Mealworms - how many?

[Animal Quackers]

I did a search on mealworms, but can not find anything that talks about how MANY to give each finch a day. I have been giving each finch one, but I have a feeling that is way too few. I am going to buy some online today because the price is better than buying from my local pet shop.

Also, is it OK to feed mealworms every day?

Is feeding mashed hard-boiled egg every day too often? If not, how much per bird?

Finally, if I provide a cuttlebone hung on the side of the cage, and a dish filled with ground up egg shell, is that sufficient for calcium sources? I suppose I should also provide a mineral block, which I do not currently have...

I have a tendency to "kill with kindness" - just ask my hoyas and African Violets! - and don't want to overdo!

Thank you in advance!

Michelle (the curious newbie!)

[Ursula]

Without knowing whether I am overdoing this either, mine have mini-mealworms available every day and pretty much as many as they want.

Except when I have babies I feed egg only once or max. twice a week.

My finches don't seem to touch the cuddle bone, and only the gouldians seem to like the eggshell. So I give them a liquid calcium supplement once a week in their drinking water.

I'm sure you'll get many different answers/opinions on this...

[dfcauley]

Some birds will eat as many as you will give them. My courdons were breaking the bank on the mealworms. I have stopped feeding them completely for a while......

[lovemyfinch]

I feed my shaftails mealies when I know they are nesting (I tried to stop and ended up with 2 abandoned clutches, noticed that she laid one egg and started giving again, she is now sitting) When they had babies I gave them up to 40 a day (discovered later that they were having a flinging party-beetles all over the house). In order to cut down costs I started my own mealie farm a few months ago .. they are finally being fed now. When this clutch is born, I will be giving a maximum of 30 tiny mealies per day (cut in half of course)

I feed all of my birds egg food everyday, whether they are breeding or not.

[Sally]

Mine have been getting eggfood every day, as a substitute for mealworms. Especially the nesting, incubating, brooding pairs and their young. I also make sure my juvies get lots of eggfood, as they are still growing and developing. Also when molting.

[cindy]

I have part of a cuttlebone hung in each cage, plus in a separate cup I give powdered oyster shell mixed with finely grated cuttlebone and mineral block (it is shaped like a pineapple Walmart ort PetSmart). All my birds like this powdery mix and they usually go to it first thing in the morning. I can tell when females are getting ready to lay eggs, they go to that cup more often.

I've tried mealies. My owls love them so much so they share the half eaten bodies with my walls, floor and the cage bars. None of the other birds eat them.

Thank you Janine for telling me about cutting them in half (in another post). I will have to try this.

I just introduced Miracle Meal to all the finches.

[Animal Quackers]

Thank you all for the kind replies.

When you say egg food, do you mean the DRIED egg food, or some wet combination? I have been leaving the dried, powdered egg food in a cup - full - all the time for the finches, but feeding a little bit of hard boiled or scrambled egg each morning. Maybe I am overdoing it?

[cindy]

I used dried, mine don't seem to like the boiled egg. I mix the dried egg food with ground roudybush...they like it! I do not wet it at all.

[lovemyfinch]

My fids have an open supply of dried fruit and vegetable egg food, as well as being fed homemade eggfood each morning.

[Animal Quackers]

My fids have an open supply of dried fruit and vegetable egg food, as well as being fed homemade eggfood each morning.

Vegetable egg food? I have seen Quiko's carrot egg food - may I ask what kind you feed, please?

Thank you again!

Michelle

[lovemyfinch]

My fids have an open supply of dried fruit and vegetable egg food, as well as being fed homemade eggfood each morning.

Vegetable egg food? I have seen Quiko's carrot egg food - may I ask what kind you feed, please?

Thank you again!

Michelle

It's called Optima VEGGY - fruit and veggies soft food manufactured by anibec.. All my birds love it

[Animal Quackers]

AH! It looks like it is only available in Canada!

[lovemyfinch]

Here is the link from where I buy almost all of my bird supplies, they dship to the U.S.
http://www.avizoo.ca/index.php?cPath=131

[Animal Quackers]

Thank you, Cindy and Janine!

[dfcauley]

I keep the Miracle Meal down at all times. They love it, but all my birds devour fresh egg food which is available every day. So they do get the protein they need. Mealworms were just becoming very costly for me with all my birds. Even my gouldians would eat them.