FINCHforum

I'm looking to add dried herbs to my canary diet. Not sure whether dried flower or in powder form is best. I was thinking of sprinkling a pinch of an herb (various human grade herbs) on the cage floor, for them to nibble on. In a more whole form they might just play or ignore it? I'm leaning towards powder form. Not mixed in with regular food, but on the side. Such as chamomile powder, hibiscus, corn flower, Passion flower,........Ofcourse not sure if these would be of much benefit to them or just waste of money. They get fresh dandelion, chickweed, kale, and so forth already. Maybe it's overkill using dried herbs.

Christian

Although I find that the feathered kids do enjoy fresh more than dry, I have on occasion bought this for them and they do seem to enjoy it.

It's put out by Higgins SUNBURST
Gourmet Natural Treats Leafy Greens and Herbs, with Camomile

It contains Alfalfa petals, Chamomile, Basil, Parsley,, Rosemary, Cinnamon.

I would be cautious with offering certain people herb mixes, simply not knowing if certain items are good for finches or not.

As to your veggie list, you can add:
Spinach, parsley, cucumber, red Swiss chard, broccoli, romaine lettuce, grated carrots, basil, carrot greens, wild grass seed heads, beet greens, grated beets, bok choy, corn on the cob, baby spring greens, baby field greens, etc.

All of these are enjoyed by my crew....

lovezebs

Elana, that's a beautiful veggie dish. My canaries have just discovered the deliciousness of meal worms so my orange cheeks have to grab and go fast! I have a fawn zebra that looks just like the one in your picture.

Shannylee

It's always a monkey see~monkey do, with these guys. They see someone else sucking up those mealworms, and they have to try them too, lol.

I like the Fawn mutation Zebras, and at the moment have two handsome boys, and one pretty little girl, with another girl who might be a normal/ fawn split (her undercarriage is a very pretty peach shade, so who knows what babies her and one of my Fawn boys might produce in the long run).

Lovezebs

Elana,

My fawn zebra is pretty but my little hand fed, hand tame fawn canary is my baby! He comes when I call him and kisses. He's 2 1/2 months old. He doesn't live in the aviary with the herd. He lives with his pal, Tweetie...another hand fed baby, on my porch. He is actually, most likely, a girl based on genetics. Blue (gray) mom + cinnamon dad should = a female fawn.

Shannylee

That is so darn cute, I love it.

On a personal note I'd really not bother with dried herbs etc as I find it's really not necessary,

Far better other foods out there and aswell as their normal seed diet yer can't beat fresh green food especially dandelion and chickweed which yer already feeding,

One can actually often overdo in feeding to much of a varied diet and can actually do more harm than good,

Be careful on feeding to much of a wide variety of green food IE like broccoli and spinach because this is very high in iron etc and some foods can actually block other calcium, vitamin levels that the birds obviously need,

To much green food can also make their feases very watery but in moderation should be fine

To much green food can also make their feases very watery but in moderation should be fine

Have you seen this? I've read this about birds for decades, but have never seen it happen.

However--I don't consider Iceberg Lettuce to be greens. This lettuce is mostly 'whites', and so watery that I could understand a bird getting too much water from it.

Are you concerned about birds getting dark green veggies like kale, broccoli and the like? I feed these full choice and the birds eat as much as they like.

Dave Stuart whiting Shannylee

I also feed greens and veggies and fruits freely, every day or second day...

Kale
Red Swiss chard
Parsley
Romain
Baby field greens
Baby Spring greens
Broc
Spinach
Carrot tops
Grated carrot
Corn on the cob (or frozen thawed out)
Broccolini
Cucumber
Beets
Beat greens
Peppers
Green beans (chopped small)
Frozen peas (thawed)
Frozen edamame (thawed and chopped)
Basil

Apples
Orange slices
Pears
Blueberries
Strawberries
Banana
Cherry
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Sliced grapes
Raspberries
Pomegranate

It all depends on seasons and availibility, and never have any issues.

Shannylee

Thats adorable!

Dave wrote:

To much green food can also make their feases very watery but in moderation should be fine

Have you seen this? I've read this about birds for decades, but have never seen it happen.

However--I don't consider Iceberg Lettuce to be greens. This lettuce is mostly 'whites', and so watery that I could understand a bird getting too much water from it.

Are you concerned about birds getting dark green veggies like kale, broccoli and the like? I feed these full choice and the birds eat as much as they like.

Yes mate I can honestly say that I have seen this where birds feases go watery, I don't really see the point in me preaching about something that I don't have experience with or at least know someone who has

No mate I've got no concerns to feeding the dark green veggies as I feed broccoli meself but I try to keep it in moderation during the breeding season because as mentioned it has a very high iron content and can perhaps hinder and absorb the calcium levels that I'd be trying to administer to the birds during that time

lovezebs wrote: Dave Stuart whiting Shannylee

I also feed greens and veggies and fruits freely, every day or second day...

Kale
Red Swiss chard
Parsley
Romain
Baby field greens
Baby Spring greens
Broc
Spinach
Carrot tops
Grated carrot
Corn on the cob (or frozen thawed out)
Broccolini
Cucumber
Beets
Beat greens
Peppers
Green beans (chopped small)
Frozen peas (thawed)
Frozen edamame (thawed and chopped)
Basil

Apples
Orange slices
Pears
Blueberries
Strawberries
Banana
Cherry
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Sliced grapes
Raspberries
Pomegranate

It all depends on seasons and availibility, and never have any issues.

To be honest I think we've had this discussion before maybe last year and as much as the list looks so very interesting I really don't think it's that necessary to feed the birds with such a wide variety,

In truth I doubt even most zoos and bird parks would ever feed the variety on that list.

Please don't think I'm knocking because I can assure you that I'm not but just fail to understand why such a massive variety.

Surely if all that amount was fed on a daily basis there's gotta be a fair amount of wastage and the cost alone I should think be quite a bit,

My main concern is that some birds would become addicted to certain foods and when it comes hard to get then what does one do, could be quite awkward.

Feeding the large array of fruits I could understand a little more if the collection of birds are predominantly for softbills IE " Frugivores " but I believe that these are for finches and canaries and in a wild state most of these birds simply wouldn't ever feed on this variety of food.

Maybe it's just me Elana but I like to try and match as near as ever possible the nearest foods to what the finches would receive and naturally live on and rear their young with in a wild state with the exception of a little egg food and broccoli,

Everything else I feed is a natural food source IE a quality seed diet with soak seed and about half a dozen natural wild green foods and live food

Speak soon

Stuart whiting

I like variety and so do my birds.
Do they need the variety? They like it, they eat it and they are healthy and beautiful, and when given the opportunity breed like bunny rabbits.

As mentioned above, it all depends on season and what's available at any given time of the year. I don't buy all of it, nor do I serve all of it at the same time. The list above is just to give folks ideas of what can be fed.

The problem with feeding what they would eat in the wild, is that we don't exactly know what all they eat in the wild, we are more or less guessing. Can I feed my Gouldians what they eat in the wilds of Australia? No, because it's simply not available here in Canada. The same goes for Zebras and other Australian finches.

What do wild Canaries eat on the Canary islands? Are they even the same creature as our home bred Canaries, who have been domesticated for hundreds of years.

What do Societies eat in the wild?
They don't, because they don't exist in the wild.

Do we really know what tiny Waxbills from different ends of the globe eat in the wild? They eat all sorts of insects, which I can't provide them with over here, but what flowers and vegitation do they eat? Shrug...

And so I offer variety, and allow them to pick and choose what they like and what their bodies tell them they need.

Trust me, there is very very little wasted, other than orange slice peels that are nibbled to next to nothing, lol....

lovezebs

That's ok Elana, no worries, was just more so curious than anything, but you've now explained in a little bit of a different light and can obviously accept that some wild foods just can't be got hold of etc and so we have to try to make do with what's available, fair point

You just have to forgive me Elana as I'm still sought of old school and try to match foods as near as I can to what I know the majority eat in a wild state ..........

lovezebs Would dried parsley sprinkled on the seeds be good for them?