Zebras

[KennethGriffin]

I have 5 adult Zebras and three fledgelings who's genders are still up in the air. I had some issues with baby tossing and egg abandonment over the course of the last 6 months. I was told here that diet could be the cause and perhaps a lack of variety in their food source... So I took the advice and began feeding mixed lettuce, carrots, grapes, apples, cucumber, bananas and minced hard-boiled eggs.

They have always gone crazy for the lettuce and leave virally no trace of the leaves at all... but they seem to not ever touch any of the other fruits and veggies, and for sure have no interest in the eggs with and without the hand feeding formula mixed in. Ive been consistent and persistent about giving it to them daily in hopes that they would warm up to the new variety in their diet.... but still... after over a month... no signs of a change in interest.

Any suggestions.... I just don't want any more diet based breeding issues (well none at all would be ideal, obviously)

[cindy]

How are you offering the veggies.....whole or finely chopped....mixed in with seed or other grains like couscous.

I raise zebras and all mine go for the finely chopped veggies, shaved or chopped broccoli tops, finely grated carrots.

Mine will not go near fruits but will eat clementine oranges if the sections are split open.

Grapes are loaded with sugar and are recommended often, maybe once a week if that...slice them open in half.

Boiled egg is grated with a fine cheese grater, easier to manage

When do you offer your soft foods? I serve first thing in the a.m. so they are hungry and not filled up on seeds.

Avoid iceberg lettuce...barely any nutritional value and to watery giving the birds very loose stools.

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... ilit=green

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... ilit=green

[dutch]

KennethGriffin....get rid of the cane nests...they're no good ...chicks fall out of them when they go to poop..

Replace nests with wooden box with a very small entrance...just big enough to squeeze into...

This works...when i used cane nests i always found chicks on the ground....now 40 wooden nest boxes with small doorways and not a single chick on the ground

[Sally]

The question was about diet and getting his birds to eat a more varied diet. All finches are different, and some are better about eating veggies than others. I have found that almost all of them will eat cucumber. Slice it in rounds, and they eat all but the skin. It isn't great nutritionally, but better than nothing. I like my birds to be used to cucumber anyway, as I supply that as an extra source of moisture when shipping.

As cindy as said, iceberg lettuce is not good, romaine is better, and kale is excellent, one of the best greens you can offer. How you offer it can make a difference. A small dish of finely chopped veggies, with seed sprinkled on top, will often entice them to eat. Few of my finches will eat fruit, but almost all of mine love eggfood. I add nestling food or dry commercial eggfood to my mashed hardboiled eggs. Possibly even adding some hulled millet (you can get it at health food grocery stores) to the eggfood might tempt them.

[Colt]

My birds were really reluctant to try the egg food at first as well. I hard boiled the eggs and sliced them into quarters length-wise and then run them through a garlic press. They come out looking vaguely like worms. Then I mix in Quiko's commercial Classic, Goldy, and Exotic egg foods, Kaytee Exact handfeeding forumla, freeze dried blood worms, finely chopped broccoli, parsely, carrots, kale, and purple cabbage, Roudybush Nibbles, XS Zupreem pellets, and sometimes mealworms.

If I'm out of veggies I'll substitute dried greens. I occasionally add vitamins and spirulina as well.

To lure them in the first few days I just did the boiled egg, commercial foods, and handfeeding formula and then sprinkled their seed over it. They also got it early in the morning. Once they started to eat it I gave them a more varied recipe until I'm at my current mixture.

[KennethGriffin]

Ive done seemingly all of this... I have only feed finely chopped veggies, with exception to the lettuce, in which they dive right in to. The have not ever touched any of the veggies or grated egg with or without the hand feeding formula mixed in... I feed them in the am and always have with the fresh food, and I only feed them a romaine/spinach/kale combination.... I just can't figure out what else to do to get them to go for it. They are in two different enclosures and both sets of birds are treating the veggies the same.... So I figure it must be something I am doing wrong...

[lovezebs]

KennethGriffin
Hi Ken.
I would just stick with it. Offer small amount of chop so as not to waste a lot of veg and fruit. Also, try hanging large pieces from side of cages. Try carrot greens and both leaves and stalks of beets and red swiss chard. My guys love that. They probably dive into the romaine because that's what they are used to. Hold back on lettice and instead offer a beautiful big beet leaf hanging close to a favorite perch. Another option, is frozen mixed veg, boiled a little and placed on a plate, ie. Peas, carrots, corn, lima and green beans. Slices of apple can be poked between the bars, along with cuke slices, grapes, rappini, broc and so on. Some of my guys like chop, others prefer stuff hanging up. As for eggs, I boil them to make hard boiled. Sometimes mash with a fork, egg, shell and all. Lately they like them pealed and grated, with the shells dried and smashed into tiny bits.

I wish you good luck.

[lpappy]

I've also tried for a long time to get my finches to eat any type of fruits or vegetables. It was just this week that they actually starting eating a carrot/broccoli and egg mixture that I put through the food processor. Keep trying you'll find a recipe that they like.

[KennethGriffin]

Thank you. I will keep trying and eventually my hope is that they will come around. My only concern with holding back on the lettuce is that I just don't want them tossing eggs and babies because they feel like there isn't enough food to support the family.

[cindy]

protein and egg food are more important for young growing chicks. Try mixing the romaine into the egg food in a finely chopped form. Do not use the lower white end of the romaine since it is full of water, if you chop it in a small food processor it may become mushy.

[dutch]

cindy.....yes protein is needed for growing chicks....but some birds don't want to eat boiled eggs.....

I use sprouted seed for protein....i believe it's better than eggs....and my baby Gould's are huge strong birds....

So if you need protein soak some seed....it's one the best foods you can feed breeding birds

40 nests.....clutches of 8 to 10 chicks per nest...but they only eat 1 boiled egg a day......eggs are just one food ....

And greens they eat so much its like im feeding cattle....

[Sally]

I agree that sprouted seed is one of the best foods for birds, breeding or not. The parents will feed sprouted seed to their babies, and sprouted seed is one of the first foods that fledglings will try. I prefer just chitted, where the root has just barely emerged from the hull, to sprouted, where the root is a bit longer. Nutrition is supposed to be at its highest at the chitted stage. Legumes are some of the best sprouts, but most of them are too large for finches. They may eat lentils, it is worth a try.

But I also believe that egg is one of the best foods for birds. It supplies not only protein but many other nutrients. Some birds take a long time to accept any new foods, and some never will. With my birds that aren't picky eaters, I notice that when feeding baby birds, they eat lots of egg, followed by lots of veggies or sprouted seed, followed by spray millet, followed by regular finch seed mix. Of course, I have waxbills, which normally feed their young with insects, so they have a higher need for protein than many other species.

Here is an interesting article on the benefits of eggs: http://www.howmuchprotein.com/foods/eggs/

[dutch]

Sally...i agree eggs are a super food..i myself eat 5 a day...but some birds just won't eat it...but all my birds love the sprouted seed...

[debbie276]

Sprouted seed is fine but you can't get the much needed vitamin D from seed like you can hard boiled eggs. Not to mention iodine which goulds require.

[dutch]

debbie276....i agree ..my Gould's won't even touch egg...but since my full wire extension and Soluvite my vitamin d isn't a problem...maybe if my birds were indoors they would eat more egg....