What do you feed your finches?

[Dragooness]

I did not see a thread like this, and it's always nice to see what everyone else dose.

Here it goes. My finches always have seed in their cages, pet store finch seed. I also always have pellets, game bird crumbles, and a mix of oyster shells, charcoal, and vitamins.

I am looking for new brands/sourses of all of the above, I have been told my brands are awful.

I also feed them fresh eggs, baby food, and whatever veggies I have in the fridge.

[Colt]

Their diet consists of a finch seed mix, XS Zupreem Fruitblend, and Roudybush Nibble sized pellets in a 50/50 ratio as this bunch of birds has been much harder to convince them pellets are good to eat. Spray millet is offered a few times a week as a foraging treat. A mixture of my own crushed egg shells, Kaytee's Forti-Diet High Calcium Grit (mineral mix), and Higgins Snack Attack Mineral Grit: Oyster Shell and Mineral Grit is offered freely. Obviously they have drinking and bathing water available at all times. A blend of dry commercial Quiko's Classic, Goldy, and Exotic eggfoods are offered freely. Homemade eggfood consists of hard boiled eggs run through a garlic press mixed with Exact handfeeding formula, freeze dried bloodworms, and usually a few spoonfuls of the Quicko Goldy. Bee pollen, spirulina, dried greens, and herb salad are offered occasionally, as well as live meal worms.

[lovezebs]

Hi Dragon Lady.

A high end mixture of different finch and canary seeds. Fortified bird grit that smells delish. Cuttle bone and vit/mineral block along with crushed dry meal worms.
Hard boiled eggs, sliced, chopped, grated, squished with shell. Depending on the mood of the day. I also save all my egg shells and wash them, boil or bake them, then crush them into tiny bits.
Apples, pears, grapes, strawberries, banana, and once in a while a half of a mandarine orange.
Romaine lettice, cucumber, broc, beet stalks and leaves, swiss chard (both red and green), curly parsley, spinach,rappini, kale, carrot greens, grated carrot, cooked carrot, cooked peas, cooked corn nibletts, baby spring mix.
Tomorow going to try some cuscous and see if they like it.

I think that about covers it. I choose different items each day and offer several choices so that it doesn't get boring. I offer veggies chopped, diced and hanging up from cage sides in large pieces.

My guys love it all and greet me every morning with screams of anticiation. Oh and don't forget the water for drinking and bathing, before and after meals.

[monotwine]

Although I'm pretty sure we have discussed this at some time in the past, searching food or seeds brings up 100's of pages of options so near impossible to nail it down to a thread.
Naturally feeding our birds is a hot topic at least once a year if not more.
What I offer:
Stable diet of mixed seeds. I mix my own depending on whats available.

Seed mix.jpg (89.73 KiB) Viewed 1659 times

In winter they will get a mix with seeds higher in oils such as linseed, canola etc.

Added to that in their breeding season they get fresh soft food each morning. It consists of commercial egg food, soaked or sprouting seeds, finely chopped seasonal veg and rarely, unless I have softbills in with them, some soft fruit like pears or paw paw, apple.

Vegetable salad with peas carrots corn cabbage broc.jpg (67.4 KiB) Viewed 1659 times

They love peas, cucumber and corn on the cob (uncooked). Sometimes I will add rice or cous cous to their soft food.
It does not take them long before they polish it all off. Especially if there is young in the nest.

morning grub.jpg (84.84 KiB) Viewed 1659 times

Live plants are in the cage too so they help themselves to pollen, seeding grass, new buds etc. I also grow some weedy grasses for green seed.

Bugs fly in and don't fly out , plus I offer them meal worms and fruitflies.


That's about it, other than the usual side offering stuff grit, water, cuttlebone.
I opt to give them vitamins, electrolytes and calcium separately on a as and when I think necessary basis.

[mayble]

Good topic - I always enjoy hearing how others "in the trenches" do things on a daily basis!
I make my basic eggfood with boiled eggs and Harrison's High Potency Mash with sunflower chips and a bit of cornmeal. I'll usually add freeze dried bloodworms or Insect Treat, and a bit of shavegrass.
Veggies consist of broccoli slaw (prepackaged broccoli, carrots & cabbage) run through the chopper, with some collard or turnip greens if I have it on hand.
For my basic seed mix I'm currently using Kaytee Supreme Finch and add different seeds according to the species' preference - canary and safflower for the Desert Finches, white millet and safflower for the Javas, white millet and oats for the Societies and red millet for the waxbills. I found the 25# bag of Kaytee is very reasonably priced at my local pet supply store, and doesn't have much in it that my birds don't eat.
I also offer sprouted seed (usually white & red millet and canary) regularly.
With a full time job, I'm all about simplicity on the weekdays. On the weekends I get a bit more creative and use some different veggies and greens.

[lovezebs]

monotwine
Hi.
A little off the topic, but I love your parrot finches. The yellow/green in the background of picture, what is he, never seen one like that before?

[Colt]

I believe that is a seagreen mutation.

[lovezebs]

Colt
Hey there. Thanks. Didn't know they came in that shade. Quite pretty.

[monotwine]

Spot on Colt.

[Dragooness]

I'm going to try some baby food (green peas) this afternoon and see what the little guys think.