FINCHforum

Next on my list of finches I would like to try my hand at are owls and/or shafttails. I have read that both need/prefer/do best having live food, at least during chick-rearing. While I am very interested in getting some of both species at some point, live food is 100% out of the question...
How important is it that they have live ones? I can do canned or freeze dried mealworms and bugs.
If I don't do live, how can I expect this to affect breeding outcomes?

If you have experience with either species, I would appreciate your input. Thanks!

I can honestly say Nelissa, that none of my birds are getting live for anymore. I have had successful clutches of shaftails with just eggfood, and my baby owl was never fed live food either.
I think the biggest trick is to make sure that they never run out of the eggfood. As for any extra protein, the only thing I add to the eggfood during the breeding of the these 2 species is freeze dried bloodworms.

No live food here either...my shaft tail and ows all raised cllutches of babies on eggfood...drieded with ground pellets added or boiled grated. There is more vitamins proteins in egg.

I tried mealies on the shaft tails, they will eat them but they also tossed them...right out of the cage. We were having dinner one night and my male shaft tail was playing in them, eating them to...he decided to shake his head. The mealie flew out of the cage right onto my daughter's dinner dish, it was pretty funny!

Thanks Janine and Cindy. That makes me very happy!
Cindy the store about your daughter is too funny! Is this, by any chance, the daughter that isn't so fond of your birds?

Same here - no live food for Owls or Shaftails... or any other finches any more.

No...it is the one that loves animals....she still lives with us. She was laughing, we all laughed. Our shaft tails are so friendly they come right to the bars near you. My chair is near their cage and they have no issue will anyone being close to them....I often look over at them and they are close to the corner nearest to me watching me.

I give mealworms to parrotfinches, Shafttail, java rice finch and they do love them! I tried to give to Gouldians too but they don't even bother to look at them!