Quite a few of us have been sprouting seeds for our hams now but the info is scattered over several threads so I thought I'd post the basics in this thread so it's easier to find for anyone who might want to try.
Sprouts can be a really healthy treat for hams & most really love them, you may have to experiment a bit to see what your ham likes best but mine have yet to turn there little noses up at any sprout I've offered them yet!
I do sprouts three ways.
In a sprouting jar, I use one of these, available from amazon or most health food stores.
sproutjar.jpg
I mostly use this for buckwheat & grains like oats, wheat or barley.
I use hulled buckwheat as it sprouts faster but unhulled is fine, not roasted! Grains need to be whole grains, sometimes called groats or berries.
Mung beans, lentils & alfalfa are not suitable for hamsters done this way.
Buckwheat I just soak for 30 minutes drain, rinse well then sprout for a maximum of two to three days after which time it's past it's best & you need to begin again. Rinse two to three times a day.
Oats, wheat (normal wheat, spelt or kamut) & barley need to be soaked for about 8 hours after which you do the same as buckwheat although they can take a day or two longer, you only need a tiny sprout showing for them to reach optimal nutrition.
I also sprout quinoa in a similar way but it is too tiny for most sprout jars so I use a stainless steel tea strainer that has a little dish to sit it in.
Put the quinoa in the strainer, rinse really well under running water (this removes tannins) leave to soak (this is where the little dish comes in handy!) in the strainer for 10-15 minutes, rinse again & keep moist. If you watch they will have begun to grow within about 30 minutes! I usually serve these the same day, starting them in the morning then feeding in the evening but they would be ok for the next day too.
Rinse two or three times a day under running water.
The next method is the tiny pot, I prefer to use 4cm terracotta pots with a hole in the base, unglazed terracotta with no hole is ok as it's porous anyway.
I've tried a few different things for growing the sprouts, fitch, hemp, tissue & coir but fitch seems to work best.
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Fill the pot with fitch & soak really well, I usually keep my pots standing in a saucer of water for 24-48 hours so the seeds remain really wet enough to germinate, once they begin to germinate then just keep moist but not too wet but don't allow them to dry out either.
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Time for these depends on which seed you use, temperature & light levels so you have be patient in winter! (I cheat & use a grow light!)
The Shelled warrior weed mix is the best thing for this, if you can't get this mix where you are then any of the seeds used in the mix can probably be brought individually, Ratrations do a soak mix that works quite well this way too, millet & canary seed will also work well.
Wherever you buy seeds make sure they are untreated, seeds for growing in the garden may be treated with fungicides & other chemicals you don't want to feed your ham.
The shelled warrior mix is available
here or on
ebay.
The Ratrations soak mix is available
here.
The third method is the saucer method growing in chinchilla sand.
I use a 9cm terracotta saucer.
saucer.jpg
You can use a glazed dish but it is more likely to get waterlogged.
Getting the sand just wet enough can be a bit tricky, I fill the saucer about half full then pour on enough water so that there is just a layer of water on top of the sand then gradually add more sand until it's all nice & damp almost muddy but with no excess water, you might need to poke it about a bit to level it off, it can get a bit messy!
Lay seeds on top of the sand & lightly cover with more sand, if you need more water then either gently spray or trickle water onto the sand, it doesn't matter if it's a bit wet at this stage as the seeds need water to germinate & it will dry out fairly quickly but after the first day or two just keep moist but don't overwater or allow to dry out, I generally don't water it the day I feed it as wet sand in the cage can make a bit of a mess!
You can use a single seed or grain or a mix in the saucer, using a mix can be tricky as not everything will germinate at the same rate, grains, millet & canary seed do fairly well together but you may need to experiment a little to find what works best.
Any of the grains used in the other methods can be used along with the weed mix, canary seed, you could even do things like grass or cress, sunflower seeds work well too. These are the most common things to sprout, I have a fuller list somewhere but can't find it right now, will update when I do or just look through the German links at the end for more ideas.
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There is another group of seeds classed as mucilaginous seeds which do better grown slightly differently to other seeds, you can do flax or chia seeds, this was covered in another thread
here.
That just about covers the basics, any questions just ask & if you have any more ideas or photos of your hams tucking in then please do share those too.
Hope this is helpful, there is some really good info on the German forum too if you want to read more.
Here & part two
here.