Do you feed your birds sprouts?

[Conure_Concierge]

I use three drops of grapefruit seed extract in the soak for the organic mung bean sprouts I feed to my GCC and UnCape. They both love them... this is the only food that always rates a "Yum, Yum" comment from my GCC.

[Cage Cleaner]

sprouted seeds are very healthy, as they actually increase blood pH, and therefore lowers blood acidity. Unsprouted seeds, conversely, do the opposite, and increase acidity, and thereby forming better environments for carcinogenic growth, among other health issues.

However, given how small of a snapshot sprouts actually are part of the diet, and given that I assume most people active enough to be part of a bird forum would be feeding good-quality pellets, I don't think blood pH is a huge deal when it comes to parrots.

It is just another reason to not feed seeds, however.

[spiral]

i just wanted to say thay that rinsing spouts thoroughly is a good idea is a good idea i use a citocidal grape seed extreact diluted with water and i do it with hot water. Or else aple cider vinigar

i spout beans and quina but i get nervous when spoutig about bacteria, so rinse alot.
its a good way to tell when seed is fresh. if you cant spout it it has less nutritioal value was something i read.

my dad bought me a ceramic cockatoo for my birthday. Its really strange makes me laugh though.

[pfinarffle]

Sprouts are the only veggie our guy eats. Too much foodborne illness in store-bought sprouts, so we grow our own. They're full of all sorts of vitamins/minerals/chlorophyll etc. If you can get your birds to eat them, which most birds naturally do in the wild, go for it!

[HungryBird]

I sprout for my guys. Usually quinoa and mung beans. They love it.

[BabyGirl3]

Yes, and I learned to sprout using leslie Moran's book, The Complete Guide to Successful Sprouting for Parrots. I had so many problems, then I learned that I had to use a method that works for where I live. Makes so much sense. And, she teaches how to use GSE (grapefruit seed extract). Her book explains it all.

The next thing I learned is that yes, you can sprout a lot of different things for your birds ... but it really depends on the results you want to get. I've been really happy with the sprouting blends Leslie puts together. She's got a lot of experience in pet nutrition (dogs, cats) and now she's got what I think are the best sprouting blends out there. http://www.BestBirdFoodEver.com And, since her sprouting blends have been out there a while she's beginning to write about the results she's getting - reversing avian cataracts, preventing arthritis and arteriosclerosis pretty impressive results.

[Khaiqha]

Well I tried my first attempt at sprouting parakeet seeds, and that failed. Gonna try again with some pinto beans.

Just wondering, are sprouted sunflower seeds still fatty for the birds?

[pchela]

I have an easy sprouter that I got from Sprout People... I also model my sprout mix on their big bird sprout mix. My guys especially love the "sprouted" almonds. I also put some grapefruit seed extract in when I soak them. Couldn't be easier and the birds love them!

[entrancedbymyGCC]

sprouted seeds are very healthy, as they actually increase blood pH, and therefore lowers blood acidity.

Um... they are healthy until consumed and they are healthful, but I'm reasonably sure foods don't directly affect the acid/base balance of the blood nor would it be a good thing if they did. Respiration and excretion control the pH of blood to a narrow normal range, at least in mammals. Eating junk does not give you acidic blood... tanking your kidneys might.

I feed sprouts. I also use the Easy-sprout and I've decided I like the quality of Sprout People's seeds. Sprouts are one of the few fresh foods my Cape eats well. I do use Grapeseed extract but there is some evidence that it's actually the preservatives in the product that are effective, not the GSE itself, so I don't buy the preservative free kind.

[TheNzJessie]

yes, im vegetarian so i have all sorts of experiments with veges going on and one of those are sprouts