anybody raise sprouts to feed the chickens?

[BeccaSmith]

About how much should I plan on per bird per day? A cup of sprouts per bird per day? More? Less?

 

[Kassaundra]

You are just supplementing w/ the sprouts, don't think the amount is critical since it will basically be a healthy treat. I feed 12 chickens sprouts (grain sprout not legume) and I use 8 hands full (just single hand) I am an average to small (bone anyway) sized woman.

 

[Phottoman]

BeccaSmith, I use a drink cup that I got at a McD or some other fast food place, liquid measure was probably around 24 ounces, or close to that. I use that to "measure" my wheat, oats or barley seeds for my daily feeding. They also no longer have 24/7 food, I found by firmenting the cost of feeding has dropped drasticly, feed twice a day, free range, and because they eat all I give them whithin fifteen minutes, I am not starving them, and the wild birds no longer have free food from my chicken feed.

Best of two worlds, FF and Sprouts.

Skip

 

[quailtrail]

So have done the mason jar method with munga beans a few times...they look at the sprouts and walk right past them???

 

[Lacy Blues]

If they won't even try them, they're probably not hungry at all.

 

[PetRock]

I sprout barley, wheat, oats, and a high grade bird seed mix with BOSS, millet, etc. I start one cup of each every day, soak them for 8-10 hrs., then rinse twice a day and on the third day, feed them to my flock of 30 plus birds. By that time, they have doubled in volume. I actually scatter about half of the sprouts under & around the bushes & trees to give them something to forage for during the day. They love them and I never see any left by afternoon. Their feathers grew back so beautifully after their molt this year and I think that the sprouts helped with that. Of course, I also have the healthiest looking wild birds in my backyard, also!

 

[Chickens R Us]

I have sprouted oats and BOSS. The BOSS sprouted good the oats not so good. I started sprouting wheat 3 days ago. I will see how they like that tomorrow. I think that the wheat sprouted the fastest.

 

[PetRock]

I have sprouted oats and BOSS. The BOSS sprouted good the oats not so good. I started sprouting wheat 3 days ago. I will see how they like that tomorrow. I think that the wheat sprouted the fastest.

The oats do sprout slower for me, too. It is better for them to go 4 days instead of 3. I also recently read that oats need a shorter initial soaking time than the other grains that I sprout. I have been trying to only soak them for 1-4 hours instead of the 8-10 hours that I soak the other grains.

 

[Lacy Blues]

The oats do sprout slower for me, too. It is better for them to go 4 days instead of 3. I also recently read that oats need a shorter initial soaking time than the other grains that I sprout. I have been trying to only soak them for 1-4 hours instead of the 8-10 hours that I soak the other grains.

Does this much shorter soak seem to be helping them sprout better? Mine are sprouting after a soak of several hours (maybe overnight) but they are very very slow to start and they're in the bag for about a week before I really notice any action going on.

 

[Kassaundra]

Does this much shorter soak seem to be helping them sprout better? Mine are sprouting after a soak of several hours (maybe overnight) but they are very very slow to start and they're in the bag for about a week before I really notice any action going on.

Wow, I do long soaks (12-24 hrs) and oats and bags, mine are growing out of the bags at 2.5 days forward. at 4 days I am having to pull the bags apart b/c they have grown to each other and together.