how much seed

[rancho2]

When I had my first 4 finches I was told they only needed about 2 tablespoons of seed and other supplemental veggies and fruit. Now I have 7 with babies that haven't hatched yet. I just want to give them enough seed that I'm not throwing half of it away every day if i'm overdoing it. Any suggestions? Thx!

[Also, the gouldian that I thought was doing very poorly was put on a week's worth of tetratex (actually, all of them were), and a month later she is back to normal singing and flying and bugging her new mate .]

[debbie276]

I use outdoor bird feeders, they are like silo's and constantly feed the seed into the tray as the birds eat so I don't have to worry about giving to little. Birds will eat more or less depending on the time of year and the mode they are in so there really is no set amount that would be that accurate.
Glad to hear your hen has improved and back to her old self

[rancho2]

i like the silo idea. i'll give that a try, thanks!

[breeze]

Awesome idea Debbie. I will have to give that a try too.
I'm sure that helps prevents the seed shells from falling around the cages.

[mayble]

debbie276, do you ever have trouble with them clogging or sticking? I've looked at a few, but was concerned whether the seed would flow freely and also if the empty hulls would pile up on top.
I just got a few of the hoppers to try. The Societies are all over (or in) them, but they seem a bit small and awkward for my larger birds so I'm looking for alternatives.

[debbie276]

I use the oudoor wild bird feeders that you would find at a feed store or stores like walmart, target, etc. They are not the ones sold online specifically for bird cages. Mine have never clogged.

[David]

I'm glad your gouldian is doing well and back to normal!
I don't like it when the bird seeds wasted half everyday too, I used the vacation feeder for my finches which prevent waste the seeds and it will not come down to floor so messy!

[mayble]

I use the oudoor wild bird feeders that you would find at a feed store or stores like walmart, target, etc. They are not the ones sold online specifically for bird cages. Mine have never clogged.

That's what I've been looking at. Most I've seen have very small perching areas/seed trays, and are designed for either very small or very large seed.
I will keep searching.

[Sunbay]

I use this type, in addition to having another seed source low.
I like the perch all the way around, and the narrow tray. Purchased from Amazon.
These work great - only need to refill every 10 days or so. Clean up nicely with water and vinegar. No problem with seed flow - of course it's finch mix. I could see a clogging problem with larger seed.

Lauren

[debbie276]

Similar to these:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Classic-Brand ... r/24428651
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Audubon-Carri ... r/23624461

[mayble]

Thanks Debbie. I will give something like that a try. I was afraid the small openings might get jammed up or filled with hulls.
I tried one similar to Lauren's but the tray was so small there was no room for the larger birds.

[rancho2]

has anyone ever used glamorous gouldian's seed hopper? it holds 1 1/2 cups of seed and has a catch on the bottom for hulls.

[Learning Finch]

Depending on how small your cage/ aviary is. If a small cage that hopper looks like a good option. However if you have a larger aviary one of the larger feeders would be a better option. I would never limit seed. The more they fly the more they eat. Bread eat.. Molt eat.. Heck and if the birds feel a food shortage they may fight or one will gorge and the other will starve... Etc. survival of the fittest. As for the hulls. I have heard of birds leaving hulls on top of seed and then starving because themgood seed is Barryed. I feel that's a dumb or lazy bird. The more birds the less likely that would be an issue. However I'm still new to all this myself so don't take my word as solid fact. Most of us are parrots. We just repeat what we hear. However I will strongly post any and all tried and proven methods I my self have tried.

[Toddmin]

I had an inexpensive outdoor bird feeder that I purchased to test out on my Gouldians. They did so well with it that I recently purchased better quality ones. I can't remember the brand name of them, but they are double-decker feeders. They are a good quality plastic and I can take one level away to make it a single-decker (story?), if desired. I got it from Target, and I am pretty sure it was less than $20.

[Sally]

For cages, I love the seed hoppers. The hull drawer will fill up and need to be emptied before all the seed has gone through. When I empty the hull drawers, I give the hopper a shake, which mixes up the seed once again and helps keep it from clogging.

For flights/aviaries, the feeders designed for wild birds are great. Ursula and dfcauley (Donna) have fastened trays (plastic plant saucers hanging underneath the feeder) to them, which helps keep the hull mess off the floor.