Pictures How safe is my sprouting method?

[Tara81]

I've recently read one lady whose tiel got sick and vomited, most likely from the sprouts she fed him that day.

So now after a year of sprouting, I am abit paranoid about my method. I don't know what it looks or smells like if sprouts go bad.

Here is my sprouting routine:

Dishes thouroughly washed with dish liquid, rinsed and dried.
TOPS brand organic all in one seed mix.
I sometimes add sunflower seeds from hagens cockatiel seed mix.

Temperature in room from 18-23 degrees.
Sprouts soaked overnight for 8-12 hours.

Sprouts drained, then sprayed with diluted organic apple cider vinegar.
Wait 2 minutes. Then rinse the sprouts throughly.

Allow sprouts to drain.

After this, I can start feeding. I use a clean silver spoon to take some sprouts out.
I rinse again every 4-6 hours til bed.
Bed time I rinse then place in fridge, to slow sprouting progress and not let them dry out.
take then out of the fridge within 12 hours then rinse and rinse again ever 4-6 hours.
They seem to sprout slowly this way, but if I don't fridge them before bed they dry out.
After one day they show stumps. After two days small tails. By day 5 they look like sprouts. I throw them out by day 5 if I don't run out by then.

Do I have anything to worry about? When I smell I usually don't smell anything or a slight smell , earthy type.

Additional photos for fun

 

[Tiel Feathers]

You can see, smell and taste if your sprouts are bad, just like with any fresh food. Your method is very different than mine, but I don't see anything wrong with it. This is what I do:

I use the easy sprouter from Sprout people, and their little bird mix. I put about 1/4 cup in sprouter and rinse them well. I add about 2 tsp. ACV and soak them overnight. In the morning I rinse them well and drain them very well. Throughout this first day I rinse and drain them about every 5-6 hours. I do not put them in fridge overnight. The next day I rinse and drain them the same as the day before, but that evening I soak them in ACV for about 10 minutes, rinse well, dry very well, and put them in fridge. They have small tails at this point, and are ready to eat. My birds eat them in three days. I always have sprouts going, and have never had a problem. I live where the air is very dry, and my house in about 64 degrees at night and 71 in the day.

 

[Tara81]

What do bad sprouts taste, look and smell like?

I'll soak in ACV too then ! Can't hurt right? I can't turn down the heat much, my budgie was sick for almost two months, he seems better the past two weeks but I want to keep the apartment warm for him for another two weeks just to make sure he's okay. I don't want to get up after just 6 hours to rinse the sprouts which is why I put them in the fridge.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

The earthy smell is fine. If they are fuzzy, mushy, discolored, smell bad, or taste like mold they would be bad. It is recommended that your seeds are organic. Every once in a while you hear of people who had birds get sick from sprouts, but I think that usually it’s not from the sprouts or that the people were not sprouting correctly.
I’m glad your budgie is feeling better!