Is Your Pet Missing Out on Sprouts?
Pet sprouts are a delicious way to add enrichment to your pet’s life. There are many common types, from grass types to broccoli, arugula, radish, kale, beet, and hundreds more. Sprouts are more nutritious than the plant or fruit it creates, and loved by many pet species.
Pet Species Matters
Which species of pet you have affects what sprouts are best for them. For example, grazing animals can enjoy true grass sprouts, while other non-grazing herbivores should eat cereal grass instead because of their inability to digest true grasses effectively.
Graminivore
Horses, cattle, capybaras, rabbits, guinea pigs, degus, and chinchillas are examples of graminivores. A graminivore is an animal whose diet is mostly grass.
Uniquities
Different graminivorous species digest hays differently. Ruminants have 4 stomachs and chew their cud. Rabbits use a unique hind gut digestive system which requires eating cecotropes, a type of poop, to complete digestion. Horses are non-ruminant single stomach animals, digesting the complex carbohydrates of hay through fermentation.
Pet Sprout Options
Grass-type Pet Sprouts
There are many grass types: lawn, forage, pasture, bamboo, reed, native, cereal, and ornamental. Some varieties are high in lignin, which is a complex organic polymer indigestible to all mammals who don’t eat hay. Any non-cereal type grass tends towards higher lignin and other complex, non-bioavailable carbohydrates and proteins. Many contain anti-nutrients, which prevent any good nutrients eaten with these grasses from benefiting the animal consuming them.
Cereal Pet Sprouts
The type to use for pet sprouts are cereal grasses, like wheat, barley, oat, corn, rice, and rye. The sprouting process of cereal grain seeds breaks down complex carbohydrates and proteins into simpler forms, making them easier to digest than the same plant in its mature form. This is why people and non-hay eating animals can get a lot of nutrients and health benefits from eating things like oat, wheat, and barley sprouts. This process may not be as effective in non-cereal grasses, which is why cereal grass sprouts are the best for sprouting and giving to your pets.
Wheatgrass is a low calorie, nutrient dense superfood sprout some people add to smoothies to reap the benefits themselves. In sprout form, these are easy to digest. Humans, cats, hamsters, rats, and others can enjoy the health benefits. Other good grass types are oats, rye, and barley. Because I have a big bag of racehorse oats, they’re what I use for raising sprouts for my hamsters. However, you can find smaller bags online. Cat grass also works, but gives you less seed for a higher price.
Hay is not a suitable substitute for grain sprouts. Unlike sprouts, hamsters, mice, and rats can not digest full grown, cut, and dried hay. Grain sprouts are also different from the grass on your front lawn, which may contain pesticides, pollution, fertilizer, and other toxins. It may be an unknown grass species.
Vegetable Pet Sprouts
Vegetable sprouts, along with wheatgrass, are the most commonly found sprouts in the human food market. Mung bean sprouts are at the top of this list. If you ever ate Asian, Chinese, Vietnamese, or other food originating from the Asia-Pacific region of the world, you may have eaten them before. Radish and broccoli sprouts are two other popular options.
These sprouts are as healthy to your pets as yourself. They are high in vitamins E, B, C, folate, manganese, calcium, and more. The specific vitamin and mineral the sprout is high in depends on the sprout. Broccoli sprouts are high in fiber, protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Wheatgrass sprouts are high in chlorophyll, amino acids, calcium, iron, magnesium, and vitamins C, E, and A. Radish sprouts have calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, phosphorous, and vitamins A, B, C, E, and K.
Avoid all sprouts in the onion family, Amaryllidaceae. Onion, garlic, chives, shallots, and leeks are toxic to many pets, including dogs, cats, hamsters, cattle, horses, and rabbits. Thiosulfates are toxins present in all parts of these plants which cause anemia and death. If you don’t know whether your pet can have these plants, chances are the answer is a definite no. Humans are the exception to this, but despite my research, I did not discover why.
What’s the Catch?
Despite being a food staple in Chinese homes for over 5,000 years, sprouts have a higher tendency to spread food borne illness. In 20 years, people reported 53 outbreaks associated with sprouts to the CDC’s system. Sprouting seeds also encourages bacterial growth, but there are ways to minimize the risk. However, many businesses who sell sprouts do not take all necessary precautions to prevent these outbreaks. In 1999, the CDC documented risky practices like using untreated well water, improper handwashing and food sanitation training, and no refrigeration after harvesting. Methods have improved since then, but some risks remain from contamination before and during harvesting.
Ways to make sprouts safer before feeding them to your pets are cleaning them before serving, practicing proper handwashing like you would for your own food, using drinking water for the sprouting process, and washing all containers and tools used for sprouting between batches. Examine the sprouts before or after buying to ensure freshness, and trash or return them if they are slimy, discolored, or have a foul smell. Omitting soil from the sprouting process removes another potential contamination source. You can sprout most seeds using only water and light, as I did with oat sprouts. If your pet is young, old, injured, pregnant, nursing, or immunocompromised, skip the sprouts.
The FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) took effect in 2011. This law regulates the sprout industry to improve food safety by requiring tests throughout the process and halting the sale of infected sprouts. Seeds sold for sprouting may also undergo more rigorous testing to ensure their safety from the beginning. Buying seeds meant for use as sprouts for human consumption may be the safest option for your pets. It is possible grain seeds for livestock are safer than seeds meant for growing.
Is It Worth It?
In conclusion, sprouts are very nutritious, providing more vitamins and minerals per gram than the adult plant. Many species of small pets can enjoy them. The FDA considers them a “high risk food”. Vulnerable populations, human and pet, should avoid them. In response to this, laws, guidance, and research increased the safety of these nutrient superpowers. Buying seeds meant for eating after they sprout instead of for planting is the safest way. These seeds go through more rigorous testing and have stricter guidelines, but there is always some risk. Cheaper, less tested options are also available, such as racehorse oats and grain berries. Weigh the pros and cons to decide if the risk is worth the benefits for your pet.
References And Further Reading
Antinutrients in Ruminant Feeds: A review
Food Source Information – Colorado Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence: Sprouts
The Food Safety of Sprouts Fact Sheet
Full Text of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
US SPROUT INDUSTRY PRODUCTION BEST PRACTICES
Government of Canada – Archived – Code of Practice for the Hygienic Production of Sprouted Seeds
Government of Canada – Preventive controls for the hygienic production of sprouted seeds
APA References
Elliott, H., Woods, P., Green, B. D., & Nugent, A. P. (2022). Can sprouting reduce phytate and improve the nutritional composition and nutrient bioaccessibility in cereals and legumes?. Nutrition bulletin, 47(2), 138–156. https://doi.org/10.1111/nbu.12549
Hübner, F., & Arendt, E. K. (2013). Germination of cereal grains as a way to improve the nutritional value: a review. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 53(8), 853–861. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2011.562060
Ortiz, L. T., Velasco, S., Treviño, J., Jiménez, B., & Rebolé, A. (2021). Changes in the Nutrient Composition of Barley Grain (Hordeum vulgare L.) and of Morphological Fractions of Sprouts. Scientifica, 2021, 9968864. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/9968864
