FINCHforum

... How many mealworms should I feed my pair of Red-cheeked CB's when they are in pre-breeding mode? I probably give them 40+ twice a day and I find a lot of them tossed around the cage. Some (a few) are still alive. Even found one crawling about 20' away from the cage!

Liz, are you buying the mini mealworms? I have found that if I give those to them, they eat the whole things. Nothing left!!!

I ran out a few weeks ago and had to give them the larger ones and I found bodies all over the place....

I went back to the minis.

Oh lord.. and here I am in the works of buying a pair

What about the canned ones? I've heard of people giving these without probs.. they don't crawl at least

Mine eat mostly the heads but compared to the the BCCBs, they do a good job of eating the whole (normal) worm. My pair go through about 20 a day. Obviously I'm no expert and have limited experience but the male bounces around with the jute in his mouth, singing to the female (a lot) and they made a really big nest; just no eggs.

BTW, if you find mini mealworms please let me know. I can't find them anywhere around here.

PS: I also give them egg food with insects and they eat that, too, so that might have some influence on how many mealworms they eat.

I haven't tried the canned ones for the CB's - I did give those to the Soc's and they ate them - I sort of saving them for the Soc's in case I need them to foster waxbills.

What size are the minis? The ones I give are around 1". How many minis would you give them?

L in Ontario wrote:I haven't tried the canned ones for the CB's - I did give those to the Soc's and they ate them - I sort of saving them for the Soc's in case I need them to foster waxbills.

What size are the minis? The ones I give are around 1". How many minis would you give them?

I get them from Grubco. The mini's are only about 1/2 inch or less.
I can't say how many.... don't count.... just pour them into a dish, but I would guess about 100 each day.

nixity wrote:What about the canned ones? I've heard of people giving these without probs.. they don't crawl at least

Some people have had no problem feeding the canned ones. Mine have never accepted them (spoiled rotten CBs).

I got my last order from Grubco, the minis, and they run from 1/4" to 1/2", mostly smaller than 1/2", but mine still bite the head and toss the rest. I wish they would eat the whole thing. When they aren't feeding chicks, I give probably about 20-30 per pair each day. Once they are feeding chicks, then they can have all they want.

If I gave mine all they want, I am sure they would eat them continously. I mean they literally devour them! The whole thing! I give them to them 3-4 times a day at least 50 at a time.

When the dish is empty they stand on the sides waiting for them to appear.