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How to sprout seed!

15K views 46 replies 10 participants last post by  clawnz 
#1 ·
for a while i have wanted to sprout seed for my flock but never knew how. i tried a few ways, but it always tired out gross and smelly. i have tried sprouting them in-between moist coffee filters and just in a cup.

Fear not!! i will share my success :)

supplies:
- good seed mix (i recommend Higgins Supreme Parakeet blend)
- canning jar
- mesh
- hungry birds!

1. start with a good brand of seed. i use Higgins Supreme Parakeet, which is very basic and only consists of 4 seeds. my flock wastes a lot with other seed brands because of the odd seeds or the pellets added. with higgins, there is zero waste. also, you can sprout mixes with pellets, but the water might get dirty!

2. add as much seed as you want for one day of feeding into your canning jar

3. put the 'sealing' lid aside as you will not need it and replace it with the mesh

4. rince the seeds a few times. i do not use vinegar in the soaking process. i only use vinegar when i am soaking my barley seeds for fodder for my rabbit. so, no need for vinegar!

5. after rinsing, fill the jar with water so it covers the seeds. seed that float can be thrown out or left. some will sink at the day goes on. i usually start rinsing and soaking when i get up.

6. i have done varying times for soaking from 12-15 hours. currently i am doing 12 +/- hours and it works great. i drain the seed before i go to bed and let them sit at a downward angle.

soaking seeds on the left and sprouting on the right (its horizontal just for the picture!)


having the seeds a a correct angle. it should be fine for whatever angle you choose, i have seen people do it with the jar completely upside down.


7. to make this clearer- day one in the morning you will rise and soak, at night on day one you will drain and let the seed sit at an angle. rinse the seeds if they appear to be drying out. day two in the morning, you should see a little white spot on the seed which is the root. i feed them at this point. if you want to wait longer, there will be a bigger root. i have heard that the bigger the root, the less nutrition is in the seed. my first time i waited a few days which is why the root is so big in the pic. again, i prefer to feed them in the morning on day two

first batch, sprouts are long. i don't have a picture of second day sprouts!


the leaf was even starting to grow. they did not eat the root or the leaf, hence why i recommend feeding on day two (i think you understand by now :p )


cheerio the sprouts addict! she was the first to fall in love and now they all will fight over them!! (a great food for the picky budgie :))





and i did mention that i tried sprouting seed in moist coffee filters and it didn't really work well, BUT!! i did manage to sprout flax seed! using this method :D a while ago when i was growing seed (i'll put pics of that at the bottom) i soaked some flax seed for a day and threw it in a planter box. a while later i checked and it grew! next year i will plant it in the beginning of the planting season to see how much it can grow.

anyways... i soaked some flax seed for 12-15 hours~ i can't remember~ and then i put them in a moist/wet coffee filter and covered them. i kept it wet and after a few days....




and so i waited some more days and....!!


the seeds are sticky in an oily sense, but cheerio still liked them. i am going to try this again


last but not least, this is the failed sprouting seed that i threw in a planter and it grew. the birds loved the fresh seed and i am going to plant a lot more next year!! the red millet is black and the white millet is green




yum!


let me know if you have any questions :)
 
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#32 ·
I had to sprout seeds for Peepers as sprouted seeds are low in fat and the fat from just eating plain seeds is bad for my little canary. Peepers had a horrible diet of only one type of seed for almost 2 years of his life.

The canary seed he ate caused him to have fatty liver disease, so I had to give him sprouted light colored seeds only, as well as a diet of fresh veggies and some proteins.
 
#30 · (Edited)
well i don't know the specifics of how much fat and what not are in dry versus sprouted, but i can say that since it is a living food, it is healthier. seeds are fatty and i i understand correctly, when the seed starts to grow, it uses the fat for energy....maybe thats wrong, don't take my word for it :p

also, i don't think i posted this on here yet, but my seed that i am growing is doing well (despite the fact that a tree frog is living in there...) and i have been taking pictures of the growth of the grass. i also have flax growing with it which appears to be doing well. last year i started flax too late just to see if it would grow, and it did, but then it got too cold out. so this is the first time i am letting flax grow. when the grass and flax have seed sprays and i harvest them and take pics, i will post all of the pics. keep an eye out in a few months for a new thread of "How to grow seed". also i have been successful so far with growing spray millet. i have yet to see how big it gets and if it does have grow sprays in the end :)

edit: well i actually might try and plant a new batch outside in the ground- i just looked up "growing flax" and saw that it gets very tall!! i will still let my current flax grow. i never knew that flax was a flowering plant :eek:

*not my picture*

 
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#33 ·
@colbon2

I have a friend who has a bird they live in Labrador, getting food out there is really difficult and extremely expensive. A loaf of bread can be as expensive as $22 dollars a jar of cheese wiz was over $30. So you can imagine what lettuce or kale or any fresh veggies and fruits would be like there.

She decided to sprout her seeds to make sure the seeds were fresh and it cut down on the cost she would have had to spend buying expensive produce in the winter for her bird.

Smart!
 
#35 · (Edited)
Shelly sent you a PM, before I see that you had already noticed missing photos.

Now I have an update on sprouting.
I got a new Alexandrine (Alex male 6yr). And I have Sophie (14mth Eclectus) So decided to expand my sprouting. This came about, as when talking to a breeder they showed me their sprouting results using just a plastic bag to sprout in. They were using Topflight Soak & Sprout. I checked it out and Topflight were good enough to send me the contents list. What put me off was the amount of kibbled things in it. I would perfer to put things that will not sprout in after sprouting, even if I had to soak that in separate container.
So I went shopping. Local market, my wholesale supply, and a bulk store come health store. And also found a few things to try at the supermarket.
As I was not sure how some would sprout and different amount of times to germinate. Decided to do them in different jars.
It is winter here and the temps are getting down around 10c at night, and still sprouting can be done without any real problems. The sprouts below took 4days, but I di put some out after 3days as soak seed.
First lot was great and well liked.
I am not sure about Soy Beans yet! I left them out first time, but have included them in the lot I am doing now. Please research this, before using. I found conflicting comments and so called facts.
Flax seed. Be careful. Look at the photo of how they turned into a gooey messy. I knew this, as I have done it before.


The vid is of the photos along the way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z9x-EYjplU










So I mixed them all into a plastic bag, and then rinsed them. Keep rinsing untill the water is clear.


As I did so many I had to put in fridge. I rinsed them every day and used ACV in the rinse. Used for 4days. I would not use them after that.
And as you can see in this photo the water is cloudy after each day in the fridge. So remember rinsing is very important. And my Mantra. Smell Feel Taste. Any doubt throw out. Rinse and drain. Do not leave in water.


And messy beaks are happy beaks.


Shophie got to the point she would follow me in the morning watching me prep the food for the day and as soon as the sprout mix went up on the cage she was there. So pleasing as she was a seed junky when I got her.

Now what was in this mix
Sunflower
Safflower
Wheat
Hulled Oats
Whole Oats
Barley
Pumpkin seed
Rape seed
Cockatiel seed mix
Blue peas
Maple peas
Grass seed
Soy
Mung beans
Maize
Adzuki beans.

I have been checking out Soy.
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/03/28/avoid-using-soy-on-pets.aspx

And will be removing them from this mix. Seems a friend was right to tell of the dangers of soy.
Found some Quinoa yesterday so adding that to the new batch.
Flax seed will have to go in as dry seed, when served, only.
 
#37 ·
Wow! Looks like you made quite a meal (or desert!) for your fids :) yes, the flax do get a little gel around them. I have found that rinsing them helps get rid of that.
 
#38 ·
Sprouting in a baggie.

Clive I was just reading your post and have a couple questions.
I see that you have a wide variety of seed in the zip loc back sprouting at once. Do they not all have different germination times and how do you handle this?
Also, how do you rinse the sprouts in a bag? And how do you drain them?

I have tried a bit of sprouting but without a whole lot of success. I have lots of spout mixes i have bought and tower sprouter so I really need to get back at it.

I am also on city water which has chlorine in it. Can I rinse with this or should i only use bottled water (spring)?

Thank you for any help. These threads have been very interesting to read.
:)
 
#39 ·
Yes I am still working out which take longer. That is one of the reasons they are all indifferent jars. As well as seeing if any of them are not viable.
I used the bag to mix all the different jars together after they were sprouted in the jars. So not sprouted or stored in there.
I use a strainer (kitchen) when rinsing.Just tip the whole lot in the strainer and rinse under the tap drain and back in the container. And I have made a tray to go in the container you see, will get a picture up soon.so they are not sitting in water. The cloudy water was where I had just filled it up before rinsing, to show that the water can go cloudy if left.
Sounds like your water will do fine.
If you can find Mung Beans, try sprouting just these on their own. Makes good practice and they will sprout very quickly.
 
#40 ·
Now we are rocking.
Practice makes for better results.


I am now doing about 1kg at a time.
Start with Maze and Grass seed. Soak these for 24hrs and rinse a couple of times.
Then soak in another two jars.
Adzuka beans
Mung beans
Quinoa
Buckwheat
Barley
Wheat
Sunflower
Safflower
Maple Peas
Blue Peas
Rape seed

So dropped a few of the things I was trying.

Once sprouted i am keeping in fridge, rinse every day. And feed over four days.
When I run out I use Soak & Sprout mix.
This stops them from becoming bored.
Sophie is now all most dry seed free. She is loving her sprouting mix. She is now even going across to the top of the other cage where I also put some out for the Tiels.
 
#42 ·
what a good looking seed mix! i wish mu flock would eat like that~picky budgies :rolleyes:

i am having a lot of good and bad luck with growing seed..i think i might have the recipe for the best results! coming soon.... :)
 
#43 ·
The people over the road I get on with have two Budgies.
I have already taken the cage and revamped it with real natural branches.
Talked them into offering treats from the garden, and they have a Bottlebrush right out side their front door. Never thought about offering any to the Fids. I am taking a few sprouts over, As I had already talked them into trying new foods. Seed Seed and more seed. They have said the Budgies do seem happier and more active.

A couple of things maybe worth considering. With the Budgies how about just trying the smaller seeds to sprout.
Now as you know I have all these seeds in separate bags. I had thought of blending them so that I do not have to mess around so much each time. But then it stuck me. Pantry Moths. And as these seeds came from so many different places, I cannot be sure they are clear of them. OK I could place in freezer to kill anything. But if already contaminated I would prefer to throw away. So will not be blending them. They stay in separate bags in the sealed bin.
I took in a Cockatiel Yesterday for boarding and the first thing he got was some fresh sprouts. In the hour I see him eating them. Or at least pecking at them in a bowl he was not used to. With the boarders I do watch very careful those first few hours to read body language and make sure they eat and hopefully preen. Then I know they are comfortable enough.
 
#44 ·
i just proud my normal seed mix and my guys eat it up. i have tried sprouting beans form them but they weren't interested. i feed them greens too, but i have to clip big leafy pieces to the side of the cage, not in a bowl because if its in a bowl they won't eat the veggies!
 
#45 · (Edited)
Sprouters.
Here is a very cheap one, if you live in USA $13.95us
https://sproutpeople.org/easy-sprout-sprouter/

Not here. They want $40 for this. We get so badly burnt down here.
So I went shopping knowing what I wanted or needed.
1x Fry Pan Splater Guard. (Fine mesh).
1x Deep Klip It Box.
1x Shallow Kilp It Box
And went into the workshop.
Here are the pictures of the new Willgoss Sprouter.

I ground these slots in the bottom of the deep box


Cut the mesh to fit in the bottom of the deep box and used silicon to glue it in.The silicon did not bite into the plastic so I can see I will have to figure something out later. But for now it is safe and works.


Next was to put 4x rivets in the small box sides, so that the deep box sits on them when placed inside it.


Finished item.


A close up of sprouts. Sad that the small seeds were flushed to the bottom and I did not notice until I looked at this photo.


I still soak in the jars and found a 3lt one. Not sure if I will use that yet.

I am now up to sprouting
Mung beans
Adzuki beans
Wheat
Barley
Pumpkin seeds
Quinoa
Rape seeds
Sunflower seeds
Safflower seeds
Chick Peas
Maple Peas
Blue Peas
Black Sesame seeds
Grass seeds
Maize
Buck Wheat
Lentils

Playing around with the varying the amounts of each seed.
 
#47 ·
Sprouting is one of the best things we can do for our captive birds. When you sprout you are feeding fresh unadulterated living foods. Can I point you to my thread on Avian Avenue. We do list a few options for online mixes. I myself do use a soak & sprout (Top Flight) mix in between serving my own blend. I am now up to 20 different items in my own mix, where the soak & sprout mix is fairly basic. But great for filling in and does offer variety. http://forums.avianavenue.com/index.php...



Sprouting Easy or Complicated? | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum
forums.avianavenue.com
 
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