Making Sprouts

Sophia enjoys the benefits of sprouted seeds a few times a week.  They are very easy to make, and she enjoys biting off the fresh shoots while shelling the seeds.  There are many health benefits to sprouting seeds too, because as they start to grow, they become a fresh green food!  Here's how we make them ...

 

You can use many different types of seed to sprout, but we just use a small scoop of her regular daily seed mix.  Put a scoop of seed in the bottom of a glass jar.  Then cover the seed with plenty of water.  Some of the seed will float, but that's ok, it will settle to the bottom as it gets saturated with water.  Leave the seed to soak in the water for roughly 24 hours in a spot that's not in direct sunlight. 

 

 

 

 

You can use a fancy sprout jar with a lid to drain the water away but leave the seeds in the jar.  You can strain the seed in a small strainer.  You can have a brilliant mother to recommend that you use a piece of plastic canvas from the craft store to cut a strainer lid for your jar!  Thanks, Mom!  Cut the plastic canvas to fit the lid size you are working with.  It works perfectly.  Sometimes a few of the very small seeds will fall through the lid, but most of them stay inside.

 

 

 

 

After soaking the seed for 24 hours, drain the water away and rinse the seeds thoroughly.  If you're using a jar, just strain the water off through the lid, then add water and flush the seeds, draining them whenever the jar is full - a few times. 

 

Drain the seeds well so there is no excess water left in the jar.  Now turn the jar sideways and roll it gently so the seeds stick to the sides of the jar.  This will spread the seeds out instead of them being in one big clump!  Air is important for the seeds to begin to sprout.  Leave the jar on its side where it's not in direct sunlight.  A shady spot in the kitchen is perfect. 

 

 

The next day, flush and drain the seeds again several times.  Repeat the rolling of the jar to spread out the seed, and let it sit on its side again.

 

On the next day, flush and drain the seeds again.  Now they are ready to feed to your lucky bird!  You should see that the seeds are well sprouted.  The sprouts will last a couple more days.  I put mine in a small container in the refrigerator.  If you leave them out, be sure to flush and rinse them daily and you may notice that the tips start to turn brown. 

 

It's very easy to make a batch weekly, and I make enough for Sophia to have 3-4 days each week of sprouts.  She loves them and will pick them out of her fruit and veggie dish first every time! 

 

Happy Sprouting!  

More Birdie Fun

Enrichment for a pet bird is very important - especially for a young active bird like Sophia!  She gets something new and different to do every day.  I have lots of toys which I rotate regularly.  Some are store bought.  Some I create for her.  The favorite right now is an empty toilet paper tube stuffed with drinking straws that I cut in half.  I stuff them in there tightly with a few treats and other foot toys.  She loves to pull them out one by one, carry them around the cage, and toss and twirl them.  When she's finished, I stuff them all back in for a different day's fun. 

 

I cut up her fresh fruits and veggies for the whole week, so each week I try to include variety in what I cut for her.  Some days she gets sprouted seed, some days I tuck in a banana chip or a piece or two of dry cereal.  She enjoyed some dry spinach tortellini the other day. 

 

Below you see Sophia with lots to do.  Not only is this good to keep her busy all day, but it helps her learn to be quiet as well. A busy beak is a quiet beak!  She loves her rope perch, but she also has a natural branch perch in her cage, and various other surfaces to climb on when she's on her play gym - rope, wood, and the fancy perches that are supposed to keep their nails filed down. 

 

The red thing behind her is her hut where she can hide or sleep.  I often stuff it full of toys and goodies for her to unstuff.  And I will find her inside fairly often, playing on her back with a toy.  She has a kabob toy - I love those! - with apple branches, grapes and a birdie bread muffin.  But the nice thing about kabob toys is you can change them every day!  Something new and exciting every day!  Sometimes I put beads and toys on them, sometimes food, sometimes both.  

 

 

 

Look for different ways to use your bird's toys.  Sophia loves the toy in the front of this picture with the two bells in it.  She plays with it a lot. But every now and then I will stick a piece of millet spray or other small treats in it along with the bells.  That makes it VERY exciting! 

 

To make Sophia's birdie bread, I used a box of corn muffin mix made following the directions.  I added finely chopped parsley, basil and carrots, and I added some of her pellet mix that has dried fruit in it as well. I made it in mini muffin tins - it makes a lot!  Then bagged them in small batches and froze them.  A little baggie of 3-4 muffins taken out to thaw at the start of the week and she can have several days of fun.  Pop them in the microwave for a few seconds before serving to take the chill off, but be careful they aren't too hot when you serve them!  Sophia loves to tear the paper off her muffins, so I leave the paper on for her.  She doesn't try to eat the paper, but she will dunk it in her water and make soup!  



 

Just Hanging Around!

Some pictures of Sophia - just hanging around!  She's quite the acrobird!  Sophia will be six months old tomorrow.  She plays constantly and is so much fun to watch!

 

 

 

Happy Fall!

Making a Travel Cage

I needed to make a travel cage for Sophia, that would keep her safe and comfortable on a long car ride.  She has a small travel cage that I used to bring her home from the breeder, but it was small without a lot of room for Sophia to move around.  I wanted her to have room to play and move around comfortably, and I knew she would need food and water during the trip.

 

I had a small cat-sized plastic airline carrier that I thought could work.  I cut a small hole in the bottom half of the carrier, just big enough to put a perch attachment through.  I made sure the perch would be low enough that Sophia would not be hurt if she got bumped off it during transit, but I knew she needed a perch to sit on and feel comfortable and stable in the moving car.  I chose a foraging perch to give her extra fun things to chew on during the trip. 

See screw/perch placement

 

Lots of millet remains after the trip!

 

 The bottom, I lined with paper towels.  There was plenty of room left for lots of foot toys, her favorite ball, and two small ceramic crock bowls which would not tip. 

 

I wanted to introduce Sophia to the carrier with as little stress as possible.  I wanted her to know it was a safe and fun place to be.  I started by just setting it near her cage where she could watch it and see that it wasn't a threat.  I left it there for a few days until she started to investigate it on her own when she was out playing.  I left the door of the carrier propped open so she could go inside without the door closing and trapping her in.  I wanted her to be able to get out whenever she wanted to. 

I put pieces of millet inside - a special treat that she only gets during training sessions - and that enticed her to venture inside and check it out.  I also put new and exciting toys inside in the hope that she would linger inside longer to play with them.  I added a little bit of water to one of the crocks inside the carrier.

 

Over the next few days I began to close the door of the carrier for a few minutes at a time while she was busying herself with the millet and toys.  Slowly, I kept the door closed for longer periods of time, keeping the carrier right next to me so she would not feel scared or alone. 

 

As she became comfortable in the carrier, I left her in there for several hours to play and eat, with me moving around the room and then leaving the room.  It was important before the trip for me to know that Sophia was eating and drinking and playing inside the carrier.  This meant she was content and not stressed.

 

During the trip, Sophia's carrier was strapped into the car for safety so it could not slide around.  I gave her some water in her crock, and a larger crock of fruits and veggies, along with sprouted seed to try to make sure she got enough fluids.  The trip was going to be over 12 hours in the car, and I didn't want to risk opening the carrier during that time and have Sophia get out. 

 

Sophia did great during the trip!  I could hear her munching away on her veggies and millet.  Sometimes I heard her bell jingling around.  The only time she squawked a bit was at dusk as the sun was going down, but once it was dark, she was quiet again.