorghum. in little micro sheet mulch. straight on to grass going up instead of down so i dont have to till it.throw down a mix of sorghum and field peas(some other seed. i think it will work. not totally sure but im pretty sure it will work for next year. the problem is getting the juice i think.
We feed sorghum to feed my buffaloes and my chicken look for sorghum in their poop.
Thats what happened to Jimmy Hoffa fed to the chickens we did it all the time back then
I need a job in your farm sir 🙋
I went all out and planted 50lbs of it in hopes that my pigs and chicken will eat it
How did it go?
Did the chickens eat it? I'm looking to harvest my Millet in a couple weeks
I'm thinking of doing this as my boss feeds it to her chickens. I also want to try sprouting it.
The pigs loved it but you had to fermentate it for a couple days and the chickens didn't care for it
😷😁👍
I never had chickens have a problem with it you just have a supplemental feed you put it in there just like to do parrots but you have to do a little research to see which ones are better that are more sweeter some can you can make popcorn out of them that’s kind of what I’m after right there in between the two chickens love popcorn…
It's a good cereal grain for humans too. Make flour
Sorghum grows wild in Ipswich...
Ok well that's easy for a free harvest then :)