Egg Food - How long is too long?

[Colt]

I normally offer Quiko's Classic and Insectivore blend eggfood dry at a feeding station. The few times I've made a moist crumble and added live mealworms, dried greens, small fresh veggies like corn, corrots, and peas, as well as freeze dried bloodworms they birds won't touch it. They like to watch the mealies but after an hour or two of them not feeding from it I start to worry and just pull it and feed to the sugar gliders. Who love it by the way. Especially if I sweeten it with honey.

So how long is too long for fresh/wet egg food?

Also does anyone have any good eggfood recipes or ways that they offer the eggfood to birds to get them to try it out?

[debbie276]

I take a hard boiled egg and run it through a garlic press so it looks kind of like worms. To each egg I add a teaspoon of handfeeding formula to dry the egg out a bit. The egg food is served on a plate spread out thinly so it drys out rather then goes off. I feed it first thing in the morning and replace it the next morning. All the shells go in a separate dish with their mineral mix.
First time feeding you might try sprinkling the egg over top of their favorite seed to get them to try it.

Good luck

[paul-inAZ]

I serve mine pretty dry.
Hard boil 2 eggs; Dry and pulverize the shells to a fine powder in a cheap windmill coffee grinder; Mash one egg and the white of the other with a fork [the best protein in in the whites, I figure they don't need the extra fat]; Add some corn meal; Pulverize it again to work the ground shells in well.
Then I spread it out and put it into a very low heat oven to dry it. If it is still too lumpy I run it through the grinder again. Gouldians like it quite powdery and the grasskeets will deal with a bit of lumpiness.

Once dry there is little danger of bacterial growth.

[cindy]

I do not leave boiled eggfood out longer than recommended by my vet and I also use the USDA guide for egg safety/food

see serving safety http://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou ... 077342.htm
http://www.eggsafety.org/consumers/consumer-faqs

[Bhatta]

My eggfood recipe (all measures are for one egg): grated hard-boiled egg, 4-5 drops of cod-liver oil, 4-5 drops of honey, 4-5 drops of olive oil, 1 tsp crushed cornflakes, 1 tsp roasted and powdered chickpea, 1 tsp powdered sunflower seed, 1/2 tsp eggshell dust, 1 tsp grated carrot, occasionally vitamin/mineral.

How long you can keep this mix in the cage depends on the temperature and humidity level in your area. I keep this mix 5-6 hours in the winter (temperature 12-20 degree Celsius and humidity 40-50%); in the summer I keep it for maximum of 3 hours (when the temperature ranges in between 39-45 C and humidity within the range of 80-95%)

[30 Seconds to Bob]

I use a simple egg/breadcrumb/seed/safflower oil mixture. I offer it in the morning, and remove it when i get home from work. NEVER had any issues. Bob

[Sally]

I hardboil 12 eggs, then mash them shell and all. Add 1 T. wheat germ oil and 1 T. cod liver oil. I like mine quite dry, so I add 2-2 1/2 cups dry material (nestling food, commercial eggfood, handfeeding formula--yellow cornmeal can be used in small amounts, but not too much, as it will dilute the nutritional value of the food). I don't add veggies to the eggfood as a rule, because that makes it moist again. A dish of the eggfood stays in the cage from morning till either that night or the next morning. It dries out quickly, and I've never had problems with it. My birds are not outside though, so the eggfood is not sitting outside in the heat of summer.

[Madcat]

paul-inAZ jiffy mix in box ok to use ? Or do you mean plain meal like you use to fry fish???

[paul-inAZ]

I use plain corn meal.
Just looking at Jiffy's ingredients it includes fats, sugar, but also includes baking soda and other stuff. Possibly not harmful to small birds but I don't know.
Why not just go with pure corn meal?
Someone mentioned corn flakes but I don't know what they add to it and the cost has to be many multiples of plain meal.

Any of these grain-based things are no more than a drying agent to soak up moisture and improve consistency. I add maybe a teaspoon to the 2 egg mix I make.

[debbie276]

Your probably better off not using something that has sugar in it. I use handfeeding formula to keep the protein and vitamin content high, the more you add to the egg with a lower nutritional value the more diluted the egg food will become in nutrition.

[Madcat]

paul-inAZ debbie276 . I'm on it. Thanks!!

[ranchnanny]

I use 1 1/2 cups plain corn meal + 6 fresh eggs stir together add seeds, grated broccoli, grated carrots what ever you think your birds would like. If the batter is to thick add a bit of water pour in a square disposable pan and bake at 400 for 25 to 30 min. I put mine thru a grinder when cool and store in a container in the fridge. You can also make them as small muffins to freeze and use one at a time depends on how many birds you have. I have lots so I use the ground up meal instead last about 5 to 7 days.

I sprinkle Feather Fast over what I feed them and sometimes Probotics both from Lady Gouldians.

Good Luke

[Pukasand]

I use almost the same recipe as Sally. I pulverize the shells and sever separately, though. I also add a few drops of raw honey. All the greens are in another dish, too. I divide my eggfood into thirds and freeze two bags, while I keep the other in the fridge for use. It's easier to prepare a big batch vs a small one.

[Sally]

I don't use Jiffy cornbread mix in my eggfood, but I do make birdie bread with it. My favorite basic birdie bread recipe is here: http://www.finchaviary.com/Maintenance/ ... ecipes.htm

Once it is baked, I cut it in squares and freeze them. Then I can thaw out as much as I need at any time. My birds love this, and it is also good mixed with veggies.

[yunier2002]

Sally and Pukasand, if you make a large batch and you freeze it, does that lower the nutritional value? And for how many days can you keep the egg food in the regular fridge before it starts to go bad with the boiled eggs in it?