Sprouting?

hnb

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Joey, Scarlett Macaw
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Who here sprouts? I just started, I can't for the life of me get Joey to eat greens, so I'm hoping this gets him on a better track. Have any of you that do sprout notice a difference in your birds? I feed lots of fresh fruits and veggies to him, but want to do a bit more for him. Thanks everyone!
 

chris-md

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Feb 6, 2010
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I do...did...do...been lazy about it lately I’ll admit. Can’t say I notice a difference but Parker is already on a good diet so “notice a difference” is a matter of possibly imperceptible degrees for him.
 
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hnb

hnb

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I do...did...do...been lazy about it lately I’ll admit. Can’t say I notice a difference but Parker is already on a good diet so “notice a difference” is a matter of possibly imperceptible degrees for him.

Does he eat green veggies usually anyways?
 

chris-md

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He has no choice. I prepare chop, and everything in his chop is small sized so he can’t pick and choose. Given his druthers he wouldn’t eat the leafy greens. He will chow down on some Swiss chard greed though!
 
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hnb

hnb

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Last question, do you think I can sprout these things all in one container? Or should I do them all separately?
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Chickpeas*
• Lentils*
• Quinoa*
• Short Grain Brown Rice*
• Barely
• Millet
• Sesame seeds
• Amaranth
• Almonds
• Spelt
• Buckwheat
• Garbanzo Beans
• Adzuki Beans
• Mung Beans
• Green Peas
• Wheat

And does that seem like a good mix?

Or of that list, what can be sprouted together? Trying to save jar space :)
 
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chris-md

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Parker - male Eclectus

Aphrodite - red throated conure (RIP)
It’s a great mix! I struggle with garbanzo beans as part of one unit. They go bad quickly for me and need to dry out. I will often sprout those separately, but when everything is complete illlix them back in.
 
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hnb

hnb

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Perfect!! Thank you so much, Chris. This was super helpful!

Time to make a whole foods run in the morning :D
 

Inger

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Can I tag on to this question? Will fresh seeds sprout? Like out of a pepper or a squash or whatever? Is it safe?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

plumsmum2005

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Great news re wanting to sprout, my advice is start off simple one or two similar ingredients ie same soaking and sprouting times. Search on here there is loads of info for you! Happy sprouting!
 

Flboy

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Remember, sprouting for bird’s is different than sprouting for a salad bar! For us, we enjoy long mature sprouts. They are at their peak, nutritionally, when they just crack the hull and have barely visible tails! I use a mix, soak for 10 hours, rinse in a strainer, repeat rinse every few hours. Total time is approx 22-24 hours. Once in the strainer, I leave them there until complete!
Some fresh seeds need to go through a chill before they will sprout.
Also, there are some beans you never sprout, example kidney beans, they are poisonous eaten uncooked!

I must add, if your guy insists on having longer sprouts, well, he’s the boss!
Be very, very careful of any funky smell! With sprouts, there is NO wiggle room for spoilage! A little off and a very sick bird, if alive!

Just found this article, a good read! She differs from what I am doing, but my mix is a blend of much smaller seeds!
http://bestbirdfoodever.com/home/wp/index.php/2010/11/28/soaked-vs-sprouted-seeds/
 
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jm0

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I only experimented with sprouting once about two weeks ago, with hemp seeds. I thought i had it under control. Maybe i overthinked it a bit. I used latex gloves, and sterilized the jars and sieve between rinses (two times a day) plus leaving them in apple cider vinegar for ten minutes each rinse to kill mold and bacteria. They sprouted fine, but it took at least three to four days for them all to grow to a considerable size, or is hemp seed sprouts fairly small in size compared to other plant species? To end the story, my sprouts developed mold on the fourth day. So my first attempt failed, i think i will give it a try once more today :) Do you guys think it could be the apple cider vinegar causing mold? But maybe it could also be because i got lazy on the third day and only rinsed them in pure water because i thought they were fine, and i was too tired to go through the whole process of using latex gloves and wait for the water to boil and soak in apple cider vinegar.
 
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plumsmum2005

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I'd buy her product if it was less expensive over here.

@jm0 No I don't think so, remember the conditions in your home, the weather, temperature are never exact from one time to the next. All are factors.

The sniff test won't let you down IMO. If in doubt, chuck them out! If you have a reasonable cold water supply ie can drink from the tap just try that next time. I like to mix up some water with GSE for the rinsing, although there are for and against with this product.
 
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jm0

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That is true, maybe the bad weather played a role in this. I will keep trying until i get it down. I will start with getting hemp seeds to sprout properly and then move onto other plant species.

The original poster ^ just inspired me to have multiple jars going for each type of seed, and store them seperately, and serve multiple mixed sprouts. Good idea! Gonna take up a lot of jar space :)
 

jm0

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Relative Humidity is over 60% right now, so that is why the sprouting is failing. You're guaranteed mold-free sprouts with an ideal RH under 50%. I'm thinking about making a some kind of sprouting box to grow the sprouts and raise the temp to 30C then i should be left with a RH of 10%. According to this graph:

http://www.cszindustrial.com/Portals/1/PDF/Understanding_Humidity_in_Environmental_Test_Chambers.pdf

The problem is just that the sprouts needs rinsing two times a day, and that will only incerase the RH in the box. So maybe it's pointless to build such a project. I think about adding a UV light to the box as well, as this will kill bacteria and mold. I will definitely try to experiment with different designs along the way and maybe post my findigs if i can get it to work.

If it is in fact possible to do this, one can sprout seeds no matter the weather. Or if you're willing to run a dehumidifier just for the sake of sprouting seeds :p
 
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plumsmum2005

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My goodness far to scientific for me LOL. Btw did hear of someone who grew sprouts in a pair of tights in the shower room LOL :)
 
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hnb

hnb

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Joey, Scarlett Macaw
Born: 6/2/99
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Do I have to cook chickpeas after they've soaked overnight? Wanted to try out some in Joey's dinner :D I soaked sesame seeds, quinoa, and chick peas.. Hoping to just throw them all in
 

plumsmum2005

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Fly free Plum, my gorgeous boy.
No 'to sprout' the principle is soak and then sprout, no cooking involved!

If you are not sprouting then follow the instructions on soaking and cooking on the packet OK?
 
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hnb

hnb

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Joey, Scarlett Macaw
Born: 6/2/99
Brought home: 8/12/17
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I can't tell if they smell funny or not... But I'm going to toss and try again. Instead of doing jars I'm going to try just putting the seeds in a strainer, feels like the open air will be better?

Thank you :) After I soak the chickpeas overnight tonight I'll add to breakfast. He loves chickpeas and garbanzo beans, so he'll be a happy boy. As will my foster boy, Claude. He was on only pellets before (Crazy for an ekkie...) so he's really loving all the veggies and fresh grains
 

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