Aussie Finch Forum

Only way I could supply sprouted seed in Mackay was to grow it properly in Styrene boxes you get from Grocery stores....had 4 going at different times so I could put 1 in every week ......Hope you have good luck in the future its not good loosing finches..

Half-ripe seeding grasses would be the best alternative to sprouted seed. I wonder if you still sprouted some using Virkon S (or F10) using the Fidler method and did it in larger batches and immediately froze it down then later feed it out frozen whether this would overcome the problem. I always favoured this to save on daily chores - just do a month worth at a time.

When I sprout seed I wash it first ,strain the water .Then I soak it with water and add some bleach .I then put the containers in a heated box.
The seeds sprouts with 12- 18 hours,Then I rinse and strain it again.
I then mix it with frozen vegies and freeze these in small containers until it is needed.
I only feed out small portion every day.Only feed what the birds will eat within a few hours to stop it going off.

What type of containers are you guys using to freeze?... must it be air tight or do chinese containers suffice.

My bird bread ..

200g maize meal
60g any flour
2 eggs (shells can be included )
1 tin pureed apple baby food

Then to this I add 1 carrot and an apple or a corn cob ( stripped ) or a handful spinach anything really so long as it equals 2 serves veg ...the veg is put into a food processor first .

Bake at 190 for 30 minutes . Then cut and freeze .

I add a little Ornithon Vitamins to the mix (when I remember )

Chinese containers would be fine if they have lids. I use plastic lidded ice-cream or milk seed containers for any finch food I freeze. The most important consideration when freezing large quantities of sprouted seed is to ensure it is not so moist that it forms a solid block which has to be scraped apart. If drained well & stirred regularly throughout the sprouting process it freezes as a loose mix which can be easily scooped/spooned out without having to bust a brick. I also feel that the Fidler/Virkon S method of sprouting poses far less fungal/bacterial risk than alternatives as the seed is always in contact with the disinfectant solution and this is never rinsed "clean". It is just strained/drained off and allowed to sprout, then frozen. I doubt any extra heat would need to be applied in NQ to get rapid sprouting.

Yes I use chinese containers with lids.
I recently spent 3 weeks in Far Nth QLD up past cairns and it was not that warm compared to other years when I have been there at the same time
Kenny if I am not wrong your winter there was cool compared to other years.

Personally i would be completely giving up on sprouted seed after that. Why not just grow plenty of fresh greens/half ripe seeds and go with that. Ive had reasonable results without soaked seed/cakes/softfoods ect. Just go all natural.

I agree, 20 dead birds is too costly a lesson not to learn from it. Grasses should be seeding prolifically up that way over the next 6 months at least anyway.

Just watch for ergot or other fungal growth which can spoil seeding grasses during the wetter months- it presents as a sticky discolouration on the seeding head.
Try picking them early in the growing season and freezing them.