FINCHforum

Is an egg food supplement really necessary when birds are breeding or rearing chicks if they are eating a pellet diet?

Chris

I still use homemade eggfood, even with pellet diet. I don't really know if it is necessary, just something I'm used to doing. Roudybush makes a breeding formula pellet, so I'm going to look into that.

I think it is necessary for the happiness of your bird. A pellet only diet makes a very boring diet, and finches love to try new things... at least mine do. Mine LOVE their egg food, and when I put a plate of it into my big flight, it is all gone within 3 hours. So even though I do pellets and seed, cucumber, carrots, broccoli, green lettuce, treats, millet, bird biscuits, calcium supplements, crushed egg shell, cuttlebone, etc... I still find time to quickly scramble an egg in the morning for them only b/c they love to eat it

What about the store brought egg food supplement are they any good? Just that it may keep longer in the cage without spoiling so fast.

Any thoughts?

Chris

Commercial eggfood can be given to your birds dry, moistened with water or added to hardboiled eggs.

I give it to my birds both dry and mixed with hardboiled eggs. This year I am going to giving my breeder birds access to the dry eggfood at all times and cut down on how often I am giving the eggfood mixed with the eggs. I am trying to simplify my routine more, and cutting out making eggfood would save time. But the birds do so love it!

I give my birds eggfood (with egg) in the morning and never remove it till the following morning...even during the summer months. I find that if you put the eggfood on something like a paperplate and spread it out...the eggfood will dry out and harden before it goes bad. Plus, if you try to only give them as much eggfood as the birds will eat in the first couple of hours - that helps too.

Does the commercial egg food have to be refrigerated after it is open or can one store it at room temperature. If stored at room temperature than can I just fill up a feeding cup and let the finches feed off of it till it's finished?

Chris

If you serve it dry you can leave it in the cage. If you moisten it first you'll need to remove it - it'll mold.

Thanks Hilary.

But what about the rest of the egg food should I store it in the fridge?

Chris

I store the bags of dry eggfood outside of the fridge - no problem.

Thanks Hilary for your response.

BTW my goulds seem to really take to the pellet diet and I'm glad for it as I really feel that it is a complete diet (although may be boring for them). As pellet diets (I'm using Zupreem) have Iodine in it already and I have heard that goulds need extra iodine do you use an Iodine water supplement on your birds or am I just over doing it with the supplements.

Chris

I do provide extra iodine but my birds are on a seed rather than pellet diet so I'm not much help regarding whether iodine is needed with pellets.

Any others here can comment on Iodine supplements and pellet feeding? Is it safe? What are the problems of Iodine overdose?

Chris