Azolla Production & Free Green Feed from a Bed
Feeds cattle
“One accepted answer here saves a hundred people an hour each.
Enter your bed area and daily yield per m² to get the fresh harvest a day, the monthly harvest, the dry matter and protein supplied, and how many animals it supplements.
Set up your azolla bed
Next: harvest ~20 kg/day (about a third of the bed), keep the bed shaded and topped up with water plus a little dung/superphosphate, and feed fresh mixed into the ration.
Yields depend on temperature, light and nutrients; introduce gradually into rations (start ~1–2 kg/day for cattle).
Azolla production — key facts
- Daily harvest
- bed area × yield per m²/day
- Bed yield
- ≈ 0.3–0.5 kg/m²/day
- Water content
- ≈ 95% (5% dry matter)
- Protein
- ≈ 25% of dry matter
- Harvest
- ≈ a third of the bed daily
- Cow supplement
- ≈ 1–2 kg fresh/day
- Care
- shade, water, dung + superphosphate
- Privacy
- Runs in your browser; nothing uploaded
A few square metres of fern, a cheaper feed bill
Azolla turns a shallow pit of water, a little dung and some shade into a daily flush of protein-rich green feed. The fern doubles in days, so once a bed is established you can skim a share every morning without ever exhausting it. Mixed into a dairy cow's concentrate or a poultry mash, it stretches bought feed and lifts production — a genuinely low-cost supplement that a smallholder can run in the backyard.
This tool turns your bed size and yield into the numbers that matter: fresh harvest a day, the monthly total, the dry matter and protein you actually supply, and how many animals it tops up. Use it to size a bed for your stock, to plan how many beds you need, and to see past the heavy water weight to the real feed value. Pair it with the Livestock Feed, Dry Matter Intake and Feed Budget tools for a full ration plan.
Size the bed
Build just enough bed for the stock you feed.
Cut the feed bill
Replace part of bought feed with home-grown azolla.
See the real value
Past the water, the protein you actually supply.
Plan the harvest
Daily and monthly fresh harvest at a glance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is azolla and why feed it?+
Azolla is a tiny, fast-growing aquatic fern that floats on shallow water and doubles its mass in a few days. Because it carries about 25% protein in its dry matter, it makes a cheap, home-grown green supplement for cattle, poultry and fish — a way to cut bought feed while lifting milk, eggs and growth.
How is the daily azolla harvest calculated?+
Daily fresh harvest = bed area × yield per square metre per day. An established bed yields roughly 0.3–0.5 kg of fresh azolla per m² each day, so a 10 m² bed gives about 3–5 kg fresh a day. The tool multiplies your area by your yield to give the daily and monthly fresh harvest.
Why is the dry matter so much smaller than the fresh weight?+
Fresh azolla is about 95% water, so only around 5% is dry matter. That means 5 kg of fresh azolla is only about 0.25 kg of dry matter — and the protein (≈25% of dry matter) is a fraction of that again. The tool shows dry matter and protein per day so you size the supplement realistically.
How much of the bed should I harvest each day?+
Take roughly a third of the bed daily once it is established and crowded. Skimming a share each day keeps the fern young and doubling fast; leaving the rest lets it regrow so the bed keeps producing continuously. Over-harvesting thins it out and slows recovery.
How do I keep an azolla bed healthy?+
Keep it shaded from harsh sun, topped up with clean water (a few centimetres deep), and dosed with a little cow dung and a pinch of superphosphate every week or two to feed the fern. Remove debris, watch for pests and heat, and renew the bed if it goes brown or stops growing.
How many animals can azolla feed?+
Azolla is a supplement, not a full ration — usually 1–2 kg fresh per dairy cow, less for small stock and poultry. The tool divides your daily fresh harvest by a per-head supplement to estimate how many animals the bed supports. Treat it as a top-up alongside their normal feed.
How should I introduce azolla into the ration?+
Bring it in gradually so animals get used to the taste. Wash off the dung and water, then mix the fresh azolla with concentrate or chop it into the fodder. Start small, increase over a week or two, and never make it the sole feed — it lacks the energy and fibre of a complete ration.
Can azolla be fed to poultry and fish?+
Yes — poultry take chopped or dried azolla mixed into mash for extra protein and yellower yolks, and fish such as carp and tilapia graze it directly or take it dried. Adjust the per-head supplement in the tool to suit the species and size of your stock.
Does the bed size or unit matter?+
Enter the bed area in whatever unit you use; the maths is the same — area times yield per m² per day. A small 2×3 m backyard bed feeds a couple of animals, while several linked beds can supplement a herd. Scale the area to the harvest you need.
Are the figures exact?+
They're solid planning figures. Real yield swings with temperature, light, water quality, nutrients and the age of the bed, and slows in cold or very hot weather. Use the estimate to plan bed size and harvest, then weigh a few days' real harvest and adjust your yield input.
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