DIY MINI SEED GARDENS

We've had such great success while trialling these mini seed gardens in our aviaries, we decided to keep it a permanent fixture for our birds! Vegetation offered to captive birds not only serves as a nutritional boost to their diet, but also provides a natural foraging opportunity. A busy bird is a happy bird!

To plant your own mini seed gardens, you will need:

a tray or plant pot, or self watering pot (can be plastic, stainless steel or even terracotta)

bird seed and/or sprouting mix (sorghum free) Budgie/Finch/Canary/Peachface/Cockatiel
- Example seeds: Panorama Millet, French White Millet, Plain Canary Seed, Japanese Millet, Panicum, Shirohie Millet, Red Panicum, Canola Seed, Linseed, Grey Striped Sunflower, Safflower
- Example grains/legumes: Wheat, Barley, Oats, Lentils, Mung beans, Peas (any type: Dunfield, Blue, Garden, etc)

garden potting mix (try to get one that doesn't have a heap of added fertilisers or slow release ingredients)

power drill with 4 or 5mm drill bit (alternatively, you could use a Dremel tool and drill bit, or a soldering iron to burn holes into plastic containers)

watering can, hose or misting bottle for watering

Optional:

12mm or 6mm aviary mesh, cut down to the size of the top of your container

stainless steel wire, or cable ties

STEP 1

Drill drainage holes in your containers. We used a 4-5mm drill bit, and added 4 drainage holes - one on each side. The more holes you add, the better it will drain, but you may need to water more often if outdoors in warm daily conditions. Be sure to remove any metal burrs created by the drill if using stainless steel containers.

STEP 2

Fill with potting soil, leaving a little space at the top for expansion and topping off with extra soil at the end. Pick out any particularly chunky pieces, as these will block the tender shoots from coming up through to the surface.

STEP 3

Sprinkle an even layer of seed mix over the top, without overcrowding. We used Avigrain's Peachface mix, but you can try different types to see what your birds prefer, and to give them more variety in nutrients.

Avoid any seed mix with sorghum in it, as sprouting sorghum produces the toxin hydrocyanic acid (HCN) in levels which can be fatal to parrots (Sources: here and here).

STEP 4

Top off with a light layer of potting mix. Don't overfill; if there's too much soil covering the seeds, the sprouts will push up the top soil in a chunky layer.

STEP 5

Water in well. You could cover the trays with a board or plastic to keep the moisture in for germinating, but we found it isn't necessary. (I planted one of my batches before going away for a few days, completely forgot about it and came back to it almost fully grown!)

step 6

Keep the trays in a warm spot, and they will start to sprout after 4-5 days. Keep the soil moist but not waterlogged , as this will cause the roots to rot.

Once the shoots start coming through, use a light mist to water as to not disturb the roots.