Does an Owl Finch need anything different than a Zebra Finch

[Fricsmamma]

We got a little Owl Finch yesterday. A lady had him for a year, she got him at a show and now wants parrots. She'd fed him an all pellet, (Zupreem), diet.

I fed my last 2 finches, (Zebras), finch seed And Zupreem, grit with oyster and charcoal, occasional millet and occasional green beans, mashed potato, banana, strawberries. Is this balanced enough and going to be OK for the owl? Anything different I need to know about? I always just put about 3/4 of a tsp of Zupreem in the corner of the seed cup each morning, let the bird pick what it wanted. Both my Zerbras ate plenty of both, plus some grit, just to their liking.

I could never get my Zebras to do anything with cuttlebones. I assumed the calcium/phosphorus in the Zupreem and grit mix would supply enough. Does that sound right? Don't know if the new little owl will have any or not, haven't tried it yet.

Thanks

[debbie276]

I feed my owls basic finch seed and hard boiled eggs. A variety of greens are also offered like dandelion, and grass seed heads. Never had much luck with vegetables, fruit or pellets.
The finches don't need "grit" as in granite and ground up stone because they hull their seeds. A mineral mix with oyster shells, egg shells and charcoal is great. I didn't have much luck with getting them to eat cuttlebone. The hard boiled eggs will give them all the vitamin D they need for calcium absorption.
good luck and welcome to the forum

[Fricsmamma]

Thanks for your reply Debbie. What do I do, just peel the hard boiled egg and then chop it up finely? How long can it be left in the cage, and how often do you offer it?

Thanks!

[cindy]

My owls love cuttlebone, romaine, sprouted quinoa, shaved broccoli tops, finely shredded carrots, kale along with grated egg once a week, Roudybush pellets Nibble size and canary/finch seed. My zebras eat the same. I offer cuttlebone to all, occasionally I grate it finely to a powder and offer it in a dish. They go through it when breeding.

[Perfex]

All the advice above is great, mine eat a very varied diet.
I might suggest you get your owl another owl buddy, they're very social birds and love there own kind.