How Long to Leave Food Out?

[Abigail]

I was just wondering how long it was appropriate to leave fresh food out for finches? Right now I'm leaving out leafy vegetables and egg food in the morning. I don't want them to become ill from bacteria or anything, but I don't want all the food to go to waste either. How long would you say would be good?

[debbie276]

I put my hard boiled eggs on a dish and spread it thinly so it dries out before it goes bad. I offer egg in the morning and replace with new the next morning, though I have to say rarely is there any left on the plate.

[lyzzyjayne]

Thank You Debbie~ I have always wondered about that.

[Abigail]

Thanks for the reply!

[traceyincanada]

I do the same thing with my hard boiled egg....spread it out thinly and it dries out.

I used to remove it after a few hours but then I noticed that they were going to the bottom of the cage to eat the crumbs that had dropped so why take it away from the top when they were just eating it on the bottom.

If there's any left (which there never is) I replace it the next day. They're feeding babies right now with this and everyone seems happy and healthy.

[Diana]

I leave it for the whole day. When the green stuff fades they won't eat it, same goes when the egg dries. I remove old food in the evening.

[Toddmin]

When I give my birds fresh eggs, I usually give it to them in the morning, while I am making my breakfast. I leave it out for several hours and then remove it in the evening, before it gets dark. I generally only give them fresh eggs on the weekend, when I am home. I give them dried egg during the week. I tend not to be as concerned about the leafy greens, since they will not spoil as quickly. I usually give them the greens when I get home from work, and remove it the next day.

[Finnie]

Wow, great information! Some things you don't think to ask about, but you are really happy when someone else does!

I didn't know that if you spread the eggs out, they will dry and not spoil. I have been replacing mine with new ones, half way through each day. (And then leaving the second batch over night and worrying that it would make them sick.)

But mine don't seem to eat any of it, and it all goes to waste.

I jut keep doing it so as not to disrupt their expected routine, and because there is the chance they do eat a small amount and I just don't notice. Plus, I don't want them to think the food supply is suddenly drying up.

As for the veggie part, mine get a dish of shredded carrot and shredded greens, which I leave for a full 24 hours. None of that seems to be touched, either.

[debbie276]

You might want to try adding a bit of their normal seed on top of the egg to encourage them to try some.

[Diana]

But mine don't seem to eat any of it, and it all goes to waste.

I jut keep doing it so as not to disrupt their expected routine, and because there is the chance they do eat a small amount and I just don't notice. Plus, I don't want them to think the food supply is suddenly drying up.

As for the veggie part, mine get a dish of shredded carrot and shredded greens, which I leave for a full 24 hours. None of that seems to be touched, either.

I had similar problems with my first zebras, they wouldn't touch anything apart from lettuce. Once the chicks came and started eating everything they saw (egg, carrot), the mommy and daddy started eating those too. I guess you need another bird who eats those to set an example.

[ac12]

I do as Debbie.
I spread the food out, where possible.

I put it out in the morning and remove late afternoon when I refill their other food. For breeding or molting birds, I put a new dish out at that time, and remove it in the morning when I put the morning dish out.

I will sprinkle seeds onto the egg+veggies and that usually gets them to at least look at it. With the seeds there, they will eventually "try" the new food. Be patient, it sometimes takes a while for them to try new food.

Finally, some birds are just "picky" and will not eat certain food. My wife's canary refuses to eat red bell pepper. But he seems to love black seeds that the finches do not eat.

[Abigail]

Thank you for all the replies. Very nice.

[EyesofFreedom]

My daughters got the build your own sand art kits for christmas and they came with these awesome perfectly sized little green scoups...

Every night I change all the water in the cage... clean out the food dishes and put in new water, seed and egg mix... I only use one of these little scoups of egg food for the pair because the next evening there is very little left...

I guess I am using the "dog" approach