FINCHforum

I recently purchased Orlux Insect Patee for my Gouldians and Owl Finches and I was wondering if I should mix in a little water. No one seems to have touched the food yet and thought maybe a little water would make it more ummm...appealing...?

Yes it would do, as mixing it with other stuff like sprouted seeds, veggies, fruit juice, water and honey…etc.

In Europe we often feed breeding finches a soft food that has been made famous by a very successful Dutch breeder called Paul De Nils. His original recipe is made with boiled seeds, stale white bread, frozen maggots and chopped up egg. Countless variations exist, and the recipe has been changed somehow. I use sprouted seeds instead of boiled and instead of stale bread I use egg food and insect patee. In this mixed form all my birds eat all of it. I can give you the full recipe if you want and are interested, otherwise just mixing it with something that add moisture to it will also work. Eventually, when the birds realise it’s food.

I've never had good luck trying to feed the gouldians insects. Good old plain hard boiled eggs are best nutrition wise and they devourer it egg shells and all.

I'll second that, but my owls love their worms!

AndreasLon wrote:Yes it would do, as mixing it with other stuff like sprouted seeds, veggies, fruit juice, water and honey…etc.

In Europe we often feed breeding finches a soft food that has been made famous by a very successful Dutch breeder called Paul De Nils. His original recipe is made with boiled seeds, stale white bread, frozen maggots and chopped up egg. Countless variations exist, and the recipe has been changed somehow. I use sprouted seeds instead of boiled and instead of stale bread I use egg food and insect patee. In this mixed form all my birds eat all of it. I can give you the full recipe if you want and are interested, otherwise just mixing it with something that add moisture to it will also work. Eventually, when the birds realise it’s food.

I'd love the recipe. I'm always looking for ways to supply proper nutrition to the waxbills, which have a greater need for insectivorous/high-protein foods. I use Doug Taylor's Green Day diet, but I'm interested in other ways to tempt those birds that aren't big plain eggfood eaters.

I would be very interested in that recipe. Thanks in advance!

I have lots of Cordons and I would love the recipe, too! I've heard that some folks use cornbread as a base and mix with insect food but I have nothing in the way of an actual recipe -- it would be nice to have one!