- Good morning, everybody.
Jamieleigh here from BirdTricks
and today's video's about sprouting.
You guys have asked for it.
I did it before.
I apparently made the information too confusing.
So we're doing it again better, way better, much better,
much more simplified.
(upbeat music)
Okay, so first of all,
I wanna show you guys my sprouting kit
and I'm gonna be giving away a sprouting kit.
So stay tuned on the details
on how to win your own sprouting kit.
I go for the most brain dead, simple sprouter ever.
So the one that I use comes with,
well it doesn't come with all these, but I get all these.
These are all my seed quilts.
So each one of these, you just unpackage,
you lay it in your sprouter, fill a little bit with water.
I'll show it to you later in detail,
but these are all my different sprouts.
You can actually read through these
and see that I have like Earthy Clover
and a Daikon Radish one, and there's all sorts of stuff.
Okay, so this sprouting thing, relatively new for me.
Normally, I've just bought my sprouts at the grocery store
because it's easy
and I don't have to be home for a number of days,
and I don't have to like babysit my growing sprouts.
So that's how I've always done it in the past.
I include sprouts in my seasonal feeding system,
which my birds get as their breakfast every single morning.
However, sprouts are literally the most nutritious food.
you can feed your bird because they're actually alive.
So with so much emphasis on sprouts
and the fact that we aren't traveling as much anymore,
I decided to give it a shot again.
So it's been a minute since I've done sprouting.
And when I did it,
I was under the guidance of my friend Patty
who is amazing and can sprout anything.
Meanwhile, me, I'm like I can kill anything.
So I don't keep plants alive very well.
So I had very large doubts
about being able to successfully sprout by myself.
And I proved this
because I made some sprouts go real rancid, real quick.
It was pretty bad.
And it was in an Easy Spouter, Easy Sprouter.
That was the name of the sprouter, Easy Sprouter.
Apparently, it's not easy enough for me.
So I have changed my sprouting methods
in just the few months that I have been sprouting.
I used to try to sprout in my kitchen window.
It was too cold.
The light wasn't really hitting everything correctly.
It was really uneven.
Then I started sprouting on my dining room table.
It actually gets a lot more light.
It's warm 'cause it's right next to my electric fireplace
and my sprouts were so much happier.
And then my friend Hannah accidentally sent me a light
for a sprouter that she meant to send herself
and I kept it (laughs).
Hey Barry.
And I decided to use it.
And now I'm using it in this window
and it adds so much more light for my sprouts.
It is amazing.
So not only does this window collect a lot more light,
it's warmer than my kitchen window,
because again I have a heat source here,
but also I have extra light on it.
And now my sprouts are doing much, much better.
They seem a lot happier and they start to show up quicker.
So I'm really, really happy.
I will say it's gonna take you a little bit
of trial and error of figuring out
where your sprouts are happiest growing in your home.
Now I will point out
that my sprouter does not come with a light.
You have to provide that yourself.
And it can be artificial light or it can be natural light.
It depends on where you live.
I couldn't use natural light
because when I started sprouting,
it was winter and I would've froze my sprouts to death.
The other thing I will say
is that there are much simpler ways to sprout.
As far as DIY, you don't need to buy a kit.
You can just use a paper towel or a mason jar or whatever.
So I wanna highly encourage you guys that do do that.
Please write what you sprout,
how you sprout and how successful you are in the comments,
so that this can just be
the most bestest sprouting resource ever
in the comments where people can go and get ideas
and read about what you guys are doing
and just see what they have at home
that they can sprout safely for their birds
because I think that would be an amazing resource to have.
Sometimes we just overcomplicate things like this
and we scare people out of even trying it in the first place
when they don't even realize how easy or simple it is.
'Cause you look so cute.
You good.
Don't leave.
So first of all, if you're a better learner by reading,
I've created a sprouting 101 freebie on my website.
So it's an instant download.
You just enter your information.
I will send the link to your email
and you can just download that freebie
and just read through the information
that you're going to learn on this video.
The only thing that I don't go through on there
is how I actually sprout and the stuff that I used to do.
How cute are you?
You could be right there.
That's fine.
This is Comet, my Camelot Macaw.
He likes sprouts,
but sometimes he eats around them in his bowl,
which you really should not 'cause they're so good for you.
All right.
So I wanna first explain
that you can sprout a lot of different things.
My favorite thing to sprout is microgreens
because I find it just brain dead simple.
I use these little seed quilts.
I literally fill my little ceramic tray with water.
I press the seed quilt into that water for 10 seconds.
That's it.
And then it grows and it's awesome.
Sir, what are you doing?
You have a bunch of molting feathers.
You're molting.
You're acting like a big baby.
Do you like to go upside to down?
You are so cute.
I see you looking at that tree with all of its toys.
You can play over there.
So as I was saying, I really like microgreens.
I just find them super simple to sprout.
I know a lot of people have different preferences
when it comes to sprouts, but you can do beans,
you can do grasses, you can do seeds.
Yeah, you can do a lot of stuff.
So I will say, an invaluable resource
is going to be the Sproutpeople.
They specialize in sprouts.
That is their jam.
They have the answer to any question
you could possibly have regarding sprouts.
So I'm going to refer you to them
because sprouts is 100% what they do.
That's why they have all the information
that they have on it.
Sprouts is not 100% of what I do.
And I'm literally taking the easiest route
that I've personally found for myself and my birds.
And that's going to look different for everybody.
Like I said, you could use a paper towel.
You could use a mason jar.
You don't have to get a kit off the internet.
You don't even have to get like fancy lights
to be on or around your sprouts.
It's all really up to you in how you wanna sprout things.
So once you get started,
you'll be able to kind of experiment
and see what your vibe is when it comes to sprouting.
Okay, so there's a very short list of things
that you wanna avoid when it comes to sprouting.
Number one is bacteria growth.
It happens pretty easily.
Like I said, I used an Easy Spouter
and my sprouts smelled so bad.
One, I drowned them.
Two, I tried to sprout too many things at the same time.
So you can definitely do it wrong or I can.
The other thing you wanna make sure of is unclean equipment.
Since we're dealing with moisture,
bacteria can grow really quickly if stuff isn't clean.
Improper storage, so that should go without saying really.
And then lastly,
serving sprouts with vitamin fortified food.
So the cool thing here at BirdTricks
is we recommend a seasonal feeding system
which is all fresh.
And then we also recommend a cold pressed pellet.
So we are not serving anything that is vitamin fortified.
So we don't even have to worry about that.
But if you are, please be hyperaware about it.
Okay, so the steps to getting started with sprouting
is really choose what kind of sprout you want to sprout.
Then you need to learn what it takes
to sprout that type of sprout.
And then you have to pick your method of sprouting.
So for me, I was just going for simple, simple, simple,
something that I didn't have to rinse
and strain all the time
because most sprouts that I picked up,
it was like, hey, rinse every three to six hours
or, you know, oh, it was what I would refer to
as a high maintenance sprout.
And I want something where I can just do it and leave it.
And then it grows by itself.
I wanted a self-sufficient sprout (laughs).
Okay, he's back.
He decided that tree without me is not that cool.
Do you wanna play with the toy here
or you just wanna chill out?
Oh, he's kind of in the frame.
Anyway, he wants to be at the very edge of this table.
So I know that you guys are gonna have
a lot of questions about sprouts.
And in this freebie,
we have a frequently asked questions portion.
So I really highly advise
and encourage you guys to check it out,
especially since it's, you know, free.
So the only thing my freebie doesn't include
is how to sprout because there's a gajillion ways to sprout.
There's so many different things you can sprout.
They all have different periods of time in which it takes.
So the cool thing that I like
about my Hamama sprouting method
is that it comes with these cute little cards
that tell you what you're sprouting
and how long it's going to take.
So most take around five days, I would say.
And I've been really, really happy with this
because each week I can have a new sprout to add
to my seasonal feeding system.
So my seasonal feeding system
might go a few days without sprouts
just because I only thought about three,
four days tops portion to be able to feed to my bird.
And then I'm out.
I don't know.
Oh, hi, handsome.
You're back.
Oh, you want to be held.
Okay.
Just love you.
I just love you.
You're so fluffy.
You're so fluffy this morning.
You looked like an adult when I got you.
And then the longer I spent with you, the fluffier you got.
Okay, so now you're throwing me off
and I don't remember what I said.
But the main reason that my freebie
doesn't talk about how to sprout
as like a step by step guide
is there's just so many different things that you can sprout
and they take different periods of time
and they have different requirements.
So I've been really happy
with all the different varieties of sprouts
I have to choose from Hamama.
And I'm going to leave an affiliate code down below
in this video description,
so you guys can take $10 off of your order from Hamama
and I'm gonna be doing a giveaway.
So let's chat giveaway, huh?
So we can get somebody started in sprouting
and you guys can realize how simple it is,
at least I believe it's simple because I literally just,
again, fill this ceramic tray with water,
put in my seed quilt for 10 seconds underwater,
making sure that it changes color
and absorbs that water for 10 seconds.
And then I just leave it in a nice, warm
happy place where it's getting a lot of sunlight
or just natural light or artificial light.
And it just grows.
And I walk back up and my sprouts are there.
And I can either clip them off the top
and add them to my seasonal feeding system
or I can pull them by the roots and put them in.
It just really depends on what I'm going for.
The other cool thing about Hamama sprouts,
especially with the Fenugreek Greek ones,
I pull those early
just when they have little itty bitty tails,
and I add those to the seasonal feeding.
And I find that my birds really like those.
And they blend in really nicely and well.
You wanna bring your cute little body over here?
Come here.
Comet.
Not coming.
And then I don't call you and you've come over here.
Are you serious?
So don't forget to check the video description
for my Hamama link.
It'll give you $10 off your order.
You can get started on their website really easily.
They have amazing starter kits.
And again, I'm going to be giving away a starter kit.
So in order to qualify, you need to share this video
in your Instagram stories or on your Facebook account,
tag us and tag people who you think
need to get started in sprouting.
I feel like I'm looking over your head, sir.
We're going to announce the winner by the end of March
to see who wins their very own sprouting kit.
I'm not sure how many winners there's gonna be.
I might wanna do at least three of you to get you started.
So make sure you share this video somehow on social media,
share it with your friends, tag your friends
and don't forget to tag @birdtricks or @birdtricksofficial
depending on what platform you are posting this on,
but share away.
I wanna get more people feeding their birds healthy
and feeding their birds sprout,
sprouts learning how easy it is.
And you have had your back to the camera the whole time.
Sir, what are you doing?
How did I end up with the most cuddly physical macaw
when Dave is so much more cuddly than me?
Huh?
How'd that happen?
How'd I get the cuddle?
How'd I get the cuddle bug?
I got the cuddle bug.
The other thing I wanna mention
is when I first began adding the extra sprouts,
so my seasonal feeding system already has sprouts in it,
right, then I was adding more
because they were freshly grown.
And I would add those to the seasonal feeding system.
I will say, especially my macaws, like Comet and Tusa,
they were eating around the sprouts.
I mean, it was so rude.
And I thought I was doing a really good job
of mixing them in super well where they couldn't do that,
but they were,
and it became less and less the more I fed.
So just keep in mind that even if your birds
don't appreciate your growing efforts,
they eventually will.
And it's such a cool way.
And that's also why a lot of the time
I might just clip my sprouts off the top
and add them into my recipes
because it's such a smaller amount
versus when I first started growing,
I was so proud of my entire sprout.
I'd pull it out by the root
and put the whole thing in the seasonal feeding
and mix it up.
And it was way easier for the birds
to just eat around that full rooted sprout.
So I will say, you'll get sneakier
and your birds will get less picky about it
and they'll become more appreciative
of your growing expertise when it comes to sprouts.
So stick with it.
Don't just think,
oh, because they didn't eat it this one time
that they never will.
And again, you can always just include sprouts
in the seasonal feeding system.
It's just a whole different ball game
when you're feeding them alive.
And in the seasonal feeding system,
obviously they are being thawed from frozen,
so they have lost some nutritional value.
So there's nothing that beats feeding a live living sprout.
So yeah, happy sprouting, guys.
Don't forget to share this video
and tag me for a chance to win your very own sprouting kit
by the end of this month.
He's like, "Is anything else we could be doing
"other than this?
Hmm, is that everything?
(Comet squawks)
Don't forget to use my affiliate code down below.
It will get you $10 off your sprouting kit
and now just enjoy some awesome sprouting footage
of how I sprout and maybe a little sprouting fails.
I don't know.
I'll have to see what I've got.
Got my bird's breakfast.
Gonna be adding what did sprout of my kale seeds.
Think this one's ready.
Yay!
Are you telling me you're eating seasonal feeding?
I can see it's all over your,
oh my gosh, you're going nuts.
It's all over face, Bondi.
Hmm, you have a little something on your face.
It's like right on the front part.
Yeah.
Do you think you should wipe your face off at all?
Your face, it's a little dirty.
You've been eaten fresh food this morning?
Yeah.
I can tell, you got it all over you.
I will also be leaving a link to the Sproutpeople
because they are so genius on sprouts,
and I want to make sure that I give you guys
the best resources possible to answer all of your questions.
So make sure that if you have any questions about sprouting
even after reading the freebie,
please check out the Sproutpeople.
This is their jam.
It's 100% what they do,
so they've got all the answers.
All right, we're all done with the video.
We're all done.
We can do something else.
Yay!
We can do something else.
What you wanna do?
Where you going?
Where are you going?
What you doing?
Don't walk on my computer.
(Comet squawks)
Who's handsome?
(upbeat music)