Aussie Finch Forum

Thanks Graham and David,i think i will stay stingy and keep doing what i am doing. Craig

Craig,

I think David is talking about soaking seed and then freezing (not leaving to sprout) so less VirkonS is needed. Graham on the other hand lives in a warmer climate and is leaving it to sprout so needs more VirkonS. During summer I've had batches of sprouts start to grow mould when I've been stingy with the VirkonS (or bleach in the past). As you're down near the antarctic I guess it takes more effort for the bugs to grow in your sprouts so you can get away with less VirkonS.

Sam

E Orix wrote:I must be stingy as I use half (1/2) Tea Spoon of Vircon S per plastic bucket full of seed and water.
I fill the bucket to within 75mm of seed add the water to just under the bucket rim.
After 2 to 3 hours the contents are poured into another bucket which has numerous small holes drilled into it
including the base part. It is drained well then put into containers and kept frozen and feed out frozen.
If it is drained properly then it will freeze without the seed being locked up with ice.
It would last for ages if held in a freezer.
As for the comments about Vircon being a no no,all I know is that I have been told by several respected people
that it is a problem and just as many saying it is fine.Make your own decision,all I know it is used extensively in the Dairy Industry.

Do you do your sprouting/soaking in the first bucket or just transfer into it for disinfection. I have found when I try to sprout in a bucket that the bottom goes to crap, however much I stir it. I just cannot master sprouting, in fact I suck at it. I even have a heated room I can use for winter. Its annoying because I'd like to get it right now I have a huge deep freeze with bugger all in it.

Danny

Thanks Danny for your glowing opinion of our weather.By the way I live in NSW so it's not too bad.
If I want to sprout my seed I drain it the same, put it in a shallow kitty litter tray and into my insect room which is set at 29c
Time in there depends on how advanced i want the sprouting. Just chitting maybe 24 hours or less.
As you can read I don't work on exact times.
Also I should have remembered the problems people up north experience with the *****Warmth and Humidity.*****
Yeast and other nasty things are more common than here but I still would rather give my seed a rinse then go through my normal routine of a
weaker solution.Also I am of the opinion that if you soak the seed too long you can experience problems.
That is why I only soak up to 3 hours.
Remember the sayng if it works for you without problems you must be on the right tangent and there are many tangents.

E Orix wrote:Thanks Danny for your glowing opinion of our weather.By the way I live in NSW so it's not too bad.
If I want to sprout my seed I drain it the same, put it in a shallow kitty litter tray and into my insect room which is set at 29c
Time in there depends on how advanced i want the sprouting. Just chitting maybe 24 hours or less.
As you can read I don't work on exact times.
Also I should have remembered the problems people up north experience with the *****Warmth and Humidity.*****
Yeast and other nasty things are more common than here but I still would rather give my seed a rinse then go through my normal routine of a
weaker solution.Also I am of the opinion that if you soak the seed too long you can experience problems.
That is why I only soak up to 3 hours.
Remember the sayng if it works for you without problems you must be on the right tangent and there are many tangents.

Sam is the weather critic, not me.
Thanks - I'll give the kitty litter tray a whirl and see if I get better results.
When you start your soak do you use cold or warm water initially??

Sam you smart Ar...
Danny,i soak my seed in 10 litre buckets with Vircon in it for around eight hours,then transfere it into a large sieve to let drain for an hour or so and then vigorously shake up and down to get any remaining water out.
After that it is placed in one of those cheap clear plastic boxes (600x 400 x 300) and placed on a shelf in front of a North facing window for what ever time it takes to pip.
During this time it needs to be turned as the top layer dries out as Orix said,any excess water that sits in the bottom is sucked up by that drier seed and if not i tilt the box on one end,push the seed to the top end and suck the water in the lower end up with paper towels but haven't had to do that very often.
At no time do i rinse the seed and when it is frozen it comes out dry crumbly,the trick is to get it as dry as possible before freezing and another way is to add a softfood before freezing and this makes it perfect,similar to Ray and Wendys frozen white millet but drier.
Softfood is Passwells finch softfood Hope that makes sense. Craig

Thanks guys. I'll see if I suck at it in a different way.

Danny wrote:Thanks guys. I'll see if I suck at it in a different way.

Remember the old adage Danny....you just found more ways then one on how not to do it

This is what I do. Probably not what everyone else would do but what was instructed to me by a reputable breeder, haven't had a problem in the past 3 years. Step 1: Nearly fill a 750g Kraft peanut butter jar with your seed of choice.(Make sure the lid has small drilled holes in it to release liquid and not seeds) Step 2: Fill jar with water and add Virkon S so the liquid has a slight pink tinge. (I don't use measurements.) Stir it so the Virkon is dispersed in the jar. Step 3: Let it soak for 8 to 24 hours, ( the time is your choice, normally find 12 hrs is more than sufficient) the seed will absorb a heap of the liquid. Step 4: Drain the jar by turning it upside down. You will see that the liquid is discoloured (grey). Step 5: Place the jar horizontal in a warm place which has access to light ie windowsill etc. (I place mine on top of my tropical fish tank inside the cover so it has light and warmth 24/7) Step 5: Rotate half a turn over a period of 24-36 hours. You will see the seed chitting. Leave it longer and you will see some real "sprouting". Step 6: When you see the level of sprouting or chitting you want pour the contents into a small honey bucket and rinse with fresh water. You will see the water is grey again. Drain and then add Virkon S again to the slight pink colour, stir then add 1 capfull of White King bleach, stir and let sit for 10 minutes. Step 7: Drain into a sieve and rinse with fresh water under the tap for 5 minutes or so. Let drain for a further 5 minutes. After the rinsing just scoop it into a plastic sealed container and place in the fridge. This lasts me about 5-7 days. Sounds pretty intensive but is really simple.

People may ask why the use of the bleach. My take on this is the added bleach clears any mould that the Virkon doesn't kill and prevents the growth of mould whilst it is in store prior to use. It has not caused my birds any problem and they wait for me each morning for this mix. I actually have to shoo them away whilst filling the seed bowls so it ca't be too bad.
Good luck.

Matcho

Thats fine Matcho,but we have been talking about bulk kg and freezing of spouted seed,enough to last several months at a time and to cut down on a daily and in your case weekly chore. Craig