Wanting to sprout....

[Nesi]

So I keep reading how sprouts are great, especially for upcoming molting. I also just want to do it out of fun & curiosity. I'm still a somewhat new chicken momma. I've spent hours upon days even researching this. Everyone says DO this or DON'T do that! A lot of it is contradicting each other. Sprouts or Fodder? I get the difference i think...one is just starting to grow and the other is longer?? greener?

I have containers of all sorts, bags, pillowcases, plastic containers (bottles, small bins, paper bins) that can be made into whatever and a 50 lb bag of scratch. I get the no cracked anything goes into the sprouting mixture, right? So I am going to pick through and get me full non cracked grains/seed/ect. This is the step I begin to get lost at or really information overload and don't know which to try.

I find myself learning more from you guys & gals here than anywhere else. So please if you kind souls do not mind, please educate this young chicken momma.
Many thanks and much appreciation to any help.

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PS Also if you recommend something else please leave me a brand, website or anything that I could refer to for future efforts! I have a green house in my basement so can do just about anything if I tried hard enough ​

 

[JaeG]

Sprouting isn't difficult. Mine like wheat just sprouted. They won't eat much of it as actual fodder. So play around and see what stage your girls like it at. Mine love soaked hulled sunflower seeds too, just soaked or sprouted.

I've used square icecream containers (I'm in a different country so not sure if icecream comes in similar packaging where you are!) with lots of holes punched in the bottom. I used nail scissors for that job. You could also use a disposable foil roasting/bbq tray which would be easier to punch holes in. They are best for growing into a mat (fodder). Or make proper sprouting screens.

Soak your seeds overnight, rinse well, spread into your tray and rinse a few times a day, raising up your container or sieve so it drains completely. If you want to just sprout it you could leave it in a sieve. I feed mine out on the second or third day as once the root gets too long they won't touch it. Leave it somewhere warm but not in direct sunlight.

Fodder will take longer and you want to disturb the seeds as little as possible while rinsing them. If it's very humid there's a risk of mould growing.

Even just soaking seeds overnight is beneficial as it activates the seed and uses up the phytic acid that's been preserving it in suspended animation, making the nutrients more available. My finches love their soaked seed.

Hopefully this link works:
https://www.google.co.nz/url?q=http...ggQMAA&usg=AFQjCNH9_Vop5ZKVL4e460uWepxTWHlx9w

 

[FrankHomestead]

I grow my fodder in a long strainer that has holes small enough the grain won't fall through. I use the strainer because of the great drainage and air circulation and have not had a problem with mold Eve though I rinse several times a day. I use red winter wheat and it does very well. I have tried rye but it is much slower to grow than the wheat. most ppl use barley because it has more protein when sprouted, but whole barley can be hard to find locally, if you like ordering online I would do that, I prefer to go into a store and leave with my product as I'm impatient lol.If you choose to grow fodder feed after day 5 or 6 as the grain is maxed out in nutrient potential and will start to lose those nutrients after that point. I'm also going to experiment growing fodder with other grains like oats, spelt etc. Experiment with whatever you'd like as long as the grain is whole. hulled, pearled, cracked, will got grow because it's only part of the grain and no longer viable. Hope this helps, have fun with it, that's the most important thing of all.

 

[lazy gardener]

Nesi, glad you have the curiosity, want to learn, and want to try new things! Kudos to you! Now, unless you are on an extremely tight budget, I suggest that you abandon the idea of picking all the cracked grains out of your scratch so you can sprout it! Save yourself a lot of time and aggravation. If you have a health food store near you, you can hop in there, and buy some wheat in the bulk foods section that will sprout very well. You might even want to try some lentils for both you and your chickens! Lentils are great in a salad, stir frys or soups. Many grocery stores also sell bulk grains, so you can buy as little or as much as you want.

I sprout my seeds in large mouth qt. sized mason jars. I use a piece of plastic needle point canvas cut in a circle to take the place of the canning lid. The screw band then holds it in place. Or you can use a piece of cheese cloth or tulle in place of the NP canvas.

The trick to getting good sprouts is to soak them just enough so that they absorb a lot of water, but don't sit in the water long enough to build up a lot of bacteria. You then rinse them well, and drain them well. Draining well is the absolutely most important step. Sprouting seeds sitting in water will rot instead of sprout. Rinse and drain 2 - 3 x/day. I like to keep my sprouting jars near the kitchen sink so that they are in plain sight and handy for a quick rinse.

The perfect grain sprout has a root that is about 4X the length of the seed. The leaf portion should not have produced a "blade" yet. When my sprouts are about 24 hours from being ready to serve, I place them on the window sill so they can "green up". That process builds more nutrition into the sprouts. However, there is a "sweet spot" when the sprout has reached it's maximum nutritional value. After that point, it actually starts to loose value. I like to feed them when they've greened, but before the blades break through their sheath. Bean/lentil sprouts should be used (for human use) before the leaves emerge from the growth tip. Those leaves and stems can be tough.

About 1 - 2 oz. of seeds will completely fill a qt. jar full of sprouts.

Favorite sprouting seeds: Wheat, barley (must not be pearled), BOSS, lentils, corn. for my own use: lentils, adzuki, kale, alfalfa. Many health food stores sell sprouting seeds which are quite pricey, but still a good value. BUT, you can also sprout the grain and bean seeds that are intended for cooking.

Next time you are wanting to buy scratch grains, spend just a little bit more, and buy a bag of whole wheat or barley feed grain. These sprout well, and can be used in place of the scratch. You can also use the feed grains as a green manure crop in your garden, or broadcast them in your deep litter run to produce sprouts without having to soak and rinse them!!! There are also deer fodder mixes that can be sprouted. Just be sure that they have not been treated with any fungicides.

 

[andreanar]

YOu have gotten great advice. I grow mostly wheat for my girls. I soak overnight. drain. Rinse twice a day. and feed on the fourth day. Easy peasy. Good luck, hope they love it. My advice: Don't overthink it! Its a simple thing, made more difficult than it really is.

 

[AUtiger]

I went to my local Asian market and racked up on whole grains to sprout...Kamut (wheat), regular wheat, whole barley (not hulled) wild rice, buckwheat, mung beans, millet, rainbow lentils and split peas. I got about a pound of each. Some organic, some not, but all human safe!
Did a test run one day to check germination...so far only the millet didn't sprout (guess it is hulled) . Each between $1-$2/lb. I tossed all but millet in a cleaned plastic container to store. I am sprouting about 3/4 cup dry mix now in a Steralite plastic shoeboxes with holes drilled in the bottom ($1 each at Dollar Store). Each day I soak new seeds- about 6 hrs in an old pickle jar, rinse, and add to the last empty shoebox after I have rinsed/sanitized it out. Repeat daily.

I put the recipe into an online nutrition calculator and it came out to be about 20% calories from protein dry.

 

[LovesAGoodYolk]

I learned the hard way that barley and rye are not to be fed to chickens. There is some non-nutritional ingredient in those grains that gets thick in the hens digestive system, and keeps important nutrients from being absorbed, thus stops or slows down egg laying.

 

[AUtiger]

Many peer reviewed studies have shown that sprouting beans and other grains greatly reduces the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors (the antinutrients) in them. As the seed sprouts, it used these compounds up, or they are rinsed away. Some studies show 70% by just soaking, up to 80% after they have sprouted, making the seed more nutritious and digestible (both in humans, and in livestock).

 

[Nesi]

Wow thank you all for taking the time to respond! I'm only using the scratch for.now to test and play. I do plan on going and buying bags that I won't have to sort through. The sprouting is new to me and does seem simple but like all other things I must research lots before trying. I am going to start my soaking tonight and see how we do!
Thanks again, your responses have all been a great help and eases me. Haha!

 

[Nesi]

I do have 2 more questions. 1. Are there any I can mix together while sprouting? 2. I have wheat, milo, BOSS, and oats...back to 1st question and should I not even try with any of those 4?