Millet makes such a mess :(

[CosmoJoe]

I was hoping for some advice on how to minimize the mess that finches can make! I currently have my little finch family in our finished basement. It is amazing the mess they make as they peck at food, flinging it amazing distances at times
Millet seems to be the worst, as the small hulls are so light they practically float on the air. Wiping them up with a paper towel seems to just 'blow' them around more than it cleans them up!

Is there any advice on a way to minimize the scatterings from the food? I have heard someone suggest getting something like plastic painting dropcloth and wrapping it around the bottom portion of the cage, to help keep some of the stuff in.

Thanks in advance!

[debbie276]

I made my aviary and the bottom 6 inches or so are solid, it makes a world of difference keeping all the mess inside. I also have the feed dishes on the bottom and not hanging on the sides.

[dfcauley]

I lay my millet in a little tray and most of the seeds stay there. Either way... it is a mess. But don't they love it????

[ac12]

I put plastic sheeting around 3 sides (both sides and the back), and on the front I put crinolen half way up the front of the cage. The plastic also keeps the bath water in the cage vs. splashed all over the room.

But first of all, I converted my birds to pellet food, so I don't have the seed hulls all over the place. My birds get seeds as a treat. Except the gouldians who get it regularly.

[BigBear0007]

Hi All,

First post here!

What I do with the millet spray is soak it for 24 hours.
Then give it to the birds.
Or let sit in a dark cubbord for another 24 hours till it starts
to germinate anf then give it to them.
It's healthier and less messy.
Hope it helps?

The Bear!!

[CosmoJoe]

Soaking the millet sprays; that is outstanding, I will have to try that tonight

Is there any issue with converting finches from seeds to pelleted food? I seem to recall reading that if they are used to one, then it is tough to get them to switch. I currently offer my finches 2 cups with seed (a finch seed mix and goldenfeast), a cup with eggfood and then of course a millet spray - which they have been cleaning bare in 1-2 days!

[Ursula]

Millet spray is for birds like potato chips for us. They won't stop eating until it's gone.

Seedhopper type feeders help with the mess. (But of course that doesn't solve the millet problem. But millet should be a treat only anyway and not given too much.)

In case you don't know what a seed hopper is, here's a link: http://www.herbsnbirds.com/seed_hopper.jpg

[BigBear0007]

[quote="Ursula"]Millet spray is for birds like potato chips for us. They won't stop eating until it's gone.

Not when it's soaked and germinated.
The nutritional value goes up expenentially.
Any germinated seed is worth it's weight in gold.

The Bear!!

[Queen_Bee]

I'm going to try soaking the millet. Mine love it as it is, but if I can make it more nutritious and less messy I'll give it a whirl!

[ac12]

CJ
Depending on the bird, it can be VERY VERY hard to convert them.
You also have to be careful as some birds will starve themselves to death rather than eat something they don't know or don't like.

I used the method in the FIC.
- I replace their seeds with pellets before lights out.
- In the morning, I leave the pellets out for a couple hours, then I put the seeds back, so they don't starve.
- After a week if they have not eaten any pellets, I extend the time to 3 hours for a week, then to 4 hours. Usually by 4 hours they can't hold out and wait for the seeds and have started to eat the pellets.
- Once they start to really eat the pellets, vs. just poke at it, I don't give them seeds anymore.

I read some place that one person replace the seeds maybe two before lights out. That way, the birds can't load up with seeds before lights out, and will be more hungry in the morning.

If you have birds already eating pellets, that bird acts like a teacher bird. The new bird just follows and eats the pellets like the teacher bird does. I got a new gouldian that only ate seeds while in quarantine. But I got him eating pellets within a couple days once I moved him into the male community cage. All the other birds in the cage ate the pellets, so he just dove in with them.

[BigBear0007]

I just soaked some more of the millet spray, but it did not germinate.
So I soaked it again for another 18 hours and put in a dark place with a cover, and now it is germinating.
I gave some to all my birds this morning and you would think they haven't been fed for a month of Sundays.
So sometimes you have to soak it a little longer if it does not start to germinate.

The Bear,

[WhiteMagicWoman]

I minimized the mess by making a barrier of sorts around the seed cup. While it doesn't catch it all, it gets about 90% of it and keep the hulls from making a mess on the back of my couch.

I used a shoebox and cut it so there was just two sides left of a corner. Slip the bottom under the cage, and leave about 1.5 to 2 inches space between the sides of the cage and the box.

Ok, so it could look better, but it works and it saves me a lot of time trying to vac the hulls off of the couch (on the bottom right).

Pic: