Sprouts - Finch seed - Nope!

[jjaazzy]

Wanted to get some sprouts going for my Silkies that are 3-4 weeks old now. They really like being entertained and lets face it bland chick feed is not that exciting. I read somewhere finch seed would sprout, no one in my area sells it by the pound anymore. I had to purchase a commercial bag and they are not sprouting. I called the company and she acted as if I should have known they won't sprout. There's 8.00 I'll never see again. I sprouted them as a kid for my finches but now it won't' work. Must be wonderful for the birds. I would have purchased Barley (my first choice) but with only 5 birds now, how long will 50 lbs last me? Plus I understand it sprouts best in 65 degrees, the best I can do is 72! During spring and summer. ......../ So what do I do now? Anyone have any suggestions of things I can sprout that I can get locally. I have a whole foods and what about the beans and stuff in the grocery store. Like Lima's can we do that and feed the sprouts?

 

[Kjordanov]

Alfalfa that's what I'm sprouting and you can put it in salads or sandwiches to eat for yourself!

 

[Shoshana]

I'll be sprouting a mix of 1 c. hard red wheat, 1 c. winter rye, 1 c. BOSS, 2 tbsp alfalfa (a little goes a LONG way), and 2 tbsp flax. All but the flax are available at my local feed store, the flax I get from Amazon. To the finished sprouts I'm adding a few tbsp Brewers yeast, kelp powder, and garlic, and a sprinkle of cayenne. The amounts are to supplement for 11 chickens and 9 turkeys, who get the Purina Omega-3 in the feeder 24/7. They'll also get mealworms daily and free range a few hours every afternoon. If you search YouTube for MichiganSnowPony and her recent fodder system video upload, she demonstrates a FABULOUS method for sprouting for feed that I'll be adopting, instead of buckets. HTH!

 

[jjaazzy]

Went to the g store and purchased alfalfa, they had a great time with it. I think they ate it to cause after all the commotion of running around with it I went back in and didn't see it anymore. I am in an area that use to be very rural but the last 15 years that has all changed. So the Feed stores altho we still have 3 rather close are just not what they once were. Maybe I need to order stuff via eBay or amazon? I have a bag of flax it's old and I got it for me I could try it. Boss is black sunflower seeds right? I could try and find some of that. You mentioned winter rye and hard red wheat do they sprout in warmer temps? What is the cayenne for?

 

[Hypertay]

I've been sprouting lentils and black oil sunflower seed for a few weeks. I got the boss at TSC but Walmart has it at about the same price. Lentils are in the dry bean aisle, about $1/lb which is way more than most of the fodder folks pay for the dry stuff, but I haven't found any bulk wheat rye or alfalfa in this area, even TSC said they didn't have those. I'm ok with that price for now, because when it grows it turns into 8-10 times the bulk of the lentils with only well water and a little effort on my part. It helps my birds stay hydrated when it gets really hot, which it has lately. And even though I move their run regularly and give them fresh grass to eat, they love it when I give them the sprouted foods. They chuckle and dance when they see me bringing some to them!