By Jamie Gilardi – Executive Director of the World Parrot Trust

Finding ways to provide parrots with a healthy and diverse diet can be challenging, especially if you hope most of the food ends up in the bird rather than on the bottom of the cage or aviary. One option a lot of us have tried is sprouted seeds or beans, although from an informal survey of friends and colleagues, initial attempts aren’t always successful.

I like the idea of providing variety for captive parrots and thought it might be useful to share some of what I’ve learned through my own (first failed, later successful) attempts at sprouting, in hopes it might help others get started. Before delving in to the details of ‘how to’ sprout for parrots, I should say something about the ‘why’.

It’s not hard to poke around the web and find all sorts of fantastic claims about the phenomenal healing and nurturing properties of sprouted seeds – sprouts touted as super foods, miracle foods that cure what ails you (or your bird)! In addition to claims about vitamins, enzymes, proteins, and anti-oxidant potential, I even bumped into one pro-sprouts website claiming an increase in sodium levels of 690 per cent.

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