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Growing Sprouts -The Connie Cuthbert Method
Materials :
Quart or 1/2 gallon wide mouth canning jar with screen lid.
Similar size fresh seed for sprouting.
Fill jar 1/3 with seed—2/3 water and soak for 8-24 hours.
Drain soak water.
Fill and drain 2 times in the morning (double rinse) and 2 times a night. Be sure to leave jar upside down and on a slant—
after rinses I put mine in a colander.
By the third day, sprouts should fill jar. (If you prefer to serve them just as the root emerges you may do this after
the second day)
Remove sprouts and serve, or put them into a roomy plastic container and refrigerate. Sprouts should not be stored for
more than two days as bacteria may multiple to harmful levels.
Tips:
In the summer put 1 tsp of Clorox in soak water to prevent bacteria and spoiled sprouts. Standard finch mixes take longer
because of variable seed sizes. Never use a fortified mix as it will only spoil. Connie’s millet mix is very fast and
yields nearly 100 percent sprouts (because it’s all tiny seeds).
Where to get more seed: Wings Aviary - Connie Cuthbert
2130 Weis Road, Quakertown, Pennsylvania 18951 (215) 536-1599 Fax (215) 529-4324
A Bit More About Sprouts
Producing a quality-sprouted seed is a bit like baking a cake. There are many different types of cakes and each has a different
recipe. The criticalness of following the recipe varies from cake to cake. Package cake manufacturers test their products
by varying each of components of the recipe to develop a product that will produce an acceptable cake under a wide degree
of variation from the recipe. Thus if your oven temperature setting is inaccurate or your eggs are very small or large or
you measure the liquid incorrectly your cake although not as nice as possible will still in many cases be acceptable for dessert.
Sprouted seed fits this model very well except for the fact that variation from the recipe can kill birds and even when
the recipe is followed to the letter, some batches will be suspect. When someone details their trouble free method of preparing
soaked seed it is critical that those following the recipe understand that variables are often not stated in the recipe and
those changes may result in toxic sprouts. These variables include but are not limited to, temperatures at each step of the
process, cleanliness of the seed, composition of the seed mixture, vigorousness and duration of the rinse and concentration
of disinfectant used in the process.
Because death can result from sour seed and many of the variables are not stated in any recipe, it becomes necessary that
breeders understand the process, the critical variables and the absolute level of diligence required to prevent losses. Hatchlings
are particularly susceptible, as sprouts are preferentially fed to babies by many species. A dry seed and dry supplement diet
with added greens would be a better choice for those unwilling to closely monitor sprouts.
It should be obvious from the variety of recipes posted that there is no single correct method for soaking seed and as
a corollary it should be obvious that any recipe poorly followed can kill birds.
Rather than attempt another recipe I'm going to attempt to define some of the critical variables and how they relate to
the safety of the sprouts produced.
1. Clean seed. All seed carries dirt and dust with its included fungus and bacteria. The cleaner the seed, the
lower the pathogens at the start. With the recent discovery of ergot in some of the Midwest's sorghum crops, we can probably
expect to see it in our seed as well. Ergot produces a number of toxic alkaloids, which are almost immediately lethal when
in high concentration, but cause long-term health problems when chronically ingested in low concentrations.
2. Seed mix composition. Some seed mixes have components that provide excellent growth mediums for fungus and
bacteria. Most obvious of these are pelletized and vitamin-supplemented seed, as well as those "coated" colored seeds. These
"additions", in this context, are only beneficial to the bacteria and fungi, and NOT to the birds. If you want to use a powdered
supplement, use it AFTER sprouting.
3. Intensity duration and frequency of rinsing. It is apparent that vigorous and frequent rinsing reduces the
bacterial and fungus load, as well as reducing the load of soluble nutrients available to them.
4. Air flow around the seed during the period after soaking. Seed should not dry out after soaking but the movement
of air thru and around the seed greatly reduces bacterial and fungal growth. Oxygen is a relative toxin to many of these organisms.
Because of this large deep batches of seed or airtight containers increase chances of bacterial and fungal growth.
5. Temperature at every step of the process is critical. Fungus and bacteria reproduce faster at higher temperatures,
but the seed also sprouts faster at higher temperatures. The race is on here, and those with higher than average temperatures
might want to consider rinsing more often than every 12 hours.
6. Disinfectant treatments. Variables include, point in the process disinfectant is added (earlier is better),
how clean the seed mix is (cleaner is better), temperature of treated water, duration of treatment, and the product and concentration
used. Disinfectants work best in a "clean" environment. If there is a lot of debris present, the disinfectant gets "tied-up"
chemically with the debris, and isn't able to perform its function. Some of the disinfectants commonly used (especially hexachlorophene)
are potent liver toxins; so should be used early in the process so that the end of the sprouting process rinses them out.
Also, if not used early, toxin-producing organisms can flourish, and the disinfectant will not neutralize those toxins, even
though it may kill the organisms.
7. Length of time seed is kept after soaking (shorter is better). It is my understanding that the greatest nutritional
level is achieved at the point a sprouts root just begins to emerge from the seed. "Sprouts" in this case, doesn't mean that
thing you put on your sandwiches, and "soaked seed" is actually a more accurate term for these. Refrigerating seed that has
reached this point provides the greatest security from bacterial and fungal growth. Short holding times as well as a willingness
to discard any sprouts with the slightest off odor or appearance will prevent many losses. The potential dangers of sprouted
seed can't be overemphasized. While sprouted seeds are obviously beneficial, and often necessary when breeding, they can also
be lethal to our birds. Some of the more blatant errors will be quickly obvious, but many are not. Some of you that have experienced
birds slowly "going-light," or slowly (but surely) declining may actually be experiencing birds being slowly poisoned by low
levels of toxins, or low levels of pathogenic organisms being introduced to them on a daily basis. The best advice is "when
in doubt, throw them out."
John Wilson and Robert Clark ( Used with permission.)
Live
Food Mealworms - Tenebrio Molitor
To be sure we are talking about the same insect, lets
call them by their Latin name- Tenebrio Molitor.
The larvae of the Tenebrio are most commonly used to
feed finches and softbills kept in captivity. You can purchase Tenebrio in the pet store or by mail order. The larvae are
about an inch long, and they are a golden yellow color.
Mealworms are the larvae of the darkling beetle. Darkling
beetles undergo complete metamorphosis, and have an egg, larva, pupa and beetle stage. The female beetle lays 500 to 1000
bean shaped white eggs. These are seldom seen because they are sticky and rapidly become coated in substrate. Eggs hatch in
about one week but the larva are very small so it may take a few weeks before the larvae are large enough to be seen well.
As a larva grows it molts several times- shedding its exoskeleton. After a period of approx 3 months the larvae eventually
becomes a pupa. The pupa stage lasts about two weeks.
The beetle that eventually emerges from the pupa is
a light beige, darkening to red, brown, and finally black after about two days.
Keeping
and Breeding Tenebrio
Mealworms may be stored in the refrigerator. You may
do this if you like- but the growth of the larvae will slow down and you will likely never be able to breed the mealworms
while they are in the fridge. I have a small refrigerator in my bird room, as
my daughter did not like them being stored with their food supply. If mealworms are kept at room temperature they will eat,
and if you feed them a good diet you can be sure that your birds is getting a nutritious meal when you offer the mealworms.
Many bird fanciers chose to purchase large quanitites rather than commit time and energy into raising them.
Here is one method used to keep
and breed mine:
- Shallow Tupperware or Rubbermaid container
- Put lots of air holes in the lid, or cut out a large portion of the lid and use a hot glue gun to glue some
fine window screening material to the inside of the lid around the hole.
- Fill the bottom of the container with a substrate of rolled oats or bran- couple of inches deep. I have
used Game Starter (unmedicated). This becomes the mealworms diet.
- Put one small shallow dishes in the bottom of the container - I use the tiny tinfoil pie plates. Fill these
dishes with a half potato, a chunk of carrot and if you like a 1/4 to a 1/2 of an orange. Other veggies can be used- they
will eat these and get their moisture from them so you may want to also sprinkle the veggies and fruit with calcium and vitamin
supplements so that the mealworms are more nutritious when eaten.
- Change the veggies every couple of days- they will go bad and mould- mould and dampness will kill the mealworms.
Depending on the climate where you live (humidity & temperature) this time frame will vary. In the Mid-Atlantic region
this time frame varies depending on the season. In the Fall and Winter once a week, mid summer daily is required.
The Tenebrio will eat and live for a long time in these containers
when kept at room temperature. Eventually you will notice that some of the mealworms metamorphosis into pupa, and the pupa
into beetles. The beetles will mate and lay eggs in the substrate or on a porous piece of wood in the container. The will
cycle themselves with little help or bother from you. All you have to do is feed them. |
