FINCHforum

Before I go to this bird fair Ive been looking up the care of various species of finch.I came across several I really like but eat live insects like the red cheeked Cordon bleu.How do you come up with insects on a daily basis for 365 days a year???.Sounds so difficult to care for...I mean do you get crickets and mealworms from the petstore, that could get really expensive.

Just curious really, I think I may stick to seed eaters..

When I had waxbills, I put about 2 mealworms per bird per day, and if one actually got eaten I would replace them as they were eaten. Mine actually rarely ate them and devoured eggfood.

You can buy huge numbers of mealworms for fairly cheap prices online, I believe you could freeze them too. Make sure you get the appropriate sized worm for the birds to eat.. Also, they really only need them to raise young, not year round, but if you want a better chance at chicks you need insects.

Hi Sasha,
I believe Red Cheeks only need live food to feed their young, and even then, I've been told you can "wean" them off live food onto "eggfood" and they will feed their young with egg food.

I've only had 2 Red Cheeks for a short while and haven't bred them - this is the information I was given from the breeder.

So my Red Cheeks get the exact same diet as my Gouldians.
They're very cute, if you're looking to buy some

Okay thanks,
I dont know if I will get the red cheeks but it is an option.Ive pretty much decided on Javas but I want to be prepared in case I get enamored by some pretty little finch that "I have to have"..So Im making a list of ones I know I shouldnt get and the ones that maybe I could get and the ones I know for sure I can have in the aviary..So many choices.

I think javas, silverbills, zebras; orange cheeked, goldbreast and st helenas are all easy waxbills. Those are some options.. Then you have green singers, etc there are alot!

Sasha2 wrote:.How do you come up with insects on a daily basis for 365 days a year???.

Hi Sasha,

I have a little mealworm farm actually a friend gave it to me because he didn't need it anymore. its a plastic container (a little one with 3 drawers) and in each drawer i have bran and dry oatmeal. there's a whole bunch of mealworms in each drawer (you can get them cheap here where i live, 1000 mealworms for $15.00) and they just kind of do their thing. they go through the life cycle, beetles lay eggs, new worms are hatched. i put pieces of potato and zucchini once in a while for them to eat.

its honestly not hard to take care of. its a lot easier than taking care of the live food i buy for my chameleon ...he eats crickets, butter worms and horn worms.

i'm sure that other forum members will also have some good ideas for you!

I do like those orange cheeks too.Im on a budget and I know for sure Im trying for a female diamond dove.But I can still afford another pair.It depends on if I can get a sexed pair or not.I dont want to end up with two males again.

Sasha, there are lots of videos on the internet on how to set up a mealworm farm. I also use the three-drawer units. I used to use the carts, but I can do just as well in a lot less space with the units that are 12"x12"xabout 3" deep, three drawers. I am experimenting with a mixture of organic whole wheat flour and unmedicated gamebird crumbles (ground to a powder). I offer sliced carrots or potatoes.

Most waxbills like the tiny mealworms, mini size at the various mealworm vendors. When they get too big, mine won't eat them. You can offer eggfood as a great source of protein, but it takes a long time to get them to accept eggfood as a substitute for live food when they are feeding young.

and some sites for bulk mealies to fill those drawers with:

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... es#p178201

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... orm+prices

Do you guys move the mealworms to different drawers based on size/stage in life?

I do move them around, though not so much the mealworms as the pupae and beetles. Let's say I have a drawer full of eggs. When they first hatch, I can't even see them, but I will begin to notice movement of the bedding. When they are mini size, I begin feeding them to my birds. If there are too many, I can take out a bunch of them to keep in the fridge, which slows their development. The mealworms left in the drawer will continue to grow. As they get too large, they can either be fed to the wild birds (bluebirds love them!), or moved into the next drawer to pupate. I monitor the pupae drawer, as once they morph into beetles, the beetles can eat the pupae. So now I move beetles into my third drawer, where they stay until they die after having laid their eggs. Once all the beetles in that drawer are dead and removed, that drawer gets some fresh bedding added and then set aside to await the new generation. Poop will accumulate in these drawers and once it builds up, it will get smelly. At this point, I will dump all the bedding and start fresh. I actually have two of these setups, so if one crashes, I still have another. It sounds like work, but it really isn't.

I have the hardest time getting mine that are supposed to like insects to eat them. However, my finches that aren't necessarily supposed to care either way seem to like them! (I've tried giving them some from time to time just for variety).

None of the insects I have offered are live though - so that may be the problem.

Personally, I don't think I'd own a bird if it ate live insects exclusively - too much trouble, with a bird's continual feeding habits. I do raise reptiles (leopard geckos) that exclusively eat insects, but they are pretty easy to maintain as you can offer several in a shallow bowl a couple of times per week.
If you just want to offer them to a bird as a "treat", most pet shops carry mealworms and crickets of all different sizes or you can easily order them online. Some also carry superworms, waxworms, phoenix worms, butterworms, and dubia roaches. Mealworms will keep for well over a month in a refrigerator as long as you remove them weekly (to warm up) to eat. One of the added benefits to feeding live insects is that if you load them up with healthy foods and vitamins (called "gutloading") the nutrients are passed onto the animal that eats them. Bob

I give my Fire Finches freeze dried blood worms.
It is fish food.
That way I do not have to deal with live worms.

This all sounds interesting.My friend who has leopard geckos offered me her mealworm colony as she is switching over to crickets only.So I will so have a colony going.I wonder if Diamond doves eat mealworms??

I will try them on the Zebras for sure.