FINCHforum

I was checking the Roudybush site and found that they make BREEDER pellets
But they have
"daily maintenance" and "low fat maintenance"
and
"breeders" and "high energy breeder"
- from what I can figure out the high energy has more fat

Anyone with experience selecting which ones to use for finches; gouldian and zebras.

The breeders pellets will make inactive caged birds fat. If they are not in a large aviary, coldess weather, breeding, moulting I would not feed the higher protein/fat foods. High energy pellets

Fat birds should still get a good diet...just a bigger enclosure for more excercise in my opinion. I just couldn't imagine putting my finches on a reduced diet.... but then again I guess that is what the austere diet is all about....which I do kind of do.

I would go with the maintenance. This is what I buy and add to the seed mix. I buy the nibbles size.

Candace,

Do you mix them with something? Seed? Or feed them alone? Just curious since I know you feed real seed too.

I ground Roudybush up into a fine powder and add it to my dry egg food mixed with Miracle Meal or Orlux Golden and Hatched. I also use Zupreem fuit pellets and grind those also and add them to egg foods also and I serve them whole in a egg cup. I may mix then in the seed.

cindy wrote:I ground Roudybush up into a fine powder and add it to my dry egg food mixed with Miracle Meal or Orlux Golden and Hatched. I also use Zupreem fuit pellets and grind those also and add them to egg foods also and I serve them whole in a egg cup. I may mix then in the seed.

Do you do this as a source of vitamins for them?

I have also added ground Roudybush pellets to my eggfood. I tried pellets at one time, but I was not happy with them. I had many ziploc bags of pellets in the freezer, and so wanted a way to use them up. I figure adding to the eggfood helps to dry up the eggfood and add some nutrition at the same time.

MLaRue wrote:Candace,

Do you mix them with something? Seed? Or feed them alone? Just curious since I know you feed real seed too.

I mix it with my seed. I also mix in ABBA pellets and zupreem pellets. When I have fledlings I always give them a mix that has a little more nibbles, pellets, and hulled millet in the mix as it seems the young birds can eat these easier. Plus I know they are getting thier vitamins.

MLaRue wrote:

cindy wrote:I ground Roudybush up into a fine powder and add it to my dry egg food mixed with Miracle Meal or Orlux Golden and Hatched. I also use Zupreem fuit pellets and grind those also and add them to egg foods also and I serve them whole in a egg cup. I may mix then in the seed.

Do you do this as a source of vitamins for them?

Misty, I've used pellets for a long time even before finches. Recently I spoke to my avian vet about feeding them to my lovebird and finches. She said that feeding it along side of seed to the finches is good, she said everything that they need nutrion wise is in there. She also agreed egg food and veggies are great.

One of the techs there raises javas. She feed them zupreem fruit flavored pellets in a good seed mix. The pair is 10 years old and have raised many clutches on this. The Zupreme are much tinier than the Roudybush Nibbles, though I find Roudybush grinds faster and finer.

But then this means neither one of you use any vitamin supplements?

MLaRue wrote:But then this means neither one of you use any vitamin supplements?

You know I have a giant container of vitamins in my refridge...but I have never used any on the finches.....just grasskeets .
For the finches I do use calcium plus or calciboost for egg laying hens occaisionally. And sometimes iodine in the water.
But the diet they get with so many natural foods I feel they get enough vitamins. I know too much can be really bad for birds too.
They eat greens, eggs, beepollen, kelp, spiralina, ABBA seed which is fortified, and of course the vitamin enriched pellets.

Misty
The only time my bird who are on pellets now get vitamin are when they are laying eggs (Morning Bird Breeders Blend), molting (MB Feather Fast), and when I am trying to regrow feathers on a plucked bird (MB Feather Fast).

I also give birds that are feeding hatchlings/nestlings a handfeed mix, currently LaFebers Nutri Start. I'm going to try the Kaytee or Zupreem handfeed formulas. This starts from when they are SITTING (to get them used to it) to fledgling. I figure it is easier to regurgitate and the chicks get better nutrition than just seeds. Because I feed them the Nutri Start, I don't give them Breeders Blend at the same time.

When they fledge, I put out a dish of: commercial dry egg food + MB Miracle Meal + zupreem natural pellets + soaked seeds. As they get older I reduce the amount of soaked seeds and increase the pellets. This gets the chicks used to eating these foods, and they get their vitamins this way.

Misty, the vet said quote..."People tend to overdue and give to many vitamins and supplements, pellets are a complete food."

This is what I feed

seed from Herman Bros.
ABBA92 egg food with greens mixed with ground Roudybush, grouns Zupreem pellets, Miracle Meal and/Orlux Golden, Hatched (these are pretty vitamin fortified and aproved by the vet)

Herb Salad and Hatched (separate cups of each) and a cup of Zupreme pellets for them to eat as they like...so far everyone like this right down to my fussy RCCBs.

They also have a cup of a mixture of ground cuttlebone, ground mineral block and oystershell in each cage.

They each have a cuttlebone and mineral block hung.

Once a week they get Calcium Plus in their water. They also get boiled egg and shaved broccoli (not all eat it). And of course a few mealies here and there.

I ran all this by the vet, she said I was going way beyond for what was required for my birds. I'm satidfied, I go by what the lady with the degree and the experience in avian science says!

I agree with the Vet. But I don't offer my birds supplements/vitamins like most do. I prefer to feed fresh everything to mine including chitted seed, greens, and eggfood. If I offer a vitamin supplement it is once a week - everything else my birds get is from their diet. Not from a supplement.

I asked the question because I was thinking that both or many people aren't giving vitamins/supplements but offering a food source like the pellets instead. To me it is another expense that isn't needed if they can get what they need from the other food sources I offer mine. Each one of us has something that works for our birds and us and that is all that matters in the end.

Misty you are lucky in a sense since yours like egg food and greens, I offer it but they all don't eat it. I throw a lot out! Trust me I have tried everything.

Roudybush come in a California Blend, it contains dried fruits and veggies. I am now trying a bag ground up and adding that. Some of the dried fruits do not grind to a powder as well bur it does get most of it. I run it through a mesh strainer and sift the powder out. I am going to add that to the dried eggfood and see how that goes.

I find by adding supplements to the water especially with the owls and zebras, they end up wearing it more than drinking it. Even if I give them a dish to bathe in they prefer the cup!!!!

I've always used pellets, for me grinding and adding to a cup of egg food or serving alone in a cup for them to go to as needed was easier.

I just like to spoil my birds I give them everything under the sun...I even grow them fresh organic greens and served fresh from the garden.
Fresh broccoli



home grown millet



Dandelion greens


Even nesting grasses that can be munched too


I think of the zupreem fruit pellets as thier desert.... cookies

A couple of thing I don't feed very often anymore is the chitted or sprouted seed or meal worms. I don't think the birds are missing much without them.
When feeding chicks mostly what my birds consume is eggfood with boiled eggs. I love it because it is soo easy