Phoenix Worms anyone?

Pukasand · Post by **Pukasand** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 10:50 am

A pet store worker offered me some PHOENIX WORMS free for my CBs to try. I have waited soooo long for the Bleus, now nesting, I really hate to jeopardize anything now. Has anyone ever used this product or given it to their birds? Thanks.

PS My first post... love this site!

Owned by: 2 BCCB sitting, 1 Red Factor canary, 1 American Singer Canary, 2 Zebras sitting, and 1 very lonely Strawberry male! A sassy Cocker Spaniel and a passive Portuguese Water Dog...... all making for a very busy home!

Post by **Sally** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:11 am

Welcome to the forum! Are you offering any live food to your CBs now? I did a search for phoenix worms, they are very high in calcium. If you are giving your CBs mealworms, maybe you could add a few phoenix worms to the dish and see what happens. CBs really need live food when breeding, maybe this would be another option. I don't think it will upset the CBs, they'll just either ignore them or eat them.

MalditoGorrion · Post by **MalditoGorrion** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:36 am

I think there will be no problem in that. Birds usually need more animal protein when they are breeding so it’s a good idea to give them an extra shot of protein. The worst that could happen is that your birds ignore the food.

Welcome to the forum

Pukasand · Post by **Pukasand** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 1:06 pm

Oh, great! Thanks for the replies. Yes, My Cordons are now eating meal worms... all they can handle. They did eat the few Phoenix worms I offered them. I have to cut even the small meal worms in half so they will eat them (yuk). They seemed to like the Phoenix worms, also. The benefit is that the Phoenix is higher in protein and less fat. Also, they do not need to be refrigerated and won't crawl out of the feeding cup. You can load it up (sensibly) and the birds can have them whenever. I was worried about any repercussions in feeding the Phoenix worms. Anything that is too easy worries me..lol Thanks, again, for replies.

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 1:47 pm

Pukasand
Welcome to the forum,if you fill in your profile we will know where your from in the world sometimes it helps to answear questions ,never heard of them [PHOENIX WORMS] are they like mealworms ?

Pukasand · Post by **Pukasand** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 2:34 pm

No, they are not like meal worms, they are more like fly larvae (maggots). They come in various sizes. I got very small, and they are hard for me to see.. about 1/4 inch. They are used primarily for lizards, frogs, etc. I 'googled' them and found they are very nutritious, but the only bird they are rec. for are bluebirds... I didn't see any domestic birds listed.
I'm still fumbling my way around the site. I'll definately fill out my profile.. as soon as I find the page. I'm old and that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.

MalditoGorrion · Post by **MalditoGorrion** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 2:49 pm

The phoenix worm is the larvae of the black soldier fly. The larvae are sometimes sold as live pet food under the name of soldier grubs to owners of herps and tropical fish. The black soldier fly look like this.

And the worms look like this:

tasty hum?

Pukasand · Post by **Pukasand** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 3:13 pm

Wow, those are really big, and really dark. The ones I got are white and teeny. Guess thats the difference in the age. I wonder how long it is til they turn into flies?

Pukasand · Post by **Pukasand** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 3:14 pm

Found this when googled :

Phoenix worm goes through a process of calcification. As they age and get darker, they calcify. As they calcify, they slow down.

The matter that is in the cup is designed to prevent the worm from morphing into a soldier fly.

So, the worm will continue to get darker until it eventually dies - a natural process.

If you think you want to keep the worms for a while, get the medium sized phoenix worms.

If you think you will feed them off fairly quickly, get the large ones and feed off before they calcify too much.

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 7:45 pm

They are considered one of the best worm foods for reptiles that you can buy. They are supposed to have really high nutritional value for the consumer so I can only imagine it being a great source of food for birds too. Just in case your CB's are not to keen on them because they are so different, I would make sure to have mealworms available too though. Good luck and let us know if they like 'em!

sean · Post by **sean** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 10:03 pm

oooohhhhhhh maldito you are in trouble. you were bandwidth stealing and i'm telllllllling.

Pukasand · Post by **Pukasand** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 2:20 pm

The Cordons seem to love them. And, I don't know if it's my imagination or not, but their 'blue' seems much more brilliant, and they've only been eating the worms for about 3-4 days! I know the Phoenix worms are much more convenient.. no chopping (even small mealworms are tossed around, I snip them in half with manicure scissors... yuk!), no refrigeration ( my daughter had an aversion to this) and no 'crawling about in the cage'.. the Phoenix stay in the cup, so I can load it up and they can eat what they want/when they want. Seems like a win/win. I'll keep ya'll posted!