Sprouting Easy or Complicated?

[clawnz]

Here is a different slant on sprouts.
Details you will find here
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And here is a direct link to the vid.

Enjoy a little happy chappy.

 

[Birdlovesme]

Can you sprout store bought millet? It has added calcium and all of that, so I was justill wondering...

 

[clawnz]

The question is! Are they viable. The only way to find out is to try a small amount.
Most countries have some sort of processing of imported seeds.
This can be heat treated or irradiated, is my understanding.
So fresh local untreated seed is a good option.

I do feel if you are first time sprouter it maybe a good option to actually purchase a soak & sprout mix online or at local pet supply.
That way you know it will not be the mix, if anything goes wrong.
Like I bought 1kg of pumpkin seeds last week, and trying them out find I have wasted my time and money, as they are not showing any signs of sprouting.
That is another reason i keep all my seeds in separate bags. So any fail to perform I can just throw that bag away.

 

[clawnz]

This is in from Ash Barrett:
He is herein New Zealand North Island,
And It his take on sprouting

"Soak Seed.
Germination offers an easy, clean and safe way to provide superior nutrition to your birds.
Sprouts offer an inexpensive and convenient way to feed fresh greens.
You must start with a good sprouting mix. Take a portion of and rinse it well. Then cover with
water over night. Simply soak the seeds to the point where the root tips show.
Normally it will take twenty-four hours before you see the roots appear, rinse and move to fridge.
The low temperature will slow sprouting process and you will have less to worry about. fungi,
mildew or bacteria.
Sprouts are rinsed 3 times a day, more if in hotter climates, to prevent them from souring.
sprouts may be refrigerated for up to two weeks.
If a foul odor or mold develops, discard.
Rinsing with Apple Cider Vinegar, ACV alters pH and is so effective in killing many pathogens.
Rinsing and draining well is very important.
I use a plastic bowl of water with Apple cider vinegar for rinsing. Use approx 4 teaspoons in every
rinse.
It is easier to use a sieve for your seed as it can be lifted out of rinsing container for draining."

 

[clawnz]

First!
I am sorry all my photos have been blocked by Photobucket.
Due to their NEW policy. I have to pay them like $400 a year to share my photos.
I am not happy and need to recover well over 1,000 photos from my accounts. As I will not be using Photobucket any longer.

 

[clawnz]

Now on to news.
At the moment I have 4 new boarders in.
This morning all four were eating fresh sprouts. Which shows how much fresh natural foods are a normal part of their diet.
That is 2x Canary's, 1x Gallah, 1x Lorikeet, and he only came in last night, already getting stuck in the fresh sprouts.

I am not sure as yet where to move my photos to, so I have none available to show you. Sorry Blame Photobucket for being an arse.

 

[Vera]

Feeding sprouts: i sprout for my birds and use a very clean seedmix for this. I let the seeds soak over night in clean water with some product in it called birdy health.this keeps the water clean and works against bacteria. I let it soak in the fridge. When sprouting i use a glass jar with stainles steel maze lid. I rinse the sprouts in fresh water at least 2 times daily.more when possible. When they are done,mostly after 3 days,i rinse them very well and let them soak in water with birdy health product for about 15 minutes.then i let them dry on some paper towel. When dry i put them in a jar in the fridge
.i then rinse the sprouts daily and feed in 3 days. My sprouts have never smelled or looked bad, but my birds had a couple of bacterial infections. Before using the birdy health product i have used ACV instead. Same problem....
my AV said that the bacteril infections can come from the sprouts. I don't sprout amymore due to this problem. What did i do wrong? Do you think the bacterial infection can come from the sprouted seeds?

 

[clawnz]

Feeding sprouts: i sprout for my birds and use a very clean seedmix for this. I let the seeds soak over night in clean water with some product in it called birdy health.this keeps the water clean and works against bacteria. I let it soak in the fridge. When sprouting i use a glass jar with stainles steel maze lid. I rinse the sprouts in fresh water at least 2 times daily.more when possible. When they are done,mostly after 3 days,i rinse them very well and let them soak in water with birdy health product for about 15 minutes.then i let them dry on some paper towel. When dry i put them in a jar in the fridge
.i then rinse the sprouts daily and feed in 3 days. My sprouts have never smelled or looked bad, but my birds had a couple of bacterial infections. Before using the birdy health product i have used ACV instead. Same problem....
my AV said that the bacteril infections can come from the sprouts. I don't sprout amymore due to this problem. What did i do wrong? Do you think the bacterial infection can come from the sprouted seeds?

Without testing I can not say for sure.
Sure there is always the chance your vet is correct.
I do not see anything wrong in your sprouting practice.
Glass and Stainless are the way to go, as easy to sanitize.
I think I would say 'Try a soak & sprout mix, instead of the seedmix.
With this seed mix, when you sprout do you see better than 80% of it germinate?

Question. When you use this seed mix, is there any smell, slimy feel to them.
If the seed mix has been treated in any way or is old (Stale), the dead seeds can turn the rest very quickly.

At the moment I am sprouting around 4kg (8lb) in each batch. I do not use anything other than tap water, for soaking and rinsing.
In the mornings I just rinse and serve. Drying them could mean they die off quicker.
I did not see you temps where you are.
But am super cautious as to what I am trying to sprout. That is why I sometimes try to just sprout any new seeds that I buy. To be sure they will not mess my others up.

I will keep watch for your thoughts and results.

 

[clawnz]

Some years ago Merlie posted this excellent post on sprouting.
Thank You Merli.
http://forums.avianavenue.com/index.php?threads/some-general-info-on-sprouting-thought-it-might-be-helpful.50262/
Some general info on sprouting .. thought it might be helpful | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[clawnz]

I have a video of 'What I am sprouting now'. It is a collection of stills.
And I am sorry it is complicated by a few pics that show the Top Flight Soak & Sprout mix. But you should be able to figure them out.
The why is! My sprouting over laps. So that I have fresh sprouts everyday for them.
First up you see I keep them all in separate bags, in closed bins. As I buy from so many different places, I just never know. I do test sprout new seeds I find a supply of, just to be sure they are ok.
The purple water is the dye that comes out of the Black Rice.
Day 1 I start grass seed and Maize in large jar. The Black Rice I start on it's own other wise it stains the others.
12hrs later The rest get soaked in the largest jar, except the Quinoa which I add after 24hrs. And this is when I mix them all up.
In summer one strainer goes into the fridge to slow them down, and the other I will start serving from if I need.
And there are a couple of photos of Percy, Jill, Jack, Sophie.

 

[Vera]

i did use a special sproutmix, this one: AViseed sproutmix: yellow millet, safflower seed, wheat, japanese millet, mung beans, niger seed, rapeseed, white dari, hemp seed, red milo, buckwheat, sesame seed, quinoa seed.
or this one: organic sproutmix: french lentils, buckwheat, wheat, brown rice, adzuki beans, mungo beans.
i have ocasionaly had a bad smell, but that batch i threw away.
sometimes the water is a bit cloudy after the soaking period, but never slimy or anything during growing.
i haven't fed sprouts for a long time anymore. ia m afraid of the bacterial infections.

 

[clawnz]

Hi Vera. So nobody has not commented yet.
My water can be cloudy after the first soaking.
Do were you rinsing before soaking?
If you are concerned about bacteria, then I would go with a ACV solution soak.
I am not overly sure when or ratio of solution. But will find out.
I think you do this after the first soaking. Do not quote me though.
I have not had reason to do this, and have forgotten details.

I do think you were right to throw the smelly ones away.
If you smell them every time you are near them, you will understand when things change.
I trust my nose.

 

[Joey wade]

I'm assuming washing the sprouts in F10 would also kill mold/bacteria and be safe for the birds?

 

[clawnz]

I have to ask if that is safe for our Fids. I do not know much about F10.

It is. One thing to be washing down surfaces and cages, but another to be using on their foods.

 

[Tyrion]

I dont think I would use F-10 to rinse your sprouts I would use GSE

 

[RandyMiller]

As part of feeding fresh. Sprouts are an important part of this.
I.E. Serving soak seed and sprouts means you are feeding live foods.
This is a big bonus as they do not go off in the food tray, they will keep on growing.
Sprouting good seed, grains, peas, and beans, can cover a lot of a birds needs, in a natural food. And the vitamins, minerals, and trace elements are natural.
What does this mean. It means the birds body can deal with these in much better ways than manufactured ones.
What can you sprout?
View attachment 255768
The above is a good guide. Not complete by any means. There are many other things that will sprout.

WARNING: Some beans are not suitable. This is a little complicated, so please check before using any of them.
Exceptions: Mung Beans which are a top bean, and only lack Vit A.

Is it complicated? No!

Do I need to buy any special sprouting items? No! I use just a few jars, one lid I drilled holes in it. For the smaller seeds I use a strainer. See Pics.

Can I store them. Yes! But only for a few days in the fridge, and rinse them, preferably in ACV mix, every day. They do need to be drained and not left sitting in water, which will go cloudy, and may turn your sprouts. So this is a little more complicated. I will show you what I use, below.

What are the dangers? I hear so much said about this. So lets look at why!
Buying sprouts from the supermarket. A: These are past their prime. B: They may of been treated to help them look fresh. Don't Buy or use these.
Old Stale things you try to sprout will go moldy in the soaking.
Using Dirty Water, will cause a problem.
Failing to rinse often enough will cause a problem.
Trying to keep them over a few days, can cause a problem.

I used to sprout Mung Beans mainly with a few others now and then. Why! I have never seen a problem and have sprouted them for many years. Only ever sprouted enough for a few days and only served them from soak to tails just over the half inch long. Then threw any left away. But as I have more birds and I wanted to add variety, looked to step things up.
I looked at what was available here in NZ. The bird Barn do their own. Not sure what they list in them. Top Flight do what seems a good Soak & Sprout mix. The only things that put me off. Was price. And the Kibbled things in this. I mean anything kibbled is not there as a sprout is it.
But they were good enough to give me a full list.
So I went shopping, and shopping. Now I know most if not all produce coming in to the country is treated in some way or another, to sanitize. This can effect the viability for them to grow. Plus old stale stuff will not sprout or at least be very poor germination.
So I decided to start of instead of using a total mix, I would sprout each in different jars, so that if any were not going to work I could throw away.
I did find Soy Beans, but after a bit of research dumped them. Not worth the risk. Probably ok in small amounts. But there are plenty of known good seeds to use.

Cockatiel Seed mix. I know this is a good one as it comes from my wholesale, fresh as, and sprouts well.
Sunflower
Safflower
Wheat
Hulled Oats
Whole Oats
Barley
Pumpkin seed
Rape seed
Cockatiel seed mix (I know this is good and fresh seed mix)
Blue peas
Maple peas
Grass seed (This is as per lawn grass seed mix)
Mung beans
Maize
Adzuki beans.
Quinoa

I did try Flax. But it turns into a gooey mess. I am told you can rinse the goop off and it will sprout. But not worth the effort. SO I just use it fresh and sprinkle in the mix at serving time or add the their seed mix.
Yes I do feed a good amount of seed. But note I do add things to there basic mix. And it is important to note most seed mixes are very basic with sometimes only 5 different seeds in that mix.

Lets start with the Flax Goop
View attachment 255769

View attachment 255770

The first lot I used a plastic bag to mix them all up, rinse and drain.

Here is an example of why you need to rinse. These were ok but if they had been left they would of gone off. This was when I went to rinse in the morning, I took the photo to show that the water can go cloudy. Always rinse until the water stays clear.
View attachment 255771

The first serving. They were just starting to sprout.
View attachment 255772

And my Red Head enjoying them. What a great food tray ash trays make! and you can see the filter I removed from a strainer on this shot.

She likes them so much she will follow me around in the mornings watching and waiting. As soon as I put them out she is there.
I am on batch three and have cut down the amount of jars now. I know that they are all good.
I still use different jars as somethings take longer to germinate, so start them a day or two early for each mix. I do not feed these seven days a week. they get a break from them before I do the next lot.
I even got to see Alex and the Tiels getting stuck in, but I have to put these out in a separate tray, so they do not disturb Sophie. If I have missed anything please ask.

Wow! Thats really useful info. Thanks clawnz.

 

[Vera]

What is the minimum temperature to sprout?
I am trying to sprout in the garage.temp is about 8 degrees celsius. Will this just take longer to sprout?or is it too cold?

 

[clawnz]

What is the minimum temperature to sprout?
I am trying to sprout in the garage.temp is about 8 degrees Celsius. Will this just take longer to sprout?or is it too cold?

My opinion!
At 8c you should be ok.
I have seen places say you need some heat, but that is high risk.

In someways you are safer at the lower temps, from molds.
It may take longer, that is all.

When I do a batch, once soaked. Half go into the fridge to slow them up, (yes they do not die at fridge temps) and the other half I leave out to use.
That way I get good sprouts over 4 days.

Let us know how you go.

 

[Hjarta5]

Thanks for updating! I just got TOPS Napoleon mix last night and was so lost on how to properly sprout them

 

[KellyBean]

Hey I started a batch this morning around 11. I added like a tsp of hemp seed. Then noticed on the first page that diagram says not to soak them bc they wont sprout. Should I dump that batch and start over? Or is it fine, just don't expect them to sprout??