Fodder crop bird found by chance, almost (7)
I believe the answer is:
lucerne
'fodder crop' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both plants as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'bird found by chance almost' is the wordplay.
'bird' becomes 'erne' (erne is a kind of bird).
'found by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'chance almost' becomes 'luc' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'erne' after 'luc' is 'LUCERNE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lucerne that I've seen before include "in Switzerland" , "ake" , "Swiss city/lake" , "edible plant" , "Alfalfa - Swiss lake and resort" .)