Sprouting? Help...

[newchickenmom33]

I’m sprouting the organic scratch feed from a local farm... it’s only $0.45lb and sprouts. everything seems so expensive online...

 

[3riverschick]

Here ya go:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/anybody-raise-sprouts-to-feed-the-chickens.425134/page-24
Pages 24 thru 27. Esp. page 27.
I used the mason jar sprouting system with great success. I did rinse the seeds every so often.
Best Regards,
Karen

 

[lazy gardener]

I buy a feed that advertises as being good for sprouting (it’s called scratch and Peck) .. I’m wanting to give it a try, but I’m so ignorant... I have no idea how to actually rinse and water and all that. I’m hoping to find some tutorials on YouTube

Don't over think it. Just do it. soak the seeds for a few hours in room temp water. Rinse, drain, put them in your sprouting container, and rinse and drain several times/day. standing water is the enemy of sprouting after the initial soak. Just do a small batch at first. What have you got to loose?

Does the Scratch & Peck have cracked corn in it? If it does, I think that might encourage mold, b/c that would only soak up water but not sprout.

I usually sprout in mason jars with the commercially available sprouting lids. I just find this method to be quite easy. I'm sprouting for up to 25 birds in the winter. I like that the mason jars take up so little real estate on my kitchen counters. But last winter, I had up to 7 jars going at a time, so bought a dish pan with a dish strainer that fits inside it at the dollar store. That holds 5 jars, which can be carried from kitchen to a plant table in my living room. I picked up a multi tier sprouter at the recycle station at my town dump. I usually use that for my own sprouts.

 

[oregonkat]

LG, I love what a recycler/upcycler you are!!
With regards to the Scratch and Peck scratch, they offer a corn free/soy free scratch which is the one I inadvertently sprouted but it is hard to find as people seem to prefer the one with the corn in it. I find the one with corn is too hot for my chickens in summer but in winter it's good but you are right about it not being that good for sprouting, can't sprout a cracked grain!

 

[Bryant Redhawk]

Sounds great, I use wild bird feed for sprouting then just toss the mats of sprouts in the pen area, the girls tear these up in a frenzy. Fun to watch them go at it.

 

[3riverschick]

you can just use a piece of window screen held in place by the mason jar ring. No need for fancy sprouting top unless you want one.
Best,
Karen

 

[EggWalrus]

I have no idea! I haven't ever heard of a Golden Salmon Marans, they sound beautiful. Are they dark egg layers?

Yes, the Scratch and Peck feeds are expensive. It is possible to buy the 40lb bag for the same price approx as the 25lb. which is what I do and I use it as a supplement to my regular crumble feed. I wish my local store would keep the whole grain scratch in stock so I could sprout it but I am going to try the bird seed.

I guess I'm lucky. I have a feed mill only 25 minutes away from me. If I wanted to, I could buy 50lbs bags of millet, alfalfa, oats, and all kinds of other whole grains they make the feed out of. I'm thinking about getting a bag of alfalfa when they start to molt. it's supposed to help them all molt about the same time and quickly without starving them for 2 weeks. I just couldn't starve my babies like they do in a full on forced molt.
It's middle of summer here and a bunch of my girls that weren't quite old enough to molt last fall are already starting to shed feathers. And most all my hens are bareback, it'll be nice to see them in there new clothes! Good luck with the sprouting.

 

[newchickenmom33]

I tried sprouting in a mason jar with a coffee filter and put a few extra holes and it seems to be working... no mold... I won’t attempt longer than 3 days until winter.

 

[lazy gardener]

Picked up 50# of whole oats for $10.50 yesterday!!!! This will be the back bone of my sprouting effort for Fall/Winter/Spring 2018/'19. I've not done oats before, so hope it goes well. I have some left over barley, BOSS, and millet. This should see me through quite nicely. Might need to add some whole corn, as that can be found on sale for $8.50.

 

[lazy gardener]

Sweet!!! I’m still on an all organic kick with these chickens... I’m not sure if it’ll pass or not... where did you score this hot deal?

My local Blue Seal store. I've heard folks say that oats is a bit harder to sprout due to it being a bit more "gummy". Any one have experience sprouting oats? Of course, if it's not satisfactory as sprouts, I can just feed it or ferment it.

I managed to find the 3 grain organic scratch from SandP at my sort of local feed store. I bought 2 bags and am trying an experimental sprouting technique in the chicken run. I also am trying the wild bird seed.
@lazy gardener how many chickens are you sprouting for? I have probably asked you this in the past but I cant remember

A year or more ago, there was a video by a guy who was sprouting in a sheltered area by his coop. His winter weather was warmer than mine. He had piles of damp leaves, and just tossed the grains into the leaves. The biological action in the leaf pile kept things from freezing, so the grains sprouted and the chooks would forage for the sprouts in the leaf piles while adding their own nutrients to the leaves. It was a win/win situation. I would think that it would be necessary to run 2 piles. Seed one pile and keep the birds off it till it had the chance to sprout, then seed the second pile, alternating back and forth.

My winter flock has consisted of 17 - 25 birds. I have a hard time making culling decisions, especially when the birds are productive. If I was disciplined, my winter flock would be around 15, even though I have the sq.ft. for twice that.