Seed Blends from Frisky Finches

[jls7453]

I was just wondering if anybody has used any of the Finch Seed Blends from Frisky Finches in So. California. He has two blends that have some necessary ingredients that sound like a good mixture.
I've purchased from him before,but not the seed blends.

Very fair prices,Good communication,fast shipping and a lot of experince with Gouldians.

Just not sure about the seed blend. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

http://friskyfinches.com/shopping.htm

[nixity]

Haven't used the blends myself but both of those blends are extremely high protein seeds. Gouldians need something that is low protein for a maintenance period.

Their winter mix contains two types of seed that my birds have never eaten: flax and hemp. The third, rape, they will generally only eat if sprouted.. so for me there would be a lot of waste in this blend

I would also personally want to know specifically how much diotamaceous earth they are using per lb of seed.

[CandoAviary]

I have never used his seed blends but Gary has some great looking birds
I think birds eat seed that they are familiar with. My gouldians eat what their parents ate... I do have flax seed and hemp seed in my breeding mix and they eat them without problems.
I have always mixed a canary mix that contains rape with the normal finch mix (millets) and they will eat the rape seed (also known as canola seed) The oil in this seed make for a really nice sheen to the feathers.
One of the mixes I sell at my store contains flax and most of my customers report that their finches don't eat it. The food they fed before was a millet mix so the birds didn't have access to flax, this is why I figured that unless the finch recognizes it as food the finch won't eat it. They also inform me that their cockatiels will only eat sunflower seeds ... so that is all they buy

[cindy]

Flaxseed when offered to my birds is eaten but the rape seed is not.

The rape seed is left amongst the hulls of the other seed eaten.

I found that if the parents do not eat certain seeds offered that you can offer them to the offspring at the time they are weaning and they more readily accept the seeds their parents turned their noses up at. Same with veggies and pellets...the young birds are better at accepting those if the parents are resistant to trying new things.

[atarasi]

Bringing this thread from the past!

I recently purchased some breeding/molting/wintering diet and maintenance diet from Frisky Finches. My birds won't eat the breeding diet. It's the weirdest color. All the seeds are the same color....gray! I like the idea of diotamaceous earth as a preventative, but it's either that or something else that is making it that color. Sometimes our birds know a lot more than we do!

Anyone have similar experiences with this blend?

[Sally]

I have not purchased their seed before, but I did follow their directions for treating seed with diatomaceous earth. It left a powdery deposit on all the seed, and even on the seed cups/hoppers that I was using. I didn't care for that much diatomaceous earth.

[debbie276]

The web site says their seed mixes are "Coated with additional powdered ingredients: 17 Vitamins, 3 forms of powdered Calcium, 38 Trace Minerals & Elements W/Amino Acids & Organic Ingestible Diatomaceous Earth"

I understand the DE for bugs but isn't the added calcium, vitamins etc just a waste like "fortified" seeds that you find in stores that are coated? Once the bird hulls the seed away it goes. How much really is getting into the bird?
My guess would be the add stuff to the seed is what's making the color grey (esp. powdered calcium)

[atarasi]

The resting blend isn't gray and all their seed blends are supposed to contain DE. I'll take a picture when I get a chance.

[friskyfinches]

Hello everyone... Gary from Frisky Finches here... I have noticed a few posted comments about our seed blends I would like to answer. The amount of pet grade Diatomaceous earth used in our seed blends is actually very little, it does not take much to keep the larva and seed moths at bay. We use about 1/2 cup of DE to 350lbs of mixed seed. The gray colored seed mentioned is a powder residue which is a combination of vitamin, mineral & calcium powder's we tumble in a large mixer in with the seed to coat the exterior of the seed with these nutritious and badly needed supplements. There is very little DE in the powder, it's all good stuff. You can pour any extra supplement powder left in the bottom of the seed cups into your grit or oyster shells to eliminate waste. Birds do not have saliva so when they husk the seed to get the nut inside they get the nutritional powder we coat our seed with in their beak and it's then ingested when they go to get a drink. We suggest you make your primary seed mix the "daily blend" which has 12 different seeds in the mix and supplement that blend with the High Protein mix which has 5 different seeds. The "High Protein" winter molting breeding mix is not meant to be the only source of food for your birds. If you are only feeding one blend we suggest the daily mix. Gouldian's in the wild migrate to different parts of Australia and during their migration their diet changes as the grass, weeds and seasons change, the High Protein blend is meant to emulate the migratory change in the birds diet. We have been raising about 150 to 250 Gouldian Finches annually using these 2 seed blends for the past 25 years. Please visit our website for further information. www.friskyfinches.com Thank you!

[isobea]

friskyfinches - Hi, I went to your website to check the list of ingredients for your daily blend, but could not find it.
Could you post which kind of seeds are in this mix?
Iso

[friskyfinches]

Hello Everyone, I have been asked to post the seeds and ingredient details in our Frisky Finches seed blends, they are as follows:

Daily Breeder Mix:

We super charge our Premium Daily Breeder Seed Blend by turning it in a large mixer for several hours with all the "additional ingredients" listed below. This thoroughly coats everything with a fine vitamin, mineral and calcium powder which the birds get in their beaks after husking the seed. Birds do not have saliva so they ingest the powder when getting a drink of water.
Frisky Finches has been doing this with our bird’s seed for over 25 years now. I believe we are the only ones to offer this exclusive concept and it really helps to give the birds all they need in their daily nutritional requirements to be healthy and strong. Today’s seeds are grown on land that has been commercially farmed for decades, the soil has little mineral content left in it so supplementing your birds diet with additional vitamins, minerals and especially calcium is very important to maintain proper health. We feed our two seed blends to our Gouldians year round. These exclusive seed mixes are all the Lady Gouldian Finch needs in the way of seed food to stay healthy and maintain vibrant colorful feathers year round. The organic iodine we add also helps to prevent feather loss in Gouldians.

The Daily Breeder Mix has 14 Seeds: Golden, White & Red Millet, Canary Seed, Japanese Millet, Oat Groats, Niger Seed, SML, Lettuce, Rape Seed, Flax Seed, Poppy Seed, Sesame Seed, Saffron Seed

Plus Additional Ingredients: 2 Kinds of powered Calcium, Powered Chelated Minerals, Trace Elements, Amino Acids, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Sodium, Betaine, Glutamic Acid, Potassium, Phosphate, Zinc, Iron, Chloride, Manganese, Copper, Sulfur, Cobalt, Cromium, Iodine (kelp), Iodine (organic), Selenium, Oyster Shell, Proteinate, Vitamin A, Vitamin B-1, Vitamin B-2, Vitamin B-3, Vitamin B-6, Vitamin B-12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin D-3, Vitamin E, Vitamin K-3, Thiamine, Niacin, Cholin, Roboflavin, Pydridoxine, Blotin, Folic Acid, Boron, dPan Acid, Pacific Ocean Kelp, Brewers Dried Yeast
Guaranteed not to develop bugs or flower moths because we also add "Organic Ingestible Diatomaceous Earth" Helps keep your birds from getting worms as well! DE Dose: Aprox 1/2 cup per 350lbs of seed.

The High Protein Breeder Mix:

We super charge our High Protein Premium Breeder Winter, Molting Seed Blend by turning it in a large mixer for several hours with all the "additional ingredients" listed below. This thoroughly coats everything with a fine vitamin, mineral and calcium powder which the birds get in their beaks after husking the seed. Birds do not have saliva so they ingest the powder when getting a drink of water.
Frisky Finches has been doing this with our bird’s seed for over 25 years now. I believe we are the only ones to offer this exclusive concept and it really helps to give the birds all they need in their daily nutritional requirements to be healthy and strong. Today’s seeds are grown on land that has been commercially farmed for decades, the soil has little mineral content left in it so supplementing your birds diet with additional vitamins, minerals and especially calcium is very important to maintain proper health. We feed our two seed blends to our Gouldians year round. These exclusive seed mixes are all the Lady Gouldian Finch needs in the way of seed food to stay healthy and maintain vibrant colorful feathers year round. The organic iodine we add also helps to prevent feather loss in Gouldians.

The High Protein Breeder Mix has 5 Seeds: Canary Seed, Rape Seed, Flax Seed, Japanese Millet, Hemp Seed

Plus Additional Ingredients: 2 Kinds of powered Calcium, Powered Chelated Minerals, Trace Elements, Amino Acids, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Sodium, Betaine, Glutamic Acid, Potassium, Phosphate, Zinc, Iron, Chloride, Manganese, Copper, Sulfur, Cobalt, Cromium, Iodine (kelp), Iodine (organic), Selenium, Oyster Shell, Proteinate, Vitamin A, Vitamin B-1, Vitamin B-2, Vitamin B-3, Vitamin B-6, Vitamin B-12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin D-3, Vitamin E, Vitamin K-3, Thiamine, Niacin, Cholin, Roboflavin, Pydridoxine, Blotin, Folic Acid, Boron, dPan Acid, Pacific Ocean Kelp, Brewers Dried Yeast
Guaranteed not to develop bugs or flower moths because we also add "Organic Ingestible Diatomaceous Earth" Helps keep your birds from getting worms as well! DE Dose: Aprox 1/2 cup per 350lbs of seed.
Please contact us if you have any additional questions.
Thank you!
www.friskyfinches.com

[cindy]

From all I have been told regarding fortified seed it is said it is unreliable. It lulls the bird breeder/owner into thinking the bird is getting all the benefits, if the fortification is on the hull and the hull stripped away it is not ingested so the body can fully utilize it.

Frisky Finch, do you have any data/blood panels/studies that shows that the bird/birds are actually internally benefiting from your fortified mix?

I personally serve unfortified seed, use Roudybush pellets and supplement once or twice a week with AviTech AviVita Gold in soft foods/egg food and greens.

As far as DE added to the seed, my husband is an Entomologist and I recently discussed this with him regarding seed moths since a few members on my fbk group were having issues with them. He said adding DE to seed does nothing, the powder likely falls though the seed and ends up at the bottom of the bag/container. Your best defense in regards to moths is freeze your seed for 24 to 48 hours before using/opening the bag.

Adding DE yourself to seed or in the birds environment is risky since it is a powder and can be inhaled by finches and can cause sinus/respiratory issues, caution should be used (anything powder like or dusty should be avoided in the birds environment as per my avian vet)

[friskyfinches]

Hello Cindy,

Thank you for your comments; I will try to address some of your concerns with our seed blends however I think it is also pertinent that you know a little about my background and my years of experience, which is directly related to my credibility.
Although I do not have any kind of formal title or degree I have been a bird lover, owner and breeder for almost 50 years now going back to a young boy. I have owned virtually every species of smaller birds at one time or another in my life and many of the larger ones as well. As a young boy I partnered with an older mentor and together we were very successful breeders of racing pigeons. We won a large percentage of the races we entered and always had a flock of several hundred birds.
In my teenage years got into falconry and trained various species of raptors such as kestrels, coopers, red tail and harris hawks, great horned owls, prairie and even peregrine falcons before they were a protected species and I held a valid California State falconers license.
I then expanded my obsession with birds breeding quail, ducks, geese, chickens, doves and parakeets, crows, ravens, and likely several others I have forgotten over the years and virtually every species of colorful finch available. Yes, I had very tolerant parents who let me explore my passion for birds! We won’t get into the reptiles I have tinkered with or the other mammals.
About 25 years ago I was breeding 15 species of finches from all over the world and it became too difficult as many needed to be housed separately. The Cuban melodeons were killing my fire and strawberry finches, some species were tossing babies out of other birds nests, the fighting had to stop, I was running out of cages and space so I decided to get rid of them all and focus on just the Lady Gouldian Finch. The reason I chose this species, aside from being beautiful, was they were a challenge and had a reputation of not being very good breeders and that they die easily. It took me about a year to get them figured out, I lost a few the first year but once I got them figured out they proceeded to breed like mice. I had Gouldians coming out of my ears as they say.
Our flock today generally ranges from about 300 to 400 birds on average and reaches close to 600 to 700 at the end of the breeding season with all the new babies. We raise about 250 birds annually and have for over several decades now. I have literally raised and sold thousands of Gouldians over the years.
Our customers for years demanded that I share my secrets, experience and products with them so about 10 years ago I was forced to write down what I do and publish it on a website so our customers would have access to both my knowledge and products. To my surprise our internet business was born.
Cindy although I do not have any data/blood panels/studies that shows that our birds are actually benefiting from my fortified mix, I can only tell you that I have been mixing my own seed blends for our Gouldians for about 24 years now and that my method works for me and hundreds if not thousands of our customers.
Being I have always mixed my own seeds I am sorry that I am not familiar with the products you have mentioned but I do agree the commercially fortified seeds have the added supplements bonded to the seed husk and any benefit from that is likely left behind when the bird husks the seed to get the nut inside however my method coats the seed with a fine supplement powder so when the bird husks the seed they get some of that powder in their beak which is then ingested when they take a drink water.
I cannot tell you how many customers have told me that their birds will not eat store bought seed after they have eaten ours but many dozens of them have shared this information with me.
I get my seeds directly from the local seed mill which is freshly harvested from the fields annually so it does not get any fresher. Between the amount of seed our own birds consume and what we sell to our customers we turn over tons of seed annually so it’s always as fresh as it can be.
There is very little DE in my seed mix, the bulk of any residual powder left behind is primarily a secret blend of supplement powders comprised of several calcium powders, a vitamin powder and a mineral powder all of which is perfectly good and nutritional for the birds. Any leftover powder can be added directly to your bird’s grit, oyster shells or hatchling food cups to be consumed, no need to toss it out...
The DE is not poured over the seed and I agree if that was how it was administered it would not have much effect however I tumble it in with the seed in a large mixer for several hours. This has a devastating effect to any insect eggs or larva that are already in the seed harvested from the fields, it virtually eliminates any insect problems. It’s the tumbling that kills the bugs helps coat the seed with the supplement powder.
The amount of DE in the residual powder is very, very little, almost nonexistent, I only use about ½ cup of DE to 350lbs of seed, that is equal to 7 each 50lb bags of seed to ½ cup of DE.
I have never had a flower or seed moth problem or any of the other concerns you have mentioned and our birds eat tons of this seed.
Our birds generally live to be about 12 to 15 years old and the only common sinus problems they ever seem to have are air sac mites or scaly face mites and because we have a regular maintenance program these pests are seldom problematic even though their housed outdoors.
Our birds do not seem to get sinus colds or have any eye infections. Again I have raised thousands of birds using our seeds and so have our customers with the same tremendous successful results.
Regarding your concerns about the birds getting any dust or powder inhaled in the bird’s repertory system or sinuses, we have never had any problems at all and I might bring to your attention that most birds and animals in the wild take vigorous “dust cloud” baths on a regular basis to help keep external parasitic insects under control. No one taught them to do this; they have figured it out on their own that it works. Birds not only flap and fluff in the dust they also eat it along with the dirt every day to help digest their seed. In captivity we give them a cleaner man made version which is primarily sand with a few oyster shells and minerals added. I add extra goodies in our grit, oyster shells and hatchling food as well. I do not think dust is anything to be concerned about, the birds are not, they thrive in it. I hope I have been able to answer your concerns however if you still have any we offer a good variety of bulk seeds and seed mixes that do not have any powdered supplements or DE in them. Please visit www.friskyfinches.com for more information on the seed and feed page.

Thank you once again for your interest in our products! Gary from Frisky Finches