FINCHforum

Hi! I have been giving my finches a home made eggfood. I even wrote the recipe once in the forum when someone asked for one. I took this recipe from a web site, I don´t remember which. I have to say that I have been giving this to my birds since, I don´t know, but at least two years, and they have been very healthy. But recently I found the original recipe (which I had printed), and it said one teaspoon of cod liver oil and one teaspoon of wheat germ oil for 45 eggs! I have been putting the same two teaspoons of oil for 6 eggs! But I haven´t had any problems till now, do you think it is too much, should I change it even if it has worked for me?

If it is working for you then dont change it.
The oil certainly isn't doing damage to your birds.
On the other hand you could save money on oil.

That does seems like a lot of oil for 6 eggs. Is the mixture very wet (oily)? Not sure my birds would ever eat a wet egg mix but if it works for you that's all that matters.

Personally I would reduce the oil. That is quite a bit for little finches. I give that amount of oil to my border collie.

Excess oil in the diet could cause obesity which could lead to anything from just being plain ol fat to liver issues. Over-weight birds also are not that fertile.

Good thing you picked it up.

If you are following Doug Taylor's Green Day diet, he uses 1 teaspoon cod liver oil and 1 teaspoon wheat germ oil for every 4 eggs. Since I boil 12 eggs at a time, I add 1 tablespoon of each to my mashed eggs, and then I dry it out a bit with things like nestling food, yellow fortified corn meal, commercial dry eggfood. My birds definitely like their eggfood dry. For 6 eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons would work.

www.gulfcoastfinches.com

Thank you! I will reduce the oil.

maru wrote:But recently I found the original recipe (which I had printed), and it said one teaspoon of cod liver oil and one teaspoon of wheat germ oil for 45 eggs!

I think someone forgot a hyphen. It should have read -

1 tsp CLO and 1 tsp WGO for 4 - 5 eggs.