Sprouted Seeds ???

[glen]

Hi All

I have a few questions to ask of those whom feed Sprouted seeds:

1. What type of seed, manna,millet,plain canary, jap etc?
2. How often do you feed it ( only in breeding season)?
3. What is your process: in a water filled jar for 3 days then wash and give it or what ??
4. Do different species take to diffrent types: eg goulds to Jap and Grasses to Millet?
5. Do you add it to your soft food or give it at diffrent times or seperate to soft food?

Thanks for the advice to come

G

[Diane]

I sprout all the seed I give dry, millet, jap, pannicum, linseed, rape, panorama.
I soak it overnight and drain leave it overnight then once I see its chitted I either use it straight away or bag for freezing. Ive used it on its own, with egg, or with veggies or with a prepared commercial soft food, or any combination of the above, just depends what I have available.
I also grow the seed in pots and give the growing shoots to the birds.

[Buzzard-1]

Everyone I speak to has their own recipe that works for them, I myself use finch mix x 2kg for four hours then add 1kg Niger and soak for a further 8hrs till chits are just visible(Depending on ambient air temp).Vircon S or similar water cleanser is a must. Then I hang the fine mesh bag up to allow to drain and then freeze. I then mix a small amount of egg and biscuit, vitamins, crushed egg shell and crushed charcoal into Chinese plastic containers. Mike Fidler has a good DVD out called at home with Mike Fidler that explains his way that is a good example.Here is a link to part one. Hope this helps. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xdo4XkExes

[GregH]

I presently use the Fiedler method because I'm getting lazy but I'm not convinced my older method wasn't liked better by the birds and gave me more success. What I did was create a mix of all viable seed with similar germination times. Each day I would place a single layer of seed on filter-paper in a petri-dish and wet it. I’d then place the lid on the petri-dish and leave it to sprout for 2-3 days depending on temperature. The sprouts were larger than Fidler recommends but were fresh and crispy and the birds really relished them compared to the “soaked seed” they get now.

That said aside from the constant work if you get the water wrong then the seed goes mouldy if there isn’t enough water but too much and then it fails to germinate and goes slimy from bacteria. When you’re used to it you can get it most of the time (I had a failure every 2-3 months which meant 1 day without sprouts).

[casehulsebosch]

Sprouted seeds is something we should all consider feeding to our finches. The food value of sprouted seed is so much greater than just dried seed and we want our birds to have the best, right?
My method is as follows: I have purchased three sprouting lids from a health shop. These have a solid plastic screw type ring with a fine stainless steel mesh.
These fit on what we here in NZ call Agee jars, he jars our mums used for preserving. I put the required quantity of my everyday seed into the jars and soak it for 24 hours. During the day I rinse the seed as many times as possible. The next day I turn the jar upside down and the water drains out. Depending on the temperature, the seed will sprout within 24-48 hours. Remember to feed sprouted seed when the new growth just burst through the seed. That is the time the seed is at its highest food value. I don't use Virkon S as I have the time to rinse it again and again and again. And therein lies the problem with bacteria. If you are at work all day or otherwise engaged it is probably better to use some Virkon S. A little goes a long way. I use three jars so I can rotate the seeds and have a regular supply. And I cannot press enough that if you don't use Virkon S, to rinse! cheers, Case

[matcho]

I feed sprouted seed every day and use this method shown to me by a reputable bird breeder.

1. I soak my normal finch mix in a large peanut butter jar with holes in the lid for 24 hrs in water with Virkon S that just colours the water a slight pinkish.
2. After 24 hours I drain the liquid which is left from the jar and place the jar on its side in a warm, well lit place. (In my case I place it under the cover of my tropical fish tank where it gets light 24/7 plus warmth.)
3. I rotate the jar after 24 hours and after 48 hours there is usually small sprouts, but you can leave it longer to get longer sprouts.
4. I then place seed in small bucket with water and Virkon S again and then add a small amount of White King Bleach (diluted 5/1) and stir. Water will turn grey. I let it soak for 10/15 minutes and then rinse in sieve with cold water for 5 minutes. Let stand and drain. Stores in the fidge for a week and have never had trouble with mould etc.

I used to do it in a rotational basis, having three jars going at at time but because it stores well decided to go with a single larger amount which lasts in the fridge.

Best of all, the birds love it.

Sim

[gomer]

I do it also the fidler way (http://www.birdsrus.com.au/?page=86).Its alot easier doing a few months worth in a day.Mind you it is not the cheapest way.The seeds I use are red and yellow panicum.millets siberian, panaroma ,french and jap.and a bit of niger and safflower.

[Myzomela]

Hi Sim,

Why do you use both Virkon-S and bleach?

Double the chemicals but not double the benefit.

Are you trying to "just make sure"?

[glen]

Hi Sim,

Why do you use both Virkon-S and bleach?

Double the chemicals but not double the benefit.

Are you trying to "just make sure"?

Can you give me the Active Ingrident of Virkon-S we dont get that product here in RSA.

Thanks

G

[Buzzard-1]

Can you give me the Active Ingrident of Virkon-S

SALT!!! 494.0 G/KG Potassium Peroxomonosulphate Triple salt, 131.7 G/KG Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulphonate, 15.0 G/KG Sodium Chloride