Seed sprouting....

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ranechild
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Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 12:57 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD

Seed sprouting....

Post by ranechild »

With the addition to our family of two eclectus parrots, I have been further looking into a variety of fresh foods for the birdies... Sprouts.

I found this website--these people seem pretty knowledgable about sprouts. https://sproutpeople.org/

I ordered some large bird mix to sprout. I already have masion jars and have read an article about sprouting seeds for birds here: http://eclectusparrots.net/sprouts.html

I'm pretty excited about this adventure. I also got some mung beans to sprout for myself.

From what I understand, it's pretty easy... put the seeds/beans/peas in a maison jar, cover with a mesh screen, soak overnight, drain, rinse and drain twice or three times a day until they sprout. let them dry and put them in the fridge.

I'm excited to see how they like them!
Donovan
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Re: Seed sprouting....

Post by Donovan »

I've always wanted my bird to eat sprouts but i haven't been very consistent in trying to convince him to try them.

I am getting a new bird soon.. in about 6 weeks.... and considering how young he is I think I'll be able to correct some mistakes made with my current bird. So I am hoping to teach him to eat seed sprouts.

Sprouts are the mother of all health foods for birds.. from what I've read. So I'm hoping I can teach him to eat them.. which will in-turn teach my older bird to eat them.
Donovan
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Re: Seed sprouting....

Post by Donovan »

hadn't thought about that... i suppose a little moving air would help though
ranechild
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Re: Seed sprouting....

Post by ranechild »

someone had on their webstie to add citrus seed extract to the sprouts... It's supposed to be antimicrobial
Melika
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Re: Seed sprouting....

Post by Melika »

ranechild wrote:someone had on their webstie to add citrus seed extract to the sprouts... It's supposed to be antimicrobial
Right, grapefruit seed extract. Great stuff. This is probably my favourite Ekkie site, http://landofvos.com/eclectus.html
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I've been called 'birdbrained' before, but somehow I don't think this is what they meant. say:hah-nay
MissK
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Re: Seed sprouting....

Post by MissK »

Isn't there something to do with vinegar as well, or am I making that up?
-MissK
ranechild
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Re: Seed sprouting....

Post by ranechild »

I made a little rack to hold my sprouting jars... pictures to come.
I started sprouting some of the sproutable things I already have at the house: quinoa, navy beans, safflour seeds, and bean mix (the 15 bean mix soup that I cook up for the birds).
The quinoa is sprouted in less than a day. I started it yesterday and it was ready this morning. I gave some to the birds this morning, we'll find out how they like it tonight!!! I tasted it, and it was good. I would totally add that to a salad. I just realized though that quinoa doesn't increase in volume that much when it's soaked in water so you have to start with more of it that you might think. And don't forget that quinoa is a complete protein--all the amino acids that you and your birdies need!
This is pretty exciting!
MissK
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Re: Seed sprouting....

Post by MissK »

Hold off on the 15 bean mix until you do some research on that. My memory banks have a warning label on raw beans.
-MissK
Melika
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Re: Seed sprouting....

Post by Melika »

MissK wrote:Hold off on the 15 bean mix until you do some research on that. My memory banks have a warning label on raw beans.
Raw beans certainly, but sprouts are a whole new thing. :)

Here is a caution taken from http://www.landofvos.com/articles/sprouts.html
"NOTE: Many people have fed all of the beans in their sprouted form without problem. However, large raw beans such as Anasazi, Black, Fava, Kidney, Lima, Navy, Pinto, and Soy can cause problems of toxicity and digestive upsets for people and perhaps for birds. Except for soy sprouts (edible raw if grown long enough), these beans should be cooked to be digestible and are not recommended for general sprouting purposes. Soy sprouts, however, are high in isoflavones, SOD (superoxide dismutase), a very powerful and important antioxidant with essential fatty acids and lecithin."
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I've been called 'birdbrained' before, but somehow I don't think this is what they meant. say:hah-nay
ranechild
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Re: Seed sprouting....

Post by ranechild »

I did read that black turtle bean are indigestible and even if you sprout them, you should still cook the sprouts for digestive purposes.

The sprouting mixes I bought online are very nice. Oats and lentils and chickpeas and sunflower seeds. everyone likes the oat sprouts and I hear they are some of the most nutritious!
Donovan
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Re: Seed sprouting....

Post by Donovan »

aand would we say that seed sprouts are the mother of all health foods for birds?...
clawnz
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Re: Seed sprouting....

Post by clawnz »

There is absolutely no need to add things to sprouts if you do it right.
Key features are buying non treated fresh seeds.
Rinsing in clean water.
Strike rate is very important, and as the seeds age the less will sprout. This is why they will rot while you are trying to sprout.
Do not try to sprout different seeds. Why! Very simple, this is where a lot of people have trouble with molds. As different seeds, grains and beans take different times to sprout.
If you have trouble and you can tell if something is wrong by. Feel, smell, and taste.
If you are going to feed sprouts and want them at their best do not try keeping them in a fridge. serve fresh only. They should always be used before the tails are no more than 1/2in long. And can be used from after they have been soaked for 24hours.
Mung beans one of the best sprouts are one of the best foods you can fed your birds and yourself. The other thing is they sprout in three days unless you live in a very cold place.
And on a last note. You do not need any complicated gear to sprout.
Another bonus to sprouting! They are very cheap food, full of Natural goodies unlike a large number of Pellets on the market.

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Donovan
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Re: Seed sprouting....

Post by Donovan »

I like the idea of not sprouting an assortment...

i'll sit around later and separate a bunch of bird seed and germinate them with paper towels in separate dishes..... luckily, my local grocery store has packaged mung bean sprouts.. and they're not bad actually.
clawnz
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Location: Auckland NZ

Re: Seed sprouting....

Post by clawnz »

Donovan wrote:I like the idea of not sprouting an assortment...

i'll sit around later and separate a bunch of bird seed and germinate them with paper towels in separate dishes..... luckily, my local grocery store has packaged mung bean sprouts.. and they're not bad actually.

Sorry to say those bags of sprouted beans are past their nutritional best. But you are right they are not too bad tasting, and good if sprouted by the Chinese.
The commercial ones may have been sprayed to help keep them looking fresh longer.

Sprouting on tissue means you will not be able to rinse them which could lead to problems, more so outside of the normal growing periods for any particular seed.
I sprout Mung Beans all the year round on the window sill in the kitchen. But when we used to sprout cress like the way you talk about it was only during the summer and in the greenhouse, from memory.
As I said I feel you need to rinse minimum 2x a day. Keeping them damp with clean water, Not sitting in water and not drying out.
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