# Sprouts for Rats



## Asiposea (Dec 16, 2016)

Hello fellow rat lovers. I thought I’d put together some information on sprouting seeds to feed rats. I’ve been sprouting seeds for many years for my own diet so it has been easy to toss a little to my mischief. This is by no means a comprehensive tutorial but meant to be an introduction and to hopefully inspire others to try this after further research. While this is very easy and cheap to do, there are some cautions to address.
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How To: Sprouts
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*What*: Sprouts may refer to a number of different vegetable or plant beans in the period of time after they begin to grow.

*Why*: Healthy! Sprouts have a much more significant amount of vitamins and nutrients than they do in an un-sprouted form. Typically, a week after sprouting, the sprouts will have the highest concentration and bioavailability of nutrients. Also….my rats have always gone crazy over their breakfast/dinner sprouts.

*Where: *You can grow your sprouts at home or purchase them in the refrigerated vegetable section of many grocery stores.

*Caution*: Raw sprouts have been associated with outbreaks of bacterial foodborne illnesses like _E. coli _and other potentially serious infections.

*Materials*:
Seed sprouter (there are many DIY versions, the easiest being a glass mason jar, mason jar ring, and plastic craft canvas).
Sprouting seeds (purchase in health food stores or online)
Water

*How to Grow Sprouts*: There are many tutorials on blogs and videos on youtube and certain seeds have specific timeframes but here are some basics directions using a pint mason jar with colander top:

1. Soak 2 teaspoons of sprouting seeds in a full jar of water for 6-12 hours. 
2. Rinse seeds well and invert bottle in a bowl at a tilted angle to store, allowing any excess water to drain until the next rinse.
3. Rinse at least 2 times a day (AM and PM) and allow the water to drain by keeping it inverted between rinses. Do this for about 6 days. I store my sprouter on my kitchen counter near my sink for convenience. Keep out of direct sunlight.
4. Optional: on the seventh day, after rinsing, expose sprouts to bright, indirect sunlight a few hours before feeding (this will really green them out!).

I soak a new batch of seeds every day so I usually have mature sprouts every day. I have a tiered sprouter with several layers to make the rinsing process convenient, but I also use the jar sprouter for certain seeds, and a larger colander/bowl sprouter for wheatgrass sprouting (for my flock of chickens).

Again, this is a simple guide. Please research the many online blogs to see more details on the process.

-Asiposea

This pic shows what two teaspoons of sprouting seeds will yield:








These are the three ways that I sprout: jar, colander, stacker:









Sources:

https://sproutpeople.org/growing-sprouts/
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/seed-and-nut/sprouts.html
http://boulderlocavore.com/sprouting-101-homemade-sprouting-jars-tutorial-diy-mason-jars-giveaway/


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