Oh this is so GROSS! :-@

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:40 pm

Neither the Strawberries nor the Fire Finches touched the mealworms today. The mealworms are doing the backstroke as Donna suggested.

Doesn't seem fair to them either somehow.

But I'll try again tomorrow morning with fresh ones.

But I'llh ave to leave them before I go to work and

they don't escape!

emessis · Post by **emessis** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 1:39 am

FeatherHarp wrote:Maybe they would rather eat GummiWorms...lol.

If they don't eat the mealworms you can go to this link and there are some good recipes using mealworms. I especially like the Mealworm Chocolate Chip cookie recipe...yum!
Mealworm Recipes

That sounds a bit like something a culinary institute student was making a few weeks ago. They were having an "extreme" menu and she came in to the pet supply store where I work to buy crickets...for Chocolate Chip Chirp Cookies.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:33 am

emessis wrote:They were having an "extreme" menu and she came in to the pet supply store where I work to buy crickets...for Chocolate Chip Chirp Cookies.

Ok - that's just wrong!

emessis · Post by **emessis** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 1:31 pm

...I felt bad for the crickets.

I hope they perished in the chocolate-dipping process and not during the cookie baking!

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:11 pm

it may take them a week or two to become accustomed to the mealworms Liz

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:20 pm

A week or TWO?? I figured a few days - maybe 5 at the most but TWO weeks? I better buy stocks in mealworms!!

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 7:51 am

Some birds will completely ignore live food until they have hatched out young, but like Mick said most will take a liking to them within a couple of weeks.

FireFinchMayhem · Post by **FireFinchMayhem** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 3:39 am

Hey L,

Ours have completely ignored the mealies now that they don't have any hatchlings. Even when they are sitting on eggs, they typically just pick at them, but once the hatch and feeding, then the meal worm festa begins.

We still offer them full time so they they know they are there if they want them but we've drop to 5/day vs. 50+/day they were eating when they had 4 hatchlings.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 8:19 am

FireFinchMayhem wrote:Hey L,

Ours have completely ignored the mealies now that they don't have any hatchlings. Even when they are sitting on eggs, they typically just pick at them, but once the hatch and feeding, then the meal worm festa begins.

We still offer them full time so they they know they are there if they want them but we've drop to 5/day vs. 50+/day they were eating when they had 4 hatchlings.

50 a day?!?! I'll go broke!

GOULDYGIRL · Post by **GOULDYGIRL** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 8:31 am

That seems like a lot for two little tiny birds doesn't it? Even if they are feeding babies. How can they burn all that protein?

Renee

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:18 am

I had gouldians feeding four chicks they ate more than that while feeding,but they don't always eat the whole worm mostly they get the inside out to feed

FireFinchMayhem · Post by **FireFinchMayhem** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 2:46 pm

50/day. Yeah, pretty crazy.

Sometimes they just the head, sometimes the suck out all the guys, sometimes it seems like they just like to toss them around a bit!

The 50/day was at the height of their feeding i.e. 4 hatchlings. 10/day per chick actually isn't that much when you consider they don't consume the shell of the mealies.

Our birds pretty much stop eating all seed at this point.

Not sure at what point they swap over back to seed but they were actively eating for the 4-5 days once they started feeding the chicks.

It will be great once one of us has a fledgling to see what their needs are throughout the full cycle.

emessis · Post by **emessis** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 3:34 pm

It's just as well they're not consuming the chitinous shells of the mealworms...the insides are fine, but if they were eating that many whole worms I would worry about too much indigestible material. It can be a problem in reptiles that are fed mealworms (versus the larger sueprworms), since they eat every part of the worm, but finches should be fine consuming around 50 a day if what they're getting is mostly the guts.

the.puppeteer · Post by **the.puppeteer** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:56 pm

Just to confirm the myth of them living in the walls - THEY ARE LIVING IN MY WALLS!!!

Yes it's true, and I hope that my housemates don't find the worms crawling in the halls (I have).

I don't know what they are eating, but the beetles are breeding, laying eggs, hatching out mealworms, pupating, turning into beetles, etc etc etc. But I do get free mealworms out of it that my Society fiches love!

We had a birthday party a few weeks ago and had set out the twister sheet for a pre-party game, and just before we started a beetle came out of no where and crawled across it - luckily I'm the only one that knows what it actually is! House mates just think they are bugs like the ants and spiders we have.

Oh and the last time I ordered mealworms was in the summer.

-Julie

BillD · Post by **BillD** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:08 pm

That is scary the.puppeteer