Which Live Food?

AndreasLon · Post by **AndreasLon** » Wed May 13, 2009 6:56 am

As the breeding season is upon us and some of my finches are laying eggs I will soon need to start giving them live food so I wanted to ask some of you with more experience what you do in terms of live food.
I saw some mealworms at my local pet shop but most of them had pupated and they didn't look very lively. Also, I believe that live food needs to be appropriately fed in order to be nutricious to birds.

So in view of that, what type of live food do you feed your birds? how do you prepare it? how do you keep it? and last but not least, where do you get it from?

CandoAviary · Post by **CandoAviary** » Wed May 13, 2009 11:39 am

Hey most of us feed live meal worms....

Check out the 28th post down on this subject, diet and nutrition page...Titled 'raising meal worms' ...there was a lot of input to this very question a little while back....have fun raising meal worms

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Fri May 15, 2009 6:49 am

are you certain that they had pupated and not simply shed skin. mealworm go through a lot of skin as they are growing.

the best livefood for finches is termites. it is the one that they can find most readily in the wild. fruitfly are good for some species and most will eat small maggots.

during breeding season my birds will demolish up to 500 mealworm a day. my birds are kept in a large mixed species aviary though. circumstances differ quite a bit from breeder to breeder.

AndreasLon · Post by **AndreasLon** » Fri May 15, 2009 6:55 am

There were beetles in the box so they had definitely pupated.

I read your comments about termites and thought -where am I gonna find termites in the wild!- then saw you lived in Australia!

Unfortunately termites don't exist in Europe.

Would finches eat the mealworm beetles too?

mike · Post by **mike** » Fri May 15, 2009 7:03 am

AndreasLon wrote:Would finches eat the mealworm beetles too?

I don't think they would.

The UK has a number of online feeder insect stores. Try Googling it and I'm sure you will find more than enough places to buy healthy insects.

If the local shop has mealworms that are mostly beetles, the mealworms are old and probably many of them are dead (i.e.: you aren't getting the full number of mealworms they promised. You will also find that you are spending a lot more on those few mealworms than you would if you were to buy, say 1000, and keep them in the fridge until you need them. For me, the pet store cost is $3.99 for 100 but at a local reptile shop, they are $10 for 1000 (in Canadian funds).

AndreasLon · Post by **AndreasLon** » Fri May 15, 2009 7:14 am

mike wrote:
AndreasLon wrote:Would finches eat the mealworm beetles too?
You will also find that you are spending a lot more on those few mealworms than you would if you were to buy, say 1000, and keep them in the fridge until you need them. For me, the pet store cost is $3.99 for 100 but at a local reptile shop, they are $10 for 1000 (in Canadian funds).

That is exactly what I thought of doing. In your experience, how long will they last in the fridge? Can I keep them in there without food or will they still need to eat?

I have about 16 finches. How long would 1000 worms last me?

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Fri May 15, 2009 8:11 am

AndreasLon
I can't tell you how much they cost there but ,I get mine on line I order the small and they cost me $20.00 for 5,000 check around on line should find simular price there
I keep mine in whole wheat bran in fridge. they keep at least a month,when there in fridge they go dormant ,just take out the day before what your going to feed I then give the meal worms a slice of apple to eat before i feed to my Finch's[ The meals will eat a lot of things]

AndreasLon · Post by **AndreasLon** » Fri May 15, 2009 8:15 am

I'm not too worried about cost, I am just trying to estabilish if I can feed my birds with a regular supply of live food without having to raise it myself, and I think I should just buy 1000 worms and try it.

How many worms a day would they need? I want them to eat what they need rather than what they want!

mike · Post by **mike** » Fri May 15, 2009 8:44 am

AndreasLon wrote:I'm not too worried about cost, I am just trying to estabilish if I can feed my birds with a regular supply of live food without having to raise it myself, and I think I should just buy 1000 worms and try it.

How many worms a day would they need? I want them to eat what they need rather than what they want!

In the US mealies are super cheap because of the supply. I've always been envious, but I think in the UK you pay closer to our Canadian price; but you get more variety of insects than we do.

I think the amount they eat depends on the species. I think 16 finches would allow your mealies to last at least a month unless they are feeding young. Then it might be more. Or they might only last a week. Give 1000 a try and see. (If you're ordering online, maybe try 5000 to make it worth the shipping cost.)

AndreasLon · Post by **AndreasLon** » Fri May 15, 2009 8:52 am

Thank you Mike.

By the way the bird in your avatar is way cute!!