Sprouts for chickens

[mmatlock]

Hello!

I have been feeding my chickens sprouts (experimented at first with bird seed and a chicken sprout seed mix from Amazon), and I just bought a big bag of barley, oats, rye and alfalfa from a local seed store... I am excited to start feeding my chickens sprouts more regularly from this healthy-seeming mix of seed. I am curious if anyone has thoughts on how much I should feed per chicken, per day. What percentage of their diet can be sprouts? It seems like some people on youtube (Edible Acres in particular) aim to have 100% of their chickens' diet as sprouts and kitchen scraps, but most people seem to just want to feed sprouts as a supplement.

I would appreciate your advice!

 

[nuthatched]

Chickens love sprouts and they're great for a supplement, especiallyin winter.
Chickens will suffer nutritional deficiency on a 100% sprout diet, it won't work very long. most people on YouTube don't check to see if the information they spread is correct or safe, their version of 'research' is 'sounds good and my birds aren't dead yet so it must work!' I'd recommend you feed you normal formulated feed and feeding a tray of sprouts every few days, they'll love it.

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

easy to have sprouts on the go in jars that you rinse in water daily and just let grow. greens, radish, I even sprouted popcorn! I aim to give them a handful per day, but they need the regular food to keep things balanced.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Sprouted wheatgrass and red clover for the chooks They go nuts for these sprouts and its a healthy supplemental treat

 

[mmatlock]

Do you all ever struggle with mold growing in your sprouts? Even rinsing twice per day, I have found a little white fuzzy mold growing!

 

[Mountain Roost]

Your temperature could on the warm side if you are getting mold. Also, use a vented lid.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Sprouted wheatgrass and red clover for the chooks They go nuts for these sprouts and its a healthy supplemental treat

Do you all ever struggle with mold growing in your sprouts? Even rinsing twice per day, I have found a little white fuzzy mold growing!

I have seen white, fuzzy mold if i spread the seeds to thick. I only get white fuzzy when i sprout in soil. Now a days i just sprout in the jar and give to hens like that.

 

[Alagirl]

Do you all ever struggle with mold growing in your sprouts? Even rinsing twice per day, I have found a little white fuzzy mold growing!

There was a post a while back, the chicken keeper rinsed the seeds in peroxide.
I am not sure how economical that is, but their result was good.

I used to sprout my seeds in a Mason jar where I put window screening in the lid.
I rinsed at least once a day and turned the jar over to let excess drip out.
I also seem to remember I shook the seed up to give them a good wash as I rinsed.
My memory is a wee bit fussy though, it's been a few years. This year was too chaotic to do anything like that for more than one try or two. The girls definitely loved it.

 

[MalSabreur]

Hello!

I have been feeding my chickens sprouts (experimented at first with bird seed and a chicken sprout seed mix from Amazon), and I just bought a big bag of barley, oats, rye and alfalfa from a local seed store... I am excited to start feeding my chickens sprouts more regularly from this healthy-seeming mix of seed. I am curious if anyone has thoughts on how much I should feed per chicken, per day. What percentage of their diet can be sprouts? It seems like some people on youtube (Edible Acres in particular) aim to have 100% of their chickens' diet as sprouts and kitchen scraps, but most people seem to just want to feed sprouts as a supplement.

I would appreciate your advice!

OH! SPROUTS! I thought you meant Brussels Sprouts! Great if you want lots of fart eggs! Hens are omnivores verging on the velociraptor so a vegan diet isn't good for them. Also, here in the UK it isn't just illegal to feed your hens table scraps, it is illegal to feed them ANYTHING that has been through a non-vegan kitchen. I could buy corn on the cob for my birds, walk through the kitchen with it to feed it to the hens and I'd be breaking the law!
If you DO intend feeding your birds on leftovers, regardless of where in the World you are, cook them all up together (preferably pressure cooked) to make sure there is no salmonella or such alive in it.
In the good old days, my Grandad use to cook up what he called a "crowdy" of leftovers, grain, tiny root vegetables too small for the table and layers mash served warm in winter. We never got sick, the eggs kept on coming and the birds tasted better than anything I've had since!

 

[Mountain Roost]

I used to sprout my seeds in a Mason jar where I put window screening in the lid.
I rinsed at least once a day and turned the jar over to let excess drip out.
I also seem to remember I shook the seed up to give them a good wash as I rinsed.

This sounds about right. Also once the sprouts have the beginnings of leaves you can put a solid lid on the jar and put them in the fridge until they are used.