SPROUTED OATS 



Since the value of sprouted oats for use as a green food for poultry has 

 become generally known, it has steadily grown in favor. They are greatly 

 relished by the fowls, are inexpensive and can be fed to chicks as well as 

 fowls. When chicks are small only the finely chopped tops or blades should 

 be used. The process of sprouting the oats is a simple one, but there are 

 several facts in regard to it that are well worth knowing. For sprouting 

 purposes new, heavy oats should be used. Trays should be started at such 

 intervals as will keep the supply constant. The amount started at one time 

 would vary with the size of the flock, but should not be more than will 

 be used in three to five days. If the oats are kept too wet after they are 

 partly grown, or if not used after a certain time, they will become sour 

 and rapidly rot. Just what quantity of sprouted oats should be used for a 

 given number of fowls would vary some with conditions. A strip or sec- 

 tion containing sixty square inches is a safe amount to use for one hundred 

 hens, but more can be used if it does not cause looseness of the bowels. 

 During the summer oats can be sprouted out of doors, but in cold weather 

 they must be kept inside where the temperature is high enough to keep them 

 growing, and the warmer they are kept the faster will be their growth. A 

 warm cellar makes a very desirable place. The use of trays for sprout- 

 ing the oats has been found to give the best results and they should be made 

 only large enough to hold oats for three to five days' feeding. About four 

 trays will then be necessary to supply the fowls with oats at such a time as 

 they are most suitable for feeding. For one hundred fowls make four trays 

 about fifteen by twenty inches. The sides and ends should be one inch 

 boards six inches wide. Cover the bottom of this tray with lath previously 

 soaked in water to prevent splitting and bulging and have them just close 

 enough to keep oats from going through the cracks. Nail a piece of lath 

 flat ways across either end on the bottom of the tray. This permits drain- 

 age, but does not dry out the oats too rapidly. Make a sash to cover each 

 tray, fitting it with glass or oiled muslin. This sash is for admiting light 

 and holding the warmth and moisture. Five pints of oats should be evenly 

 spread over a tray of the size mentioned above and thoroughly sprinkled 

 with warm water. Carefully cover the entire surface of the oats 

 with two to four thicknesses of burlap and again sprinkle. This sprinkling 

 process should then be repeated once a day, or oftener if the temperature is 

 high. Do not disturb the oats after they are placed in the trays. They will 

 sprout evenly if kept wet and warm and stirring will break the tender 

 sprouts. After the sprouts are about an inch high, remove the burlap and 

 cover tray with sash. Keep the sash on till oats are about three inches 

 high, when it can be left off for good. Begin feeding when sprouts are 

 about four inches high. Some judgment must be used in the treatment to 

 suit the varying conditions. To remove from tray, cut down through 

 sprouts and roots and peel the oats from the lath bottom. If each tray is 

 refilled as soon as' emptied there will be a constant supply of the oats, pro- 

 viding the proper number of trays are in use. 



When we consider the food value of the sprouted oats and the fact 

 that a feed for one hundred fowls can be produced from one pint of oats 

 at cost of less than one cent, it can be readily seen why this form of green 

 food is so universally recommended. 



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