How to get African finches to eat softfood?

Learn what to feed your birds.
Post Reply
A.J.
Pip
Pip
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 1:26 pm
Location: South Africa

How to get African finches to eat softfood?

Post by A.J. » Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:26 pm

Hi All

Me again how do I get my african finches to eat soft food? Or how else can I them to take in more vitamins and calcium and so on? At the moment its only my parrot finches,cubans owls and nuns that are eating the soft food.

Does someone have any idea's?

wellingtoncdm

Re: How to get African finches to eat softfood?

Post by wellingtoncdm » Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:22 pm

I have heard of people "gut loading" the mealworms with everything from dog food and chick starter to hand feeding formula. The african finches get it by way of mealworm.

User avatar
CandoAviary
Good Egg
Good Egg
Posts: 8554
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2009 5:21 pm
Location: Panama City Beach, FL
Contact:

Re: How to get African finches to eat softfood?

Post by CandoAviary » Mon Jun 06, 2011 5:22 pm

I have gotten some to eat boiled egg by grating them so they look like meal worms...I do a mix of meal worms and the egg stips. Most times the finches will so for the freshly shed white mealworms so many times they will go straight for the white boiled egg :wink:
Here is a pic of my egg strips and a few dark mealworms... didn't have any fresh shed this day
Image

Now most all of my finches will eat it like this... some with added nestling food/vitamins.
Image

User avatar
Justin-2-finches
Flirty Bird
Flirty Bird
Posts: 238
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2011 7:01 pm
Location: Nottinghamshire UK

Re: How to get African finches to eat softfood?

Post by Justin-2-finches » Mon Jun 06, 2011 5:34 pm

I have found too that some finches just will not eat softfood or greens and sometimes never will. But try giving them Soaked/sprouted millet sprays. Soak them for 24hrs then drain off and leave them to sprout untill sprouts are about an inch long. all my finches love it, even the ones that wont touch any thing else, and it is really good for them. Give them vitamins etc in their food/water and you could try feeding the softfood to your mealworms before you feed mealworms to your birds, that way your mealworms might have a bit more goodness inside them.
15 Gouldian, 40+ mutation Zebs, Societies and 1 Cut-throat (the only one i ever bred)... plus babies everywhere

User avatar
L in Ontario
Mod Emeritus
Mod Emeritus
Posts: 13365
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2006 10:29 am
Location: Barrie, Ontario Canada
Contact:

Re: How to get African finches to eat softfood?

Post by L in Ontario » Mon Jun 06, 2011 6:40 pm

I'm not sure what kind of African finches you are referring to but my Senegal Fires eat the eggfood just mushed up with soakseed mixed in and even some minced veggies.

You could try giving them just 1/2 teaspoon of eggfood and sprinkle some of their seed on top of it. That will entice them to the small dish of eggfood.
Liz

ac12
Molting
Molting
Posts: 6421
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:39 pm
Location: California, SF Bay Area

Re: How to get African finches to eat softfood?

Post by ac12 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 6:41 pm

It took several months, but my fire finches are eating egg.
I put the chopped hard boiled egg with veggies.
At first they would only eat the green leafy veggies.
Then the started "trying" the egg, and now they eat the egg. Not scarfing it all down, but they are eating it.
Gary

gouldians (GB,YB,BB), blackbelly firefinches (trying to breed), societies (foster parents).
red factor canary

User avatar
Sally
Mod Extraordinaire
Mod Extraordinaire
Posts: 17929
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:55 pm
Location: DFW, Texas

Re: How to get African finches to eat softfood?

Post by Sally » Mon Jun 06, 2011 10:56 pm

Finches are just like people, in that some of them will absolutely devour eggfood, others pick at it, and a few refuse to eat it. Actually, none of my refuse it, but it took a bit of time with some of them. I mix soaked (just chitted) seed in with mine, and most of the birds go right for it. This is what most of my parents feed to their babies, and my weanlings will clean the plate of eggfood.
3 Purple Grenadiers, 1 Goldbreast + 1 cat.

National Finch & Softbill Society - http://www.nfss.org

A.J.
Pip
Pip
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 1:26 pm
Location: South Africa

Re: How to get African finches to eat softfood?

Post by A.J. » Tue Jun 07, 2011 1:30 am

I've got green twinspots, red wing pytilia's, black and white manekins and blue caps. I see the blue caps sometimes pick at the soft food.

I mix some veggies and sprouted seed with the soft food. I'm gonna try some vitamins in the water for say 2 days of the week?

User avatar
Jayburd
Nestling
Nestling
Posts: 79
Joined: Tue May 17, 2011 12:08 am
Location: Canberra, Australia

Re: How to get African finches to eat softfood?

Post by Jayburd » Tue Jun 07, 2011 2:44 am

perhaps they just don't like it.
But otherwise, get yourself a canary and/or a red faced parrot finch and they will teach your africans what to do ;)
Image

Jayburd%20from%20canberra%20

Post Reply