FINCHforum

What supplements (minerals/vitamins/calcium/greens/egg food) do you give your birds and how often?

Chris

I supply biocal. Biocal contains the minerals necessary for a balanced diet in caged birds in particular calcium, iron and iodine and also the vitamins that can be kept stable in this form, namely vitamins A, B, D, E and K. And a mineral cow lick supplied.
Breading aid.helps with egg production.Vitamin A 200000 iu/L
Vitamin D3 20000 iu/L
Vitamin E 410mg/L
Linoleic Acid 430g/L
Palmitic Acid 52g/L
Oleic Acid 11g/L
Calcium,in the form of cuttle fish,shell grit,eggshell,mixed with charcoal.
Greens,sprouted seed,seeding grass during breeding season.
No egg food is supplied,protein is supplied in the form of mealworms.
And all aviaries have coarse river sand on the floor.
Sprouted seed and mealworms supplied daily the others,supplied all the time

What a question - a good one! Will be nice to see what everyone offers their finches. My finches get lots of supplements -

- Herb Salad
- Charcoal
- Oyster Grit
- Cuttlebone (whole in the bars of the cages and also scraped into the seed mixes during breeding season)
- Liquid Iodine - added to drinking water once a week during breeding/moulting season
- Powdered Iodine - added to seed mix during breeding/moulting season
- Ornalyte - added to drinking water once a week during breeding/moulting season
- Moores' VitaFinch Seed (only mentioning as it has a few added vitamins)
- Caliboost - added to drinking water once a week during breeding season
- Hardboiled egg - w/shell ground up for protein and calcium
- Soak Seed - mixed with the HB egg and shell above
- F-Vite - mixed into seed mix during breeding season
- Orlux Egg food with insects - mixed into seed mix during breeding season
- Kaytee Handfeeding hatchling food - mixed into seed mix during breeding season
- Spurlina - just started offering this a couple of weeks ago
- Mineral block in each cage
- 8-In-1 Stress Seed Mix
- 8-In-1 Moulting Seed Mix
- 8-In-1 Nestling Seed Mix

Okay, I'm just going to stop there. It looks like a lot here (to me) but it's not really. I only have about 5 or 6 food dishes in each cage.

When not molting or breeding what do you give?

I was thinking of giving just Moors Vita finch seed mix only. (Finch seed with pellets) any thoughts?

Chris

chrischris wrote:When not molting or breeding what do you give?

I was thinking of giving just Moors Vita finch seed mix only. (Finch seed with pellets) any thoughts?

Chris

LOL - I still offer quite a bit during the "resting" season -

-Charcoal
-Herb Salad - great for allowing birds to self-medicate
-Oyster Grit (I add this to the dish with Charcoal)
-Cuttlebone (in the bars of the cages)
-Mineral block - some ignore it and some seem to devour it (during breeding season) but it's in there 365
-Moore's Vitafinch Seed*

I used to offer Kaytee Finch Pellets to my finches but I ran out of it a while ago.

*Chris - Where will you be getting/buying this from? I know it's very econimical direct from Moores' but I can't afford (time or money) to drive there. The place I get it from in Woodbridge costs me $56.50 for 40#.

You could buy the seeds right from the manufacturer. It's much cheaper.
http://www.ralphmooreandsons.on.ca/pricelist.htm

Chris

I know, Chris - I know. It's about 1/2 price of what I currently pay but then the shipping would kill me.

Are you going to buy direct from Moores'? It's quite a drive to his place in the deep south of Ontario.

I offer some Morning Bird products and some Dr. Rob Marshall products.
Some supplements are giving in the water like iodine, calcium, Ioford, DufoPlus. I sprinkle Breeders Blend or Feather Fast on egg food or sprouted seed. It can get pretty complicated with all the supplements that are out there. I've also heard of people whose finches go into pre-mature molt with too many supplements being used.

Wow, all I use is vitamins in the water.

I don't have a ritual of offering all those supplements everyday. I mix it up some. If I add vitamins to the soaked seed, I don't add vitamins to the water. Sometimes I just offer then just fresh water! <gasp!>

I rarely use supplements except seaweed extract for extra iodine and a few extras if birds look off colour...from some posts on here the birds innards must look like the back room in a pharmacy

I dont use any supplements. I try to keep my aviary as close to the conditions that a bird would experience in the wild as possible.

I believe seaweed is one of the richest sources of minerals in the world?I have never seen it here in a processed form.do you know what the elements are Paul?

Little information on label...and the technical 'gubbins' on a seperate leaflet has disappeared...sorry.
Mine comes from a company in the Scottish Islands.But there must be sources in many countries for human,animal,and horticultural use.
Best thing about liquid form is the birds HAVE to ingest it...unlike the powdered versions.

atarasi wrote: Sometimes I just offer then just fresh water! <gasp!>

Hahahaha! Me too!