Sprouts!

[rick]

How do we feel about sprouted grain? I read that the food value of grain goes up dramatically when sprouted and the enzymes are good for digestion generally so I've been soaking and rinsing the wheat grain I have until it grows.
The team go mad for the dry grain or the sprouts.
I know that for human consumption there has to be careful control of bacteria to avoid food poisoning (hence the regular rinsing)

 

[chrismahon]

I've heard it done on another forum but never tried myself due to time and space Rick. Interesting point about the rinsing and bacteria, because that hasn't been mentioned before. Presumably this is being done in a fixed run on earth, so no grass for them to eat?

 

[rick]

Well, no, we don't have any grass but I have experimented with grass and alfalfa in forage trays.
But the sprouting I just do in a large jar. You don't want to do a lot in one batch because its only a supplement and needs eating fresh. Rinse well morning and evening and it takes about 3 days to germinate and a week to max without fear of failed seeds rotting I feel. Its very easy.

 

[rick]

Oh and the first 24 hours soaked ( lots of water) then after that drained but moist to allow air in

 

[dinosaw]

Kiln it and it will keep and retain a large proportion of the enzymes, same process as malted barley, you would just have to try different temperatures/drying times.

 

[rick]

I can see what started as treats is going to turn into a brewery

 

[dinosaw]

All the better! . My birds used to love brew days, I would feed them some of the barley after it had been mashed and over the next 2-3 days, they go wild for it.

 

[Marigold]

That evokes a picture in my mind of all your hens sitting around carousing, falling off their perch blind drunk, singing and hiccuping!

 

[dinosaw]

I like the idea of that Marigold, a different take on the drunken hen night.

 

[tygrysek75]

I had always given sprouting seeds for my chickens during winter months when grass is not nice.I had recently also come across of feeding them with fermented seeds which also very good for them.I tried this and seems to love this also.

 

[Margaid]

I read somewhere about growing/sprouting in soil, either in the run or in seed trays - then they have the fun of scratching it out. Don't think it took log to germinate either but sprouting in jars sounds simpler.

 

[Cab]

I use old compost I've had things growing in through the season, take out any plants I don't fancy my hens eating, and re-sow with wheat, peas, anything else that takes my fancy. I bring this in to the living room and put it in front of the French windows. Once I've got good growth I let the girls have it - works a treat to keep them in extra greens through the darker months, and it means they've got something a bit more interesting to play with. Obviously the compost ends up all over the place, which is fine, it forms much of the ground cover in the run. This then goes on for composting, having had anything resembling seeds removed by searching chooks, with the addition of good honest chicken poo, and gets boxed up to use in Spring for potting on courgettes, cucumbers, beans etc. and just spread down on the allotment for fertilising. And, of course, soil comes back, gets mixed with old compost, and more tasty things for chooks sown therein...

I also use the stuff out of the bottom of the worm composting bin - its blended with other old compost or soil before use, but after sweeping that up from the run I've got the richest growing medium you can imagine.