Finding sproutable grains

[lazy gardener]

Quote: If OP has that small a flock, she may still find that buying a 50# bag is cheaper, b/c the reamaining portion that she does not sprout can be used instead of scratch, or it can be used as a green manure crop in the garden, or it can be planted in the run or a dedicated garden bed for the flock, or she can split the bag with a friend. It wouldn't take very many trips to the health food store to buy sprouting grains before she's spent the equivalent cost of a 50# bag of grain. And if she feeds wild birds, she may already have a start of sprouting opptions: millet, and BOSS.

I just started sprouting for our 3 gals. I get hard red winter wheat from Whole Foods. I looked at a few places that have bulk foods- Whole Foods was the only one that had it. I make a couple batches a week- using a small plastic colander that I found at Daiso - a dollar store type place. Takes only a few days to sprout. I soak the wheat in water about 8 hours before putting into the colander. Planning on getting a second colander and double stacking them with the most recent on the bottom so that the gals get fresh sprouts every other day rather than every 4 days.
-Jerie

I sprout for my flock in 1 qt large mouth mason jars. You can buy a 3 piece plastic sprouting lid set to fit the jars, or simply use a piece of window screening, or needle point plastic cut to fit inside the jar ring. Your collander is also a nice option. I keep 2 jars going all the time, but may need to add a third.

 

[PandCo]

I didn't see how many chickens anywhere.

No weevils or crawlies in mine and I raise meal worms. Some people even get grain mites in their chicken feed. But many chicken feeds are now using DE to combat.

Yes I do only have three girls at this time.

Howard E, you do bring up a good point about having a smaller quantity on hand... Just yesterday I noticed that weevils have made a home in the chicken scratch that is in my basement. That went to the freezing outside really quick. It's odd how they hadn't infested my chicken feed which was near it. Oh well, I'm not complaining about that.

I do see your point, however. There are many possibilities to what you can do with the grains. Thanks for the ideas!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Yes I do only have three girls at this time.

Howard E, you do bring up a good point about having a smaller quantity on hand... Just yesterday I noticed that weevils have made a home in the chicken scratch that is in my basement. That went to the freezing outside really quick. It's odd how they hadn't infested my chicken feed which was near it. Oh well, I'm not complaining about that.

Many chicken feeds have DE as one of their ingredients... Maybe that's why they aren't in there?

ETA: The chickens will eat those to!

 

[Cacique500]

Also check the ethnic markets (i.e. chinese market) - I get dried mung beans (chinese bean sprouts) there and sprout them for the girls...they love them. If you do a little checking online, there are some mason jar sprouter kits that have special lids/screens that work like a charm. Be sure to read up on sprouting and follow the instructions...sprouts can go bad very quickly if you don't get the water out after each rinse. For the mung beans, I usually grow them until the tail is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch then feed them to the girls.

https://sproutpeople.org/

I've used these guys for the jars/screens and they work very well. They also have more "exotic" sprouting mixes, but truthfully you can most likely do it cheaper on your own.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

We buy nuts at costco that come in plastic jars. I just heated a fork to poke wholes in the lid. It works so perfect because if I don't want to wait for it to drain, I can give a couple little squeezes and it drains fast. And I don't lose the grains as I did when trying to do it in a jar with no lid. Colanders probably work nicely. I just don't have the room and surely somebody would come aling and accidentally dump them. I have a feeling I will still be learning what works for me and making adjustment as needed.

Since I am sprouting for a lot though, after a couple days they go into the plastic drawers. I sprout about 12 ounces of dry seed per day right now.

I wonder though... when we talk day 7 for the most amount of, lets say protein because some of the other minerals and such actually lower.... The digestibility and dry matter also changes. My research suggest day 4 might be when you get the most amount of digestibility and dry matter... suggesting that sprouting until day 7 just gives more chance for mold although it obviously looks much prettier.... And that dry matter is what actually fills the chickens up...

Is anyone willing to hash out my research with me to determine if it's true or not? Not as a matter of trying to change your decisions but as a matter of figuring out which is actually most beneficial for me to pursue? Here is one of the sources I am using, but this one doesn't contain day 4 info. I will try to find that again for anyone willing to discuss it. TIA

http://www.idosi.org/wasj/wasj16(4)12/9.pdf

The other thing I really want to know is... Since I live in the PNW and my birds are free range on 1 acre of lush pasture.... other than my birds do enjoy it, am I doing a good thing, saving myself a little feed cost and providing extra nutrients... or wasting my time and making more work for myself?

Thanks again for input.

 

[lazy gardener]

If my birds had access to lush green pasture, I'd not bother to sprout. My ground is frozen and often snow covered from late Nov through mid to late April.

 

[Howard E]

One of the old poultry husbandry books from 100 years ago shows a process of sprouting oats in trays as a means of providing green fodder in "winter". Seven trays for seven days. They even marked them as such (sunday, monday, tuesday, etc). The point is this isn't a new idea.

If the birds have access to "lush green", I would not bother sprouting outside of winter when green isn't available to them. If they were confined to a barren run most of the time, that would be like winter and probably something I would do for them. They like it a lot........but it is not essential if they are on a commercial feed all the time. Hens in commercial houses never see "green" their entire life.

 

[lazy gardener]

One of the old poultry husbandry books from 100 years ago shows a process of sprouting oats in trays as a means of providing green fodder in "winter". Seven trays for seven days. They even marked them as such (sunday, monday, tuesday, etc). The point is this isn't a new idea.

If the birds have access to "lush green", I would not bother sprouting outside of winter when green isn't available to them. If they were confined to a barren run most of the time, that would be like winter and probably something I would do for them. They like it a lot........but it is not essential if they are on a commercial feed all the time. Hens in commercial houses never see "green" their entire life.

Good find! You're right. Birds fed commercially do not have any of the benefits that we are able to and choose to do for improvement of their lives in our back yard flocks.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

One of the old poultry husbandry books from 100 years ago shows a process of sprouting oats in trays as a means of providing green fodder in "winter". Seven trays for seven days. They even marked them as such (sunday, monday, tuesday, etc). The point is this isn't a new idea.

If the birds have access to "lush green", I would not bother sprouting outside of winter when green isn't available to them. If they were confined to a barren run most of the time, that would be like winter and probably something I would do for them. They like it a lot........but it is not essential if they are on a commercial feed all the time. Hens in commercial houses never see "green" their entire life.

My green is available all year long. On super rainy days (PNW) they stay under the run mostly. So I guess maybe for entertainment then during long storm...

Yes, my birds have FF flock raiser (20%) free access always.

So you both, @lazy gardener , don't think it actually supplements my feed bill, because they already have it available. So I'm essentially just feeding them what they would pick anyways, or is it keeping them away from the feeder?

My understanding is that even though day 7 has the most protein... day 4 had the most digestibility (85%) and dry matter (and a few other micro nutrients).... equaling essentially the same benefit with less time for mold issues. Some say dry matter is what equals how much it will save you, not length, size, or weight. But actual dry matter content....

For me, days have no bearing as much as figuring out the right stage of growth because of my temps. By day 7, we are now talking fodder.... keeping the length short seems important to avoid crop impaction for chickens?? Of course, fodder is beautiful. But where to I actually receive the most benefit?

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: I really can't advise you. I can simply tell you what I'd do under similar circumstances. If you enjoy sprouting the grains, and the birds enjoy eating them, then you could certainly continue to do so. It boils down to a matter of personal preference, like so many other issues with animal husbandry. One might look at my FF and my sprouting efforts, and deem me half a sandwich short of a picnic b/c I spend the time and effort doing so. But... that's my choice. I enjoy doing so, and can give anecdotal evidence to support my claims that my birds are in better condition than similar flocks in my immediate area who just get dry layer. You might want to do a bit of comparison re: giving your birds fodder one month and with holding it the next. Examine egg quality, or any other objective data related to their condition. If you can free range daily, that's a plus. If you can't do so for what ever reason (weather, predation?) that would be a reason to support continued fodder use.