FINCHforum

Those of you that have read my posts thus far, have probably figured out that I'm an avid internet searcher and book reader.

I pride myself on being able to read about techniques that work for others, and then combine the best elements of those techniques into something that will work well for me.

However, after driving myself nearly insane after an a day of reading about sprouts for birds, I'm about ready to give up, having not even tried...

Each "recipie" for sprouting seeds seems to be as individual as the author, and many of the methods seem to involve a great ammount of "voodoo".

For instance, I read one "recipe" that actually states as a step "bless the seeds". Many others seem to contain steps that seem illogical and sometimes even silly "toss the jar in the air several times as if playing with a baby".

More than 1/2 of the webpages and books I've read that contain instructions for spouting seed include advertisements and links to buy products to "prevend mold, make the XX content of the seed richer, buy our super duper deluxe special sprouting tray", the list goes on and on.

So before I put on a feathered headdress, pray to some god of seed, do the hoaky poaky, and slap down $39.95 + S&H, and then turn myself inside out, is there anyone that can blow some of this smoke away?!?!?

Here is what I do:

Take a wide-mouth pint canning jar. Use the ring part of the top only. I actually glued screen material inside the ring to make a screen top, but you can just put screen or cheesecloth on top of the jar and then replace the ring. This is your sprouter.

Day 1 am - Fill the jar with about 1-2" good finch seed (don't use the kind that has colored pellets). Fill the jar with water and pour out to rinse the seeds several times. Fill the jar with water once more and set aside.

Day 1 pm - Pour out the water, rinse a couple of times, then set the jar with top down at an angle so the jar will continue to drain during the night.

Day 2 am - Rinse a couple of times, set top down at an angle again to drain.

Day 2 pm - Repeat Day 2 am

Day 3 am - Rinse, drain, and after a little while, feed to your birds.

This schedule works for me. While the jars are draining, I may shake them a little during the day just to get air to all the seeds. They are supposed to be best when the little white sprout just starts to show, but my guys will eat them when even more developed, too. Depending on how warm or cool your house is, the sprouts may be ready sooner or later for you. They will expand and start to fill the jar. A lot of people use a water cleanser like Sparkle, some use a very dilute bleach rinse. The main concern is that they will spoil quickly. They should smell fresh and sort of nutty--if they smell at all bad, toss them.

It really isn't so complicated. I'm just in the habit of doing it while my coffee brews in the morning, and then while doing the dishes at night. When resting, I don't give this every day, maybe once a week. When breeding or molting, they may get it every day. Then I will have multiple jars going at one time. To keep track, I just labeled the jars with the starting day of the week. And for fewer birds (this will work for 20-30 birds), just use a smaller jar and fewer seeds. You will have to experiment to see just how much you use. If you have too much, you can always refrigerate the excess for a few days.

There is an article on the FIC about sprouting seeds with an entirely different method. As you have found, there are lots of ways to do it, just try a few and see what works for you. The most important thing is what works with your schedule so that you keep up with it--if you forget about the sprouts, the smell will let you know--phew!

Rottielover,

Keep in mind, many of the things you read about people providing their birds are not absolutely necessary. Sprouted/soaked seeds for your birds are not a necessary part of their diet. Do the birds like them? Yes. Do they help to encourage some species of birds to breed? Yes? Do youy have to give them to your birds? No.

I agree with Sally - it is really not that difficult. But - if not done properly, you can get mold or bacteria in your sprouted/soaked seed. And if you do - toss that batch and try again.

So before you "offer up" your $39.95 - decide if it is something your really want to do or not.

Tammy is absolutely right! A good basic finch seed mix and/or pellets, some greens, a source of vitamins and/or minerals--these are the basics, and most pet birds will do fine with this. The important thing is quality--seed at your local big box store may not be very fresh if there aren't many finch owners in your area. Breeding is a whole different ball game, as the birds then have increased and totally different needs.

A lot of what we do is the same thing we do for our dogs. Do my dogs really know the difference between 'lamb stew with brown rice and baby vegetables' and all the other varieties out there? I doubt it, when their favorite treat is dumpster-diving in the cat litter box, or digging up a bone they buried three months ago. All that advertising is aimed at us, the suckers who think our dogs can read a label! I mean, I'm in the store picking out an assortment of flavors (that sound good to me), when they're probably all the same food, just with different labels slapped on!

So if you enjoy being 'chef to your birds', as one site owner calls herself, go for it, but don't worry if you don't feel like going to all the extra trouble.

Sally,

Not to toss a wrench on the gear's here, but I actually work for a dog and cat food company.

Not all the food is the same with different labels, in fact any dog/cat food company would get into some big trouble with AFFCO and the FDA if they did that.

We even manufacture some prescription diets, and those have some very excacting standards.

Getting back on topic, I agree that most places are advertising to the walking animals with wallets, so it's up to us to figure out what's "best" or "needed".

Sprouting seed / millet sprays' at first looked like such an easy thing to do, and I was looking for more treats for the birds... however after all the reading about what can go wrong, I think I'm going to stick to treats that I have a bit more control over, fresh fruits/veggies, eggfood, millet spray (that's not soaked) etc.

Maybe one day I'll try the sprout thing...

OOPS!! I need to be more careful about just shooting off my mouth! I got a little carried away there, and I do apologize--no offence meant.

None Taken

I've got probably the blackest thumb of anyone I know, I've killed more plants than I can count, BUT I tried the canning jar method of sprouting seeds and it worked!! I got my seeds and now just need to convince Squeaker my budgie to eat them I wasn't as exact as Sally, I put enough seeds in to cover the bottom of the jar and rinsed them out a couple of times, then every day I rinse them 2 or 3 times and let them drain well. It only took a few days to get sprouts and about a week to get big enough sprouts to feed. Oh and I used Squeaker's seed that I feed her to sprout them

Rottielover, I also do not do sprouting because it is just too many steps, all that rinsing, etc, but I do soak millet spray for my fids.

The soaking makes it softer and is less messy when my fids eat it.

I put a drop or two of Grapefruit Seed Extract in about half a glass of water (to prevent bacterial/fungal growth), place a few 2-3" pieces of millet spray in it making sure all pieces are submerged in water (usually need to use a spoon to hold those pieces down) and leave it for up to 12 hrs.

When it is ready, I rinse the millet under running water and it is ready.

hi all
sprouted seed is great ,but just giving your birds seed that has had boiling water poored over it and rinsed in cold water is enought o get more nutrients out of the seed..i know people who just soak millet sprays over night then rinse them and feed them to thier birds and they dont even bother to let them sprout so if you cant be bothered with all the sprouting or it keeps going wrong just soak some seed over night in a bowl or a jar pour it in to a sieve and rinse it let it dry and then feed it it will be just as good ..i take some of the moisture from mine by sprinkling it with eggfood and my canarys love it!

ken

I got this great "sprouter" from a place in San Francisco online. It's a plastic jar with slits at the bottom, inside another plastic jar. Comes with a lid. I just put the seeds in there, add water to cover and let it soak for about 12 hours. Then you pour out the water and rinse once or twice a day. It's really handy and no mess and easy. I needed something simple. It works great. It was about $13.00

Trevorama,
would you mind giving us the link to that store where you bought the sprouter?
Thanks

I've never sprouted seeds for my birds, but I've grown sprouts for myself in the past. I used to have a three tiered system for it that was wonderfully. I looked online a bit to find something similar and less expensive. This is what I found. It's the same concept as what I had, and what I used to have worked wonderfully.


http://www.ultimate-weight-products.com ... TS=froogle

http://www.yardlover.com/products.php?pid=77715103


I don't know if this is what trevorama used, but perhaps this will be helpful.

Anneka wrote:Trevorama,
would you mind giving us the link to that store where you bought the sprouter?

Here's the website www.sproutpeople.com.
They have a "small bird mix" which I bought and used, but the mix I've been using regularily I got from someone nearby. They really love it. The seeds in the mix are:
Quinoa, amaranth, Golden Millet, Wheat Berries, Spelt, Rye Berries, Jasmine rice, Radish, Japonica rice & sesame. All the seeds are organic. I found the rice didn't really sprout although I have used Wehani rice and it sprouts. I actually planted some. I'm going to go to the natural food store to replenish.

I always ended up tossing the seeds because I would not like their smell after a few days. I tried adding a bit of bleach to the soak water, using Saniclens, rinsing religiously, and they would still start to smell "skunky" by about day three, well before most had even germinated.

Finally, I added a thin layer of bird gravel in the sprouter. Because the slits are small enough to allow water to flow through, but keep the seeds in, basic parakeet gravel worked great! Now I just grow little miniature "gardens" for my guys, using the gravel as the growing substrate and misting the growing seeds to keep them happy. For some reason, no skunky smell and the birds get to have the fun of munching on growing plants.

I *have* read, as I've seen mentioned here, that the seeds don't actually have to germinate for the sprouting to be effective. Just soaking them for a day or two increases their nutritional value. But my guys like ripping through all that green stuff!:lol:

If you want to get REALLY lazy about it, several of my gardening catalogues have automatic seed sprouters. You just have to replace the water daily, and it mists your seeds for you (1-2 minutes every 15, I believe)! It costs about $90 - $140, depending on where you get it from and how many frills you get with it, but after dumping pounds of "skunky" seed, I was getting tempted!