FINCHforum

I found this today and thought it may be useful.

I have been using Cinnamom powder, Cayenne powder, Hot Pepper Flakes and Ginger powder in my birds food for years and below are a list of herbs and spices that you can add to your birds food to help with their health...

Alfalfa Leaf
Parsley
Flaxseed
Bee Pollen
Chickweed
Dandelion Leaf
Red Clover Blossoms and Leaf
Red Raspberry Leaf
Rose Hips
Milk Thistle Seeds
Barley Grass
Dill Weed
Dulse
Garlic Powder
Ginger Powder
Wheat grass
Astragalus
Chili Flakes
Cinnamon
Turmeric Root

For specific information on vitamin and mineral content and uses of these herbs, go here:

http://www.aviannaturals.com/herbmix.html

Cayenne Pepper

http://www.holisticbirds.com/pages/cayenne0801.htm

Wow! thank you for the great post, Shantel! I've always wondered what goes into 'herb salad' and I guess it's almost anything! I think I'll try to make some up for my peeps tonight....

I can't take credit for any of the info. Lol I just thought it would be useful, since some of us have wondered about whats safe and not safe. I loved reading it, very interesting.

thank you..,I shall make a herb salad for my finches..

Caution .... too much cayenne as well as other spicy hot peppers can be hard on small birds kidney and other digetive functions. Parrots from south america can handle them quite a bit better than small finches. This first link is geared toward parrots and other larger birds.

The second link states that the cayenne in high dosages increases the risk of some cancers. Make sure you understand the dosage of herbs before you go administering them to our small finches. High dose is not very much when it comes to a finch that weighs 18 grams or so.

There are a few different herb mixes meant for birds on the market. I have used Herb Salad, added it to the cage in a cup or dish for them to go to as needed.

Here is the link to Herb Salad....
http://ladygouldian.com/content/100-org ... hen-needed

Here is the link to Parsley and Alfalfa

https://ladygouldian.com/content/weve-p ... lth-greens

I blend a bit of organic dried parsley into my seed mix for the birds to pick out.

This is the whole page for other supplements

https://ladygouldian.com/catalog/natura ... upplements

I used Bee pollen in the past.

Well said Candace. I only put that list up there because it listed the herbs. I haven't given my finches any peppers or chili's. I often wondered why the bigger birds like MaCaws love the cayenne chiles?

I have also not given cayenne (or any peppers) to my finches, but have for many years offered a mixture of dried alfalfa, dandelion and red clover (leaves and blossoms) and occasionally provide other things like Parsley, bee pollen, etc. fresh. I use Mountain Rose Herbs (http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/) for dried herbs and can highly recommend them.

Thank you for the information! Good ideas for variety in the diet...

Martie...thank you for the link...I see some items I would use for us as well....it is added to my favorites!!!! Thanks!

Thanks very informative. Might have to start eating some myself. As for hot foods finches don't seem to have the ability to sense foods are hot and my gorge themselves on it and may cause issues down the line. I have feed my birds chillies before and they do seem to love the seeds but I will only place it in once in a blue moon. Might have to start looking into herbs for my birds as they seem to have alot of good nutrition.

Candace is correct in that much of the information for birds on the web is geared towards parrots. Our little finches are completely different, and so we have to be careful with what we feed them, especially quantities. And just because something is an herb doesn't make it safe--some herbs can be toxic.

There is also a list of toxic herbs and vegetables on the website. I was shocked to see that avocado was toxic. Weird.