LIVE FOOD

[cindy]

Dan, chilling the small fly size crickets works great, we used this method for small reptile hatchlings. It slows them down and makes for easy prey.

I tried mealies on the owls but never the tiny crickets. Have you tried crickets on owls, if so do you find they like the crickets or mealies?

[dan78]

Cindy got the idea from a old breeder as I was stumped of how to slow them and not let them go wild in the aviery, once the crickets do reach the width of a pea then my birds don't seem to won't them.
As for my owls (double bars) I don't see them eat alot of live food they do seem to love a Green seed mix which I purchase from a company here in Australia called Greens and grains or the fresh green seeding grass heads, when they do go for live food they do eat some crickets more than mealies but would prefer the maggots most. These are one of the few which don't eat alot of live food.
Being a bloke which has breed alot of birds which require live food to rear young I have found that termites to be the best food, being a few hours drive from a constant source.and buying them is hard and expensive I don't use them. Second is maggots they are my birds favourite, they are easily breed in a good setup which my mate does for me and him and easily brought from a supplier . Third is the humble cricket, some birds will do fine on these and mealies but some don't seem to eat them at all. I would say about 70% of my birds will eat them while the other 30% just not interested. Fourth is the readily available mealworm what can I say everything will eat it but not to be the only livefood as just like us birds can get bored eating the same old. Take my cordons, they will eat mealies but won't raise a full clutch just on them, I will get a single bird raised on mealies if I get one at all,I'm still trying to get cordons that will raise young just on mealies.

[cindy]

Dan, I tried the dried insects, none of them touch it.

We have not had a stock/colony of crickets in the house for about 3 yrs now. The fly size I could get in the 1000's delivered over night, the larger medium size I agree are way to big, and tough for finches (fine for larger reptiles).

My owls relish fresh grass seeds, boiled grated eggfoods, greens and pellets. They are not difficult to please.

My shaft tails raised young on mealies then stopped downing them and prefer eggfood.

Zebras, lavendars and green singers like eggfood. I have not tried live food on my lavendars as of yet.

I may try the fly size crickets on the owls and lavendars see how they do with it. I have also been using a powdered eggfood.

[Seasprite]

Has anyone tried "phoenix worms"? They're black soldier fly larvae. I used to feed them to my water dragons, which I don't have any more, because they're REALLY nutritious and have a great calcium/phosphorus ratio, and you don't have to worry about them biting like you do with meal worms. Plus they can't hop or climb up a vertical glass or ceramic wall. They're really expensive - I used to order them online but now see them in stores now and then. I started raising them myself in compost. The adult flies are gentle and slow and have no mouths, so it's not as icky as when the maggots hatch at all. I still have a colony in my compost, was poking around here to see if I should be feeding them to my zebra parents, but it doesn't look like anyone here is feeding them to zebras - I think I'm off the hook ;)

http://www.phoenixworm.com/servlet/the- ... rison/Page

[monotwine]

I rear my own mini mealworms which my birds take with gusto, however I do supplement them with freeze dried mealworms too if I run low. Initially they were not happy with ‘dead’ ones, but I mixed them up together and they were happy to take the soaked dried worms along with moving ones. Now I can offer them dried and they will take them that way, but I prefer to soak them a bit and give them that way.
I’ve also notice my CB’s take the heads off first – but I think this how they kill their food. Once they fling the worms aside mine usually go back to take the bodies. Perhaps a high sided container / shielded area will help them to find their decapitated worms in a cage set up and not waste so much.

I have fruit flies on the wing for the birds too. I keep a container with well ripe and rotting fruit outside my aviary under the sheltered area out of rain (which kills the flies and maggots if the container gets drenched). This is the breeding tub. The fruit flies arrive and breed their maggots in there. For feeding I then put another container out (old 2l ice-cream container) inside the aviary with a wire mesh cover to keep the birds from the fruit. In this one I put the fruit flies favourites – overripe banana’s, melons or pear and citrus . The adult flies flock to this fresh source which is a hop skip and a jump from their breeding tub outside the aviary. They supply my birds year round if I keep them supplied with old fruit.

I’ve not tried maggots yet. I would like to, but first need to set up a space to house the fly box and electrics to keep them warm.

Then my birds also catch whatever is out and about. Crickets that venture into my aviary never leave. Worms, grubs, beetles, flies, moths… they all run the finch / quail gauntlet!
The only insect to get out alive is a Praying Mantis. They are quite scary when they threaten the birds. Even my quail leave them be.

[Seasprite]

so.. I'm sure this is a stupid question but, do the finches catch the flying fruit flies?

[Sally]

They sure do! And no such thing as a stupid question. I know a woman who raises Strawberries, and she puts buckets of ripe fruit in her outdoor aviaries, just as Monique does. She swears by this method.

[Seasprite]

Oh how fun, I'm going to try it! I wish I knew last week, I just got over a fruit fly problem in the kitchen.. maybe there are still a few stragglers

[bugaboo5]

I know some people collect their own live food (in the woods, their yards, etc). I was wondering if anyone has successfully tried feeding the grubs of the Oriental Beetle (Anomala orientalis)? Or even earthworms? When I'm digging about in my garden, I come across tons of white grubs of the Oriental Beetle. They gross me out so I usually have a jar or container next to me, which I use to remove them from the ground to dispose.

I'm wondering if it would be poisonous to my waxbills to offer these grubs? Perhaps it might not even be worth the risk? I just thought I'd ask, as there is a bounty of these white grubs in the ground during the spring and summer months.

[Sally]

I have collected ant eggs from hills in my pasture, using mason jars, then put the jars in the freezer. It was impossible to collect the eggs without also getting a lot of ants. I used a large serving spoon to scoop into the hill, at which point the ants would pour out. One scoop into the jar, and the ants were already attacking. Slap a lid on the jar, then proceed to the next hill, using another jar. It was a lot of work for not a lot of return, and I got fire ant bites in the process! If anyone has a better method, I sure would appreciate it.