FINCHforum

I can't find the thread of 7 pages of what to feed your finches. Gary, I think it was you that feeds your finches pellets. I did a mix of abba 1900, Australian Blend, Petamine, Gardenflora, Higgins Proteen, Abba mineral. It's really expensive and I've been investigating the ingredients and for instance, the australian blend is suppose to be veggies and fruit. It's mostly fruit and some seed. So where's the veggies.

I'm thinking of switching the birds over to just pellets. It will be a pain staking task, but no waste like I have.

I'll still use the petamine (still being sold in CA), higgins proteen, garden flora and save money by not buying abba and australian blend seed mixed with Abba mineral. No veggies and fruit if I do this. Still trying to work out the kinks.

What pellets do you use. I can get pellets all over the place but the seed I have to get mailorder and the s&h is alot more than what the food costs. I'd love any opinions/suggestions.

Most of the seed mixes for little birds that lists veggies and fruit are itty bitty dried pieces. Personally I think you would be better off getting a basic finch mix of seed and if you want to add veggies and fruit add fresh. For added protein I would offer fresh hard boiled egg.
I'm not familiar with Higgins Proteen, Gardenflora or Petamine. Proteen and Petamine seem like the same thing, a breeding nesting supplement. Maybe you could pick one or the other.
I don't use pellets but if you do switch them over to mostly pellets I think it is important for you to give some seed if nothing else as a treat. They are seed eaters after all and will be looking to crack a few now and then.
Good luck

I have to agree with Debbie here that IMO you are better off buying a basic seed mix and adding in fresh veggies, fruits, eggs, minerals as appropriate. I also do not feed pellets, and again would agree with Debbie in suggesting at least a little seed if you go that route.

I always thought I was paying a fortune for seed since I was shipping it in and it, of course, cost as much as the seed to do so. I buy from Herman Brothers and the quality is outstanding. I think it was another discussion here that made me realize that indeed, I was actually paying less than some others do. I get a high quality seed mix delivered to my door for about $1.35 per pound. I experimented some time ago to find a good mix my birds would like and have very little waste.

Seeing that shipping cost looks real bad - but if you put that aside, and consider the total cost, you might find it's not that bad after all (as I did!).

Agreed


Mine all receive a good seed mix, and any added vitamins , minerals, and proteins are added in the sense of fresh foods.

I would agree also with seed and fresh fruits, veg and greens along with calcium grits. Never used pallets before and there not as commercially sold here so they are expensive. Even if they were cheap I would still not use them. As for giving pallets you shouldn't just feed pallets I believe that the pack I read stated that they are to be given as a supplement with seed. Before feeding just check to make sure.

I switched my birds over to an all-pellet diet. One day, I realized that they were quieter, less active than before. I put them back on a seed diet, and the singing and activity resumed. I think they need the stimulation of picking out their favorites, hulling the seed, etc. Most finches are foragers, and I think you take a lot of the fun out of eating for them when their diet is too plain. Seeds, veggies, fruits, minerals--whatever you can add to their diet to make life interesting for them. For me, I would use pellets as a supplemental treat.

Thank you all for your routines. Martie, I have heard of Herman Brothers. Do you get a special mix or do they have one you can just order?
I have to admit I do not feed any fresh veggies or fruits. I've used the gardenflora for greens and australian blend for fruits and mix with seed.
Thinking about the post regarding the pellets, I've reconsidered. I have very happy zebras and the 4 new pair I got within the month have been singing non stop (sometimes to the point of distraction, but no complaints). I've spent alot on food and I am starting to realize by reading this forum, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I have very happy birds and 2 out of the 4 already are sitting on fertile eggs.
Thank you so much for your time answering my question. The posts were long and time consuming. I found a forum where you all really care as much as I do about my babies. Thanks to all.

Good luck with your finches. As everyone already posted, I offer a seed mix and pellets. I offer fresh romaine lettuce, chopped carrots, broccoli, etc. and increase the pellets to seed mixture when I have fledges and hatchlings, as they are easier to digest and eat for young ones. When there are not babies, I don't offer the pellets as often and they don't eat them as much.

Herman Brothers has a number of good finch seed mixes. The one I have used for many years is called EM Special Finch and was developed by a breeder named Elaine Miller (EM!) who worked hard to tweak the mix which is made up of the following seeds:

JAPANESE MILLET, CANARY, SIBERIAN MILLET, FINCH MILLET, WHITE MILLET, STEEL CUT OATS, RED MILLET, THISTLE, FLAX, RAPE, ANISE, SESAME

Herman's website is http://www.hermanbros-seed.com/index.html. (I recommend them so often, I could go on the payroll! but I really am a just a totally-sold customer).

I also used Herman's for many many years, they are great! EM finch was also my favorite along with EM soak seed. I've since found a local supplier of very good seed so I can save on shipping costs.

You gals are awesome!! Thank you so much for all the suggestions. I am definately going to look into Herman Bros. Can't be any more expensive than I pay now. Also, thank you for the fresh food suggestions and the post regarding pellets. I am very happy to be here. Thanks again.

I have a PS. I just looked at the EM finch at Hermann Bros. Am I right in reading it's $8.00+ for 5 lbs? Doesn't seem right. I have been using Abba 1900 1 lb and it costs almost as much as 5 lbs at Hermann's. Or is it $8.00+/lb times 5 lbs?

Actually, the price for 5# of EM Special Finch is $4.29. 10# is $8.58, 25# is 20.69, 50# is $40.39, and 100# is $80.78. I loved Herman Bros. seed, but once I joined a seed co-op locally, I no longer order from them. Shipping was expensive, but they do have wonderful seed.

Sorry
I did not read this thread till now.

For my zebras and societies, I use
Roudybush, Maintenance, NIBBLES (their smallest size), 20 pound sack
Zupreem, Fruit Flavored, XS (extra small) 10 pound bag (they stopped making the 20 pound sack)

Gouldians get LaFebers, Finch Food, 5 pound tub (trying to get the 25 pound box)

And yes, given a choice, most will eat seeds.
But interestingly, some of the birds will still eat the pellets, even with seeds in the cage.

I switched to pellets because I ended up throwing away half the bag of seeds, which was all the stuff that the birds would NOT eat. My finches would not eat any of the dark seeds, and the "fortified" stuff (pellets) that was added to the seed mix. Throwing away half the seeds made the food twice as expensive.

The other thing is pellet don't have seed hulls flying all over the place, so the floor is cleaner.

Switching birds to pellet food can be a challenge. I used the method described in the FIC.
http://www.finchinfo.com/diet/introducing_new_foods.php
Some birds easily switched, others took a while to switch. You need to be very careful during the switch over, if the bird is STUBBORN you don't want it to starve. Although once you get some eating pellets, it starts be become a "monkey see, monkey do" effect.

Thanks for the additional replies. I still can't believe the prices of Hermann Bros. OUTSTANDING!!!

Gary, thank you for your post. I knew you'd answer eventually. You all are great in making sure we newbies are doing our fur babies justice.

Ladies and gents, will keep you informed as I muddle along. Have a wonderful night.