Chickens

Carpintária - Sprouted Seeds: A Healthy Treat for Your Backyard Chickens. Do you love your precious backyard dinosaurs? I mean, chickens…? Do you want to keep them healthy and happy? Then you should spoil them with sprouted seeds and grains on occasion! We sprout seeds for our chickens at least once a week, if not more. It only takes a few days for most seeds to sprout, and is super easy to do! From what I have heard, they’re pretty cluckin’ good too. Chickens are always hungry – acting like they haven’t seen food in eons! I don’t know who invented the game “Hungry Hungry Hippos”, but they missed the mark on that one. Hungry Hungry Chickens would have been far more fitting! Chickens also have a rather diverse taste palate, and enjoy picking at (or gobbling down) a wide variety of foods. However, just because they will eat damn near anything – doesn’t mean they should! “Treats”, referring to anything outside of their specially-formulated layer feed, are recommended only in moderation. Meaning, we really shouldn’t be tossing them kitchen scraps all day long. I know this can be hard not to do, since the way to a chicken’s heart is definitely through their beak! But we don’t want to throw off their nutritional balance. Thankfully, sprouted seeds are one treat you don’t have to worry about “overdoing”! So why not take seed and grain ingredients that are already in their food (or similar), and turn them into something fun, different, and even healthier for them to enjoy? This is also an excellent way to provide some much-needed nutrition and “greens” for chickens that don’t have other grass or fodder to graze on. Ultimately, all of the supercharged nutrients the chickens gain by consuming sprouts will be passed on to their eggs – and you! In other words, you’ll have some of the most fresh, nutrient-dense, healthy eggs, ever! Have you noticed how popular microgreens and sprouts are these days, utilized as a health food? Well, there is a good reason for it! Sprouting barley, peas, beans, alfalfa, sunflowers, and other seeds vastly increases their nutrient density. During the sprouting process, enzymes within the seeds are activated and enhanced far beyond what you find in the raw seed, or even what would be in the future mature vegetable or plant for that matter. Studies show that a germinated seed (sprout) can have up to 4,000 times the concentration of enzymes and antioxidants than the un-sprouted seed! Similarly, the sprouts of grains, legumes, nuts, beans, and seeds also contain far more protein, vitamins, minerals, and available fiber than their seed form. Furthermore, the proteins in sprouts may also be easier to digest. This is because the sprouting process appears to reduce the amount of anti-nutrients — compounds that decrease your body’s ability to absorb nutrients from the plant — by up to 87%! Essentially, the sprout stage is the healthiest state that you could ever consume that item. The ideal sprout length is anywhere from 1/8-inch to 2 inches long. Once a sprout grows beyond 2 inches, it is considered a seedling, micro greens, or “fodder”, and is slightly less nutritious. We sprout a variety of organic seeds for our girls! We often have a few different types on hand, since we use many of these to make sprouted seed tea for our plants on occasion too. You can read more about sprouted seed teas here. Here are some of our favorites sprouting seeds: Barley Sunflower Seeds Red Clover Alfalfa Wheat grass (hard red winter wheat berries) This fun “salad mix” of radish, mung bean, broccoli, alfalfa and green lentils. IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE: You know that raw and dried beans are toxic to chickens, right? Thankfully, the process of cooking or sprouting destroys the hemaglutin toxin, but we still avoid large beans (like kidney beans) for sprouting – just in case. However, smaller legumes like mung beans and lentils are just fine, particularly once sprouted! We sprout our seeds in quart mason jar. This provides plenty of sprouted seeds our flock of four chickens! It is also the quickest, easiest, and mess-free way to do it – with the assistance of these handy mason jar sprouting lids that are made just for this task! We like that our lids are food-grade stainless steel, but there are tons of other sprouting lids out there too! On the other hand, if you have a bigger flock of chickens and need to sprout more, you can apply the same principles described below. Simply use a larger container, such as a bowl or bucket. Get creative with the screen lid for rinsing! Step 1: Soak Add anywhere from a couple heaping tablespoons up to one cup of your seed of choice to the bottom of a clean mason jar. The amount will vary depending on the size of your jar, and how many sprouts you want to create. Do not fill the mason jar more than a quarter full though. The seeds will greatly expand as they sprout, filling up the jar! Next, add some tepid water to the jar – enough to cover the sprouts by several inches. Set the jar on your countertop, and allow the seeds to soak submerged in water for 8 to 12 hours. After the initial 8-12 hour soak, dump the water from the jar. This is where sprouting lids (or some other mesh cover) come in handy! Simply tip the jar upside down and let the water run out. Next, add more fresh water to the seeds. Swirl well to rinse. Dump the water again, draining as much as possible before setting it back on the counter. Now, repeat the process of rinsing and draining twice per day. Continue the routine until the seeds have sprouted to at least an ⅛ of an inch, but are preferably still shorter than 2 inches. Keep an eye out, because they change so quickly! Most of the seeds we sprout are ready within two to four days after their initial soak. | Facebook