This is a rack designed to hold lunchmeat boxes. The boxes all have holes at one end and are angled in the rack to allow water to cascade through them all. We intend to sprout barley this winter to provide fresh greens for our chickens.
7 Likes
Awesome project!
1 Like
@J3553.T this is a really cool idea for small flocks. I’ve seen the very large ones that are intended for big flocks or herds but they aren’t practical, or affordable, for most of us. If I had more than one hen left I’d build something like this. Great job. 
Thanks. We hope the chickens like it, we bought a 50# sack of barley! I will try to get a picture from the first go this morning.
1 Like
You’re welcome. How many chickens do you have if you don’t mind me asking? How long do you expect a 50# bag of barley to last? Good luck with growing for the flock. They should love it.
We have 8 laying hens and a couple roosters. We have also 8 young roosters we are planning to Butcher in a few weeks. We gave the barley to the “boys” today. In typical chicken fashion they were rather skeptical of the new stuff. We hope the 50# of barley will provide greens for the flock through the winter.
2 Likes
Well that many hens should keep you in eggs, especially if they’re younger hens. It doesn’t look like it from the picture, but do you plant your barley seeds in any kind of soil or anything or just keep the seeds moist till they grow big enough to feed the chickens? I just had 4 hens and a rooster. Hawks got the rooster and 2 hens, and another hen died from some unknown issue. Now I only have the one hen left. She’s nearly 4 years old and molting right now, so I don’t expect much egg production from her.
No soil on the barley. Today was first time feeding it.
We don’t have to buy eggs, that’s for sure.
1 Like
Remember to extend light cycle with artificial lighting if your wanting your girls to continue producing as day cycles get shorter the egg laying could halt
1 Like
That’s really great Jesse. With 9 trays do you find that starting a new tray each day gives enough growth by the 9th day to have it ready to feed to the chickens?
Yes, so far. We have only been feeding it for about a week. Now that the cockerels have gotten past the frightened stage, they really enjoy the greens every morning. Once we butcher them, we will feed the greens to the hens. For now, it’s just for the boys.
2 Likes