Feeding finches tiny silkworms

[Lauravdm]

Hey all

In my research everyone says feeding your breeding finches live food is a good idea, what about feeding them baby silkworms....
I know this maybe weird and I understand that meal worms are the choice, but I am actually terrified of them, I am not a squeamish but I hate meal worms and I just can't look at them....
Should I stick to meal worms, or could I possible try silkworms!!!

My daughter also may love me for it

[Ursula]

I'm not sure if anybody from the US or Europe on this forum has even SEEN a silkworm. I certainly haven't...

Where do you get them?

I think people feed mealworms because they are available and you can actually breed them yourself. I've heard of people feeding maggots, which are supposedly very nutritious. (But even if I don't mind mealworms, I'd be too squeamish for maggots that you raise in meat, put outside in the heat... Terrible mental picture... or should I say "mental smell"?)

The issue with insects from outside is that you could introduce diseases. Mealworms are raised and kept isolated so they can't carry anything... If that's the case with the silkworms and they are not poisonous or something, I don't see why not.

[monotwine]

Oh I remember raising Silkworms when I was young. They are pretty. I have NO idea if they would be good for feeding though. Silk worms eat Mulburry leaves and I don't know how nutritious they would be, let alone if they are poisonous or not.

Far easier to get meal worms going and you can determine what they eat to make them more nutritious for your finches. I used to be extremely squeemish about touching them etc, but you get over it. Now I just grab a handful without the shivers!

[Ursula]

I bought "flightless" fruit flies when mu cordon bleus had babies. It might be that they didn't fly but they HOPPED all over the place like fleas. Then I read to feed them by shaking them onto a shallow bowl with water, that way they can't escape. That worked ok and my cordon bleus ate some of them. But the stuff I raised them in (strictly following instructions) got moldy so fast, the whole experience was a mess... Never again.

I also bought mini crickets and they loved those. I put them in the freezer before feeding so they didn't hop all over the place. They do grow up fast though, and they are pretty pricey compared to mealworms.

[monotwine]

I am trying fruit flies for the first time this season and it is working out great so far.
I have a plastic container with fruit in it. The container is open at the top with mesh over so the birds cannot get to the old fruit. I placed the container along side the aviary wire where the birds can perch and hunt. The swarm of fruit flies arrived, but now get quickly devoured. My CB's spend a good amount of time on the wire above the container picking off flies.

[Lauravdm]

Hmmmm...
Ok I will try all..... Anything other than meal worms

[Ursula]

I am trying fruit flies for the first time this season and it is working out great so far.
I have a plastic container with fruit in it. The container is open at the top with mesh over so the birds cannot get to the old fruit. I placed the container along side the aviary wire where the birds can perch and hunt. The swarm of fruit flies arrived, but now get quickly devoured. My CB's spend a good amount of time on the wire above the container picking off flies.

But your aviary is outdoors. Right? In that case I would do the same thing. But indoors it's no fun having fruit flies hopping or even flying all over the house...

[diinin]

I used to breed them when I was a kid as well and I have tried feeding them to finches; it really didn’t work out so I would not bother with silkworms for finches. They are not poisonous but they are not nutritious, also my birds were not interested in them if they were larger than 1/4inch which is too small.

I don't know about silkworms for finches, but they are wonderful for bearded dragons (lizards). They are considered highly nutritious and much lower in phosphorus than many other feeder worms. The problem I could see with feeding them to finches is that they grow really fast, so they could quickly become too large.

What I don't like about mealworms is that they are SO high in phos that I am concerned about calcium binding. They are the worst worm I know of for that. I gutload mine with Ca rich stuff (Mike Fidler's Soft Food) to hopefully offset some of that.

[Lauravdm]

Hey thanks Thats interesting...
Although it seems the Phoenix Worms are the way to go I have never heard of them and am not sure we get them here, so I am looking for another alternative, I am thinking that crickets maybe the best thing, as I am having enough problems with other flies, because of my dog, I am not going to even think about fruit flies!!!
Unfortunately this is one of the downfalls from living on different continents!!
But thanks for that info

[Ursula]

Thanks for sharing that information, that really is interesting.

I have never heard of Phoenix worms either. Can you buy them like mealies?

I guess if my waxbills are breeding again I will get back to the fruit flies and give them another try... And I guess the crickets that I had for them were good then. Good to know!

[B CAMP]

Here is a link for the phoenix ,never tried them somone on the forum used them at one time but don't know who not cheap.
http://store01.prostores.com/servlet/th ... Categories

[Ursula]

Here is a link for the phoenix ,never tried them somone on the forum used them at one time but don't know who not cheap.
http://store01.prostores.com/servlet/th ... Categories

Thanks, Bill!

I have to check that out. If I get any I'll let you all know how they like them.

[monotwine]

Wow nice to know Bill. I am glad the fruit flies are a great source of balanced food and bonuses to boot:

-here they are free if you leave out some old fruit,
-multiply themselves without my help
-offer themselves to my birds without me having to catch em!

Good all round and suits my pocket just fabulously. What I save on meal worms I can put towards new birds.

[monotwine]

Thanks for the advice Bill. Yip these are the wild self flying kind. I don't live anywhere near fruit orchards (there are oceans between me and the nearest farmer) and so there is no problem in allowing them to flourish in my garden. I do remove very rotten fruit from the old fruit that lures them, just in case and I don't like the smell besides.

My birds are very regularly dewormed as they are outside and help themselves to any insect dumb enough to venture into my aviary. They are partially exposed to wild birds too, so I don't take chances. My vet gave me a super dewormer (he breeds finches too) and so far so good.

[monotwine]

Sorry not Bill I get confused with names especially via forums.

Thanks though regardless for all the information.