Can anyone tell me more about these two things? Who here feeds their fids sprouted seeds or pulses? Have you ever tried germinating them instead? I am worried about the whole mold thing with sprouted seeds, with germinating them they only soak in water for 8 hours then you feed them to your babes so the seed doesn't have as much time to deteriorate as with sprouting so the risk of mold and bacteria is reduced greatly.
I am so glad that I haven't brought my eckie home (if she was fully grown) I would be having to take some deep breathes into a paper bag by now. The diet thing is the main thing that is scaring me. If I can get that down then the rest should be easy.... or easier lol

I have been feeding sprouts to all my fids for a year now. No mold or any other problems. I soak the seed mix, I make up my own which I get from Whole Foods, the list can be found sprouting seed.


lol try again, I soak the seed over night, at least 8 hours, then rinse really good. I also pour a quart of water with a drop or two of GSE in it over the seed and let drain a few minutes before I put the lid back on and re store.

I feed sunflower sprouts, I soak overnight and then wash (under a running tap) the seed twice a day for 3 days. I do this in a colander and have never had a problem with mould.

The sprout has the most nutrition just as it starts to sprout; some nutrition is lost after it actually germinates (starts to grow). It is still nutritious but not as much as when it is first starting to sprout. Check the Kitchen Physician at http://landofvos.com. He has a wonderful article on the benefits of sprouts and why sprouts and not germinating plants.

To sprout, I soak for about 8 to 12 hours, rinse, leave overnight and in the morning we have sprouts ready to feed. They'll continue to grow even while refrigerated. I usually make enough to last 3 days and provide fresh every three days.

People use "germinated" for different definitions. I know what you mean I think you're meaning what alot of people call soak seed. Yes you dont have to wait for tails - sprouting - you can just soak seed. I think what you mean by germinate is when the soak up water and crack, and that works too. Different things have different sprout times, you can get quinoa tails in hours but others take longer.

Rinse, rinse, rinse is the key to avoiding mold but it's still scarey, it's true. I have a sprouter from sproutpeople but a colander is actually better, I think. One with fine mesh. Alot of people use ACV during soak and sprouting times others say don't just use it during the rinse. I do it during the rinse.

The only challenge is I prefer to use distilled water not my tap water. But I need to use the tap to get the powerful rinse and volume to rinse sprouts and it's got alot of chlorine and other junk. So usually I end up serving soak seed instead.

Another thing, watch the protein. ALL my birds popped pin feathers last time I just used quinoa by itself for quick sprouting. It's almost the highest protein in the grain family. They love it alot but it was too much and took 4-5 days for the pin feathers to subside.

Practice doing some before your bird comes home. You want only a fresh nutty smell nothing musky or sour. Also google Laurella Desborough she's and expert and on another site I'm on. She writes alot of excellent info on Ekkies and diet. They're tricky.