Food for my zebra finches?

[David]

I feed my zebra finches daily with seed diet, which make a mess on the floor as I clean it up :/ but I enjoyed them so much, is there anyway I can switch it to pellet? I bought some before and put it 50/50 (50% seeds and 50%pellets) in the food dishes in case then don't eat it so can pick the seeds instead. Indeed they only ate the seeds I've heard that if can switch to pellets will be healthier for finches, is it true? But most of the pellets in the market contains artificial color etc, I doubt it is healthy for my lovely finches. What should I do to help them, since I also feed them veggies, egg food, oyster shell grit and by the way they don't like fruits at all I fed them many times but no luck train them eat any fruits. Even the organic ones, I am afraid the non organic fruits or veggies will be bad for their health. Any suggestions will be great! Thank you in advance!

[cindy]

Not sure where you are located...but I feed all my birds, zebras included Roudybush (Nibbles size). They all eat it and I also soak it, mix seed and shaved broccoli, shaved carrots and finely grated peeled zucchini in it. They love it

[David]

Thanks Cindy for quick reply. By the way I am located in SF Bay Area. Don't know why it's now showing on my profile (under the avatar)? Where I can choose that option for open view for public? Anyways I will try to feed them more tomorrow see if they like fruits. My finches loved veggies instead of fruits

[cindy]

Most do like the veggies more than the fruits. What brand of pellets did you get them? Lafebers makes a fine size pellet for finches and canaraies...mine like those as well. Zupreem make a fruit XSmall for finches and canaraies also

[David]

I used the brand " Totally organic" their website is:

http://totallyorganics.com/t-pellets.php

Too bad my finches don't eat it.

[debbie276]

I would also offer hard boiled egg. Egg is good for vitamins, minerals and helping the finches body absorb calcium.

[cindy]

Debbie mentioned egg food...you could try the Lafebers and mix a little in the eggfood. It is very small and blends well.

Often with pellets they either like it right away or it may take over a week or so for them to try it. I mix mine in with the seed. You can tell they are eating it by the powder left behind in the dish.

[David]

Thank you Debbie and Cindy.
Yeah, egg food is good for them. I offered them once a week at least especial the hens. Sometime hard boiled egg like Debbie mentioned, and I even fed them cooked scramble eggs (yolk only) the loved the scramble eggs more than hard boiled egg, picky finches hehe. I just thought seeds alone by itself doesn't help my finches all the nutrition, also found some website about offering pellets beside seeds mix. I will try to train them eat little bit a time and have to be extra patient lol! I also fed them veggies like romaine lettuce(their favorite for daily), and peas - I offered them raw one. Some websites I found saying that it needs to be cooked is that TRUE? I thought raw peas was better for them because can absorb all the nutrition from it rather than cooked. I want my finches live longer life, that's why I am having some headache to find the best food for them!

[debbie276]

You don't have to separate the whites from the yolk, both parts are nutritionally good for the birds.

[David]

Oh really? I will try the whole egg next time then maybe I just mix the white and yolk together and made scramble eggs for them lol! When I do the hard boiled egg, can I feed them the white part too? Since scramble eggs can't tell because once you mix it just become light-yellowish color, but in hard boiled egg will have white and yellow:/ thanks for that info Debbie, you are so helpful!

[debbie276]

Yes, feed the whites and the yolks, even hard boiled eggs.

[fhgwgads]

David the link you posted for the pellets says it is for parrots and other hooked bills. Maybe they weren't eating it because the pellets were too large for them. I would look for pellets like the ones suggested above. Also if you are making scrambled eggs I would make sure to cook them plain without any butter or oils. I feed mine hard boiled eggs mashed up with a fork and they love it, as well as finely chopped lettuce and the tops of broccoli florets shaved off so they are tiny pieces and they all go crazy for it. They will not eat anything if it is too large and my finches do not eat fruit either. And as far as the water regarding you other post I give mine tap water as well. Occasionally I will give them filtered water especially for baths but they usually get water from the tap and I haven't had any problems. I believe filtered water doesn't give them the minerals they need. Also as a caution if you are giving them a source of calcium (sometimes I grate cuttlebone for them and they go crazy for it) I would avoid adding it to their food and offer it in a separate dish because if it's added to their food they cannot self regulate how much they are getting. Hopefully this helps! Having finches can sometimes get stressful when we are trying so hard to do everything right for them! Hopefully you will find that this forum is a great source of information and advice!

[David]

Thanks for replies.
I used tiny bit of olive oil to cook the scramble eggs, which then I kind of wash it with water before feed to the birds. I've been doing this for few years since I had the parents birds, I thought olive oil is good for them if put tiny amount :/ I will try other smaller pellets, but even I bought those before I crushed it into tiny pieces to feed them tho.

[debbie276]

I know several people that add olive oil to their bird seed, I'm sure it will be fine and you don't have to wash the food.

[fhgwgads]

David@debbie276 that's good then! I just assume butter and margarine and some other oils may be harmful or unnecessary for birds but I definitely have heard of people using olive oil!

I would check the pellets you have and compare the ingredients to smaller pellets and if they are the same then crushing them up and mixing them with regular seed and offering it for a while may get them to start eating it. You can try decreasing the amount of seed over time too. I know my birds wouldn't eat certain seeds in their mix until I started leaving it longer and they eventually started eating the parts they left behind after they had picked out their favorite pieces. It seems like you are doing a good job though! You offer them a good variety and care for them well!