Gouldian finch conditioning seed

[Trebsy37]

Hi

I have recently started keeping gouldian finch and wondered if anyone could help with some advice.

I was looking around and have seen you can buy conditioning food for birds and wondered if anyone could help pointing me in the right direction as to what would be a good conditioning food to feed?

Currently I am feeding them on a versele laga finch seed and wondered if there was a conditioning seed that could be used during the molt and breeding and any other everyday seed that would be good?

Many thanks

Rhys

[lovezebs]

Trebsy37
Also a beginner with Gouldians. Mine eat a variety of finch/canary seed. Hard boiled eggs, a large variety of vegetables and fruits, crushed meal worms, cuttle bone, fortified grit mixed with bird charcoal, mineral block, and a liquid vitamin supplement which I add to water every second day.
They are doing quite well, even my little hen who had just finished a terrible baby molt (which I thought she was not going to live through).

[Rox]

Lovezebs pretty much covered it all. I breed gouldian's and waxbill's and mix my own seed mix.

Equal parts (eg 1kg)
Japanese millet
White pannicum
Red pannicum
Plain canary seed

Extra seed (eg 500g)
Red millet
White millet

Small portion added (eg 250g)
Sesame seed
Niger seed

I add crushed hemp during breeding season, as it is very high in protein. All of my birds do very well on this mix, along with their veggies and egg food when molting and breeding.

[delray]

Welcome to the forum!!

[gouldianfincher]

This is my first day on the forum, and first reply..

I feed my Gouldians the following and a bit more:

* good quality mixed finch seeds, available in the hopper/ food tray always

* soaked red millet (stem), I soak a day ahead of feed, so I always have a soaked-to-feed batch everyday. I cut the soaked stem into 1 inch sized pieces, and provide each pair with a piece.

* daily provide a bit of quality egg food, mixed with a pinch of dried worms, a pinch of chia seed, quarter of an egg shell crushed. All of these go in one little treat dish, and get changed daily.

* Water is mixed with multi vitamins, and is replaced daily.

Twice a week, I provide freshly germinated mix seed for the nutritional value it has.

I break the routine, by providing a small portion of boiled quinoa (red/ white), steamed rice, or flax seed, and soaked white/ yellow millet.

I occasionally experiment with new food elements, but watch myself not to over do it.

I notice that providing clean water for bath once a week, is appreciated highly by the finches, and keeps their feathers clean and shiny.

Hope this helps.

[dutch]

gouldianfincher....your birds only bathe once a week?

Mine bathe twice a day

[gouldianfincher]

dutch.. to clarify, Gouldians would bath as many times, I however, let them bath once a week - works for me.

[Trebsy37]

Thanks for the replies have been a great help! I was thinking of making my own seed mix and with the reply above that will be a great help!

Here in the uk it's hard to come by good quality seed mixes so will have a go at making my own!

Many thanks again

[Solomon]

I tried using a few types of seed mixes. My birds don't really seem to like canary seed, usually those all end up on the floor uneaten. They seem to go for the millers and the flax, although it seems like half of the flax seed falls to the ground unsullied. It probably has to do with how impatient gouldians are. I've watched them roll the flax in their moth and ifmtheyndont get it open after a few tries, they just fling it aside and move on to the next seed.