How to raise Backyard Chickens: Re: [CHICKENS-101] Sprouting Update- atten:Jean

I have made my own sprouts and shared them with my chickens, but I really care about my chicken's nutrition and would never rely on sprouts or just one feed to supply all of the nutrients needed for a long and healthy life. Chickens are ominvores. You are still figuring out what to sprout, mean while where are your chickens getting their amino acids necessary for life, their vitamins, and trace minerals? 
Feeding all sprouts is like your eating sprouts yourself everyday. The sprouts are not going to supply you with all of the nutrients you need to be healthy.  
Chickens, like us, would eat a varied diet. I recommend that your chickens get their chicken feed and the sprouts. The sprout fad comes and goes and the people i know who sprout grains use them to supplement their   chicken's feeding.
Cathryn rainbowsilkiesTM Michigan

    From: Jean <Just.Jean@verizon.net>
 To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com 
 Sent: Monday, July 30, 2012 7:25 AM
 Subject: RE: [CHICKENS-101] Sprouting Update-  atten:Jean

 Have you ever eaten bean or alfalfa sprouts?  Maybe in a sandwich or salad?  

That is what I am feeding my hens - I am sprouting their grain/seeds before feeding them to them.  Sprouting changes the chemistry – increases protein, amino acids, antioxidants, vitamins, etc.  Sprouting makes many nutrients more available.  You can Google the benefits of sprouts.  I've attached some brief notes from this site as an example: http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/health-benefits-of-sprouted-grains  (Pasted and copied as is, with typos.)

The simple act of adding water (and time!) increases the nutritional value of their feed!  My goal is to eventually grow most of what I am feeding them.  It is amazing how little space is needed to grow many of these seeds/grains/legumes!

Here is a website where they talk about sprouting grains for their goats: http://landofhavilahfarm.com/loh-feed-regimen.htm   (They are currently using formula #3)
I plan to add a miniature horse to my family soon.  I will be sprouting for him/her, too.  (Many horse farms are now feeding sprouts.)  

I'm still figuring out exactly what I want to feed.  I started by looking at various (non-sprouted) home-mixed, corn and soy-free layer recipes.  It has not been easy to find the nutritional content of some sprouts (needed to ensure we are meeting protein and other requirements), but I'm working on that.  

Jean and the Happy Hens
Sprouting Rye Increases and Protects FolateSprouting rye increases its folate content by 1.7- to 3.8-fold, depending on germination temperature, according to researchers in Finland who studied the effects of different processes on this key nutrient. The scientists also found that thermal   treatments – including extrusion, puffing, and toasting – resulted in significant folate losses. However, when the rye was germinated (sprouted) first and then heat-processed, losses were minimized, showing sprouting to be a useful potential tool in safeguarding nutrients during food processing.
The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, December 13, 2006; 54(25):9522-8.
Optimum Germination Conditions for WheatScientists at the University of Alberta germinated wheat under various conditions to determine how to maximize the production of antioxidants. First, they steeped the grains in water for 24 or 48 hours, then sprouted them in the dark for 9 days. Vitamins C and E and beta-carotene, which were barely detectable in the dry grains, increased steadiily during the germination period. Grains steeped for 48 hours became wet, sticky, discolored and acidic-smelling after germination, leading researchers to conclude that 24 hours of steeping and 7 days of sprouting would produce the best combination of antioxidant concentrations and sensory properties.
International   Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, July 2001; 52(4):319-30.
Sprouting Sorghum Enhances Taste and NutritionTanzanian researchers observed that sorghum, although a staple food in many poorer areas of the world, is not highly esteemed, because of limits in its nutritional and sensory qualities. In an effort to make this easy-to-grow grain more useful and more widely accepted, they studied three traditional processing methods: germination (sprouting), fermentation, and a germination/fermentation   comination. They concluded that germination was the best approach for improving the nutritional and functional qualities of the sorghum.
International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, March 2001; 52(2):117-26.
Sprouted Millet is Higher in Key NutrientsResearchers in India allowed proso millet to germinate for 1-7   days, then analysed the changes in its composition. They found that sprouting increased lysine (a key amino acid lacking in most grains) and concentrated the protein, as the grain overall lost weight. Increases in tryptophan, albumin and globulin were also observed, along with decreases in prolamins, a plant storage protein that may be difficult for some people to digest.
Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, February 1994; 45(2):97-102.
Digestibility Changes in Sprouted BarleyIn an experiment at the University of Alberta, barley kernels were sprouted from 2 to 5 days, then oven-dried and milled. Researchers found decreases in dry matter, gross energy (calories) and triglycerides, and increases in fiber and diglyceride content. After the sprouted barley was fed to rats, scientists said that "digestibility data showed an enhancement of digestibility of nutrients in barley… implying that sprouting improved nutritional qualify of barley."
Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, September 1989; 39(3):267-78.
Nutritional Improvement of Cereals by SproutingIn a 1989 meta-analysis of existing studies, JK Chavan and SS Kadam found evidence that "Sprouting of grains for a limited period causes increased activities of hydrolytic enzymes, improvement in the contents of certain essential amino acids, total sugars, and B-group vitamins, and a decrease in dry matter, starch, and antinutrients. The digestibilities of storage proteins and starch are improved due to their partial hydrolysis during sprouting."
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 1989; 28(5):401-37.