FENUGREEK sprouts: Nutritious, delicious, AND best of all, an amazing coop de-odorizer

We have had our 8 ducks (4 cayuga, 4 pekin) for nearly a year now and everyone is happy and healthy. One trick we learned this winter is to grow fresh sprouts, in 1L glass jars, so our ducks can enjoy something freshly grown with their food all year long.

Some experimentation and we very quackly realized the ducks had a clear favorite - the Fenugreek sprouts we grew from spice-seed bought in the 'Bulk' section of our local store.They love them, and they're highly nutritious, offering 30% protein, as well as vitamins A, B, C, E, trace calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, carotene, phyto-nutrients, etc.

Fenugreek is an aromatic spice (and a digestive aid), often used in Indian cuisine, so it smells delicious when you cook with it, it is one of the key ingredients in curry. As it turns out, the sotolon (which is responsible for the aroma of fenugreek) is just as present in sprouted fenugreek, even 'post-digestion'.

This has led to the strange but very pleasant experience of us actually LOOKING FORWARD to cleaning out the coop every day, since it smells so delicious. The sotolon in the sprouts COMPLETELY overrides any smells of poop, so the whole place smells like an Indian food restaurant.

Very highly recommended.

Sounds great! I wonder if I'll be able to find any in my little back woods area. No bulk food stores or section in our store.

Michelle

Some seed catalogs are carrying fenugreek in their herb section now.

I wonder if your area would be the right climate so you could grow some for seed? Just a thought. . .

Sounds interesting. especially about the aroma of the poop smelling like Indian food restaurant.

I haven't rc'vd any of the annual seed catalog's yet for this year but I'm willing to give it a try

Michelle

Miss Lydia said:

Sounds interesting. especially about the aroma of the poop smelling like Indian food restaurant.

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Actually since i have been feeding fermented feed the smell is way down anyway, i look on Web Med and Fenugreek hasn't any neg side effects so am looking to buy seeds now.

Thanks for this idea. I found a bag of bulk Fenugreek seeds I bought to make tea for myself and set some to soak. I had thought about growing some sprouts before, because there is no vegetation and the ground is frozen. Vegetables are so expensive it would be hard to buy much for them. What about sprouting beans?

We can find bulk fenugreek for $3 a pound, which means it's also very economical, since you can grow 1L of sprouts from 3 tablespoons of seed. It grows out in a matter of 3-4 days, making it much faster than the other sprouts we use.

Our ducks (and rabbits) also eat: sunflower sprouts (everyone loves 'sunnies'), adzuki sprouts (redbean), mung bean sprouts (chinese sprouts), mustard greens, chia greens, black turtlebean sprouts, and sprouted coriander (baby cilantro). Soybean sprouts seem to make them a bit gassy unless they are cooked for a few minutes first.

We've been really happy with sprouting, as a way to give the ducks some greens through the winter. Here in Newfoundland, sometimes wintertime lasts until May!

Bligh said:

We can find bulk fenugreek for $3 a pound, which means it's also very economical, since you can grow 1L of sprouts from 3 tablespoons of seed. It grows out in a matter of 3-4 days, making it much faster than the other sprouts we use.

Our ducks (and rabbits) also eat: sunflower sprouts (everyone loves 'sunnies'), adzuki sprouts (redbean), mung bean sprouts (chinese sprouts), mustard greens, chia greens, black turtlebean sprouts, and sprouted coriander (baby cilantro). Soybean sprouts seem to make them a bit gassy unless they are cooked for a few minutes first.

We've been really happy with sprouting, as a way to give the ducks some greens through the winter. Here in Newfoundland, sometimes wintertime lasts until May!

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I saw it online for 7.99 lb. I'm going to have to do some looking around to find it in your price range I'm thinking.