hand raising zac

[zax]

hi everyone have not been on in awhile as i has been hand raising a baby sulpher crested he now is 7 weeks old and down to three small feeds a day and soooooo loveable .... i have put seeds in his cage along with boiled green beans ..... i leave the beans draped over the edge of the dish so he can see them . he will nibble them from my hand ..., and bite at the dish and at the beans a bit .... i can put seeds in my hand and he will take them and put them in his mouth but can"t seem to crack them ( only had them in his cage for 2 days ) should i soak the seeds ( reg parrot mix) or get a softer seed ? and am i goin about right weaning him ... thanks to all that reply zax

[kim1]

I DON'T KNOW ALOT ABOUT SULPHERS, BUT i SOAK SEED FOR MY RINGNECKS AT THAT AGE, ALSO i BOIL UP BERTOLLI BEANS, CHICK PEAS AND PASTA AND THIS IS ONE OF THEIR FIRST FOODS, i ALSO GIVE THAWED FROZEN PEAS CARROT AND CORN AS WELL AS WHOLEGRAIN BREAD, AS WELL AS A DIFFERENT FRUIT AND VEGIE EVERY 3 DAYS TO KEEP THEIR INTEREST UP.

[zax]

how long do you soak the seeds( to make soft) ... and how often should i change seeds and veg to avoid spoiled food .... bird is in house so really temp is not a problem thanks all

[kim1]

this is what I do, I put a couple of cups of seed in a bowl and cover it with water and 1tap of bleach or baby antibacterial solution, and leave it overnight, next morning it put it in a big seive and rinse it well, I leave the seive near the sink and rinse it whenever I go in th kitchen (about 5 times a day) on the second day the seed begins to sprout, wash it in the bleach solution again, rinse well and keep it in the fridge. you can use the seed from the first morning if you don't want to wait untill it sprouts, but just make sure you keep rinseing it well. I change foods 2 times a day at 8am and 5 pm, so it doesn't spoil in the heat.

[zax]

why is blech used ..... is it not toxic to birds .... and can u do this with out bleching the seeds? thanks chris

[loriluver]

Hi Zax, This is the method i use for sprouting or soaking seed. I take enough seed to last only two days place it in a stainless steel bowl cover with water and leave soak for 12 hours. At this time the seed should smell sweet (if it doesn't discard it) rinse well in a sieve place it back in the stainless steel bowl rinse every four hours or so just leaving enough moisture to have it sprout. the warmer the room temp the faster it will sprout. As soon as i see the smallest sprout that is the time i stop the process. Finally Take the seed and rinse very well again replace in bowl and fill with water then to this i add Aviclens which is a much safer alternative to bleach and it also reduces algae gowth and slows the fermentation process. Leave for a hour or so, drain and you are ready to use. Aviclens is available from the parrot society. There are many different ways to soak and sprout seed. This one works for me