hand feeding formula

[slwatson]

I'm pretty happy with my homemade egg food, but I need to find something else to add to make it crumblier and dry up quicker. I've read several recipes that had hand-feeding formula added. Does it matter how much I use? I usually make a batch with 2 dozen eggs at a time. I was also thinking of adding ground up spray millet and sunflower seeds. I use store bought egg food too, but I find I'm having to use a lot of it to get the mixture crumblier.

Thanks for the help!

[Sally]

My finches like their egg food pretty dry, and I prefer it too because then it can sit in the cage all day and not go bad, it just dries out. When I am making egg food, I also make big batches, 3 dozen eggs at a time. As I mix it up, I do four hard-boiled eggs at a time in the food processor, and it takes about 1 1/3 cups dry commercial egg food added to this to make it the consistency my birds like. For me, dry commercial egg food works better than handfeeding formula, simply because it would take so much formula to get my egg food as dry as I like. I think you can experiment with various things to add to your egg food to see what your birds will eat.

[lovezebs]

slwatson

I think you already know my egg food formula.... but just in case....

Hard boiled eggs (Peeled) and put through a garlic press
Crumbled Spray millet
Pulverized freeze dried mealworms
Store bought egg food

Lightly toss with a fork and serve.

I crush the egg shells and serve seperately.

The time I added hand feeding formula to it, it turned moldy within hours.

[slwatson]

Sally

Sally, I actually use your recipe, but I don't do four eggs at a time. I don't think I'm using enough commercial egg food either...do you use 1 and 1/3 cups per four eggs? If so, I've been doing it wrong.

[slwatson]

lovezebs

Yours looks pretty crumbly too...I add pulverized freeze dried meal worms instead of blood worms. I'm willing to try anything though to get it drier!

[ac12]

For egg food, I use a trick that Liz in Ontario Canada posted here.
- I boil the the eggs, then shell them, then stick them in the fridge for 8+ hours (this is the trick).
The fridge dries out the excess moisture, so that the egg is not so sticky when I chop it in the mini-food processor. If I don't have 8 hours, I will cut the eggs in half, then each half into quarters, then put that in the fridge. The cut eggs dries faster.

- I then cut the egg into half, then quarter the halves.
- Put the egg pieces into the food processor.
- Add about 1-2 teaspoon of cornmeal, to absorb more moisture. I have not tried commercial egg food for this purpose.

- I line a covered bowl with paper towel, to absorb moisture
- pour in the chopped egg
- cover with another piece of paper towel, which I will change after it gets too moist in a couple of days.

[Babs _Owner]

ac12 slwatson

Im to the point where I am going to try a dehydrator. In the southern states/ east side .....we have humidity that jumps up and down like a game of whack-a-mole.

So to keep it short, one day you have some safe eggfood, they next you have a MOLD FILLED bowl of death for the birds.

Not everyone's method is going to work.

Im in Virginia and I am experimenting with Debbies method of drying out egg on a plate. So Im 27 hours in, eggfood shows no mold and is dry and crusty.

So will my finches eat it? Some of my workdays stretch 10 hours, I cant just throw boiled egg out and chance it spoiling before I get home and wake up to dead finches. I have to admit, Debbies idea of drying out the boiled egg on paper is working so far..........no smell or green fungus on the eggs after 24 hours.

[lovezebs]

I think we all have to experiment with what works for us and for our birds.

It does depend on what part of the world we live in as well. Places with high humidity will need different mixtures and adjustments to recipes from places that are very dry.

My recipe, comes out crumbly but still a little moist. However, my birds like it that way. I put my eggs through a garlic press, not a food processor, (so it never comes out mushy), after which I add the other stuff, and toss it lightly with a fork.

[Stinch]

What can I do to make pastey eggfood into a more dry or crumbly one? Because I have several ant species currently in my house and because of mold. And what can I add/do to prevent ants from coming if it is wet or not crumbly/dry? How long does pastey/mushy eggfood last in the cage and in the fridge? I normally make had dry/crubly egg-food though.

[Sally]

slwatson Yes, I process four eggs at a time, that is all I can do in my food processor at a time without it turning into a mushy mess. I do add 1 1/3 cups Volkman's dry egg food to each four eggs, plus my vitamin mix, and pulse 4-6 times till just crumbly. This is still a little moist but not too much. I often mix in chopped veggies, and that adds some moisture. This is pretty close to what Helen does (though I think I add more dry food).

I agree with Elena, a lot depends on where you live. Areas with really high humidity, like Florida, might have to treat egg food a bit differently. And it depends on what your birds will eat. If I just mash a hardboiled egg and offer it to my birds, they won't touch it.

[slwatson]

Sally lovebirds act12 Babs Magnificent BirdMan

Thanks for all of the input!

Sally, I've been using your recipe this whole time, but only mixing 1 1/3 cups of Volkman's eggfood per dozen eggs...now it makes sense why it wasn't drier! I've used my mixer three different times to mash up my eggs. The first time it was like cake batter...the second time it was perfect...and the third time, it was a little mushier than what I wanted, but I was able to salvage it.

[cindy]

I use dried commercial egg food in mine from time to time...problem with using formula is it can spoil quickly. I use Roudybush formula and it is more powdery than other formulas. Most the time I usually just serve the boiled egg grated without the dried egg food, it is a pretty complete food as is. Other times depending if I am add veggies to the egg food I will add dried egg food to the mix.

[slwatson]

cindy

I've decided to not use the hand feeding formula...I just don't want to risk it spoiling. I might add some veggies too. The only birds I have that seem to like carrots are the parrot finches, so maybe the others will eat carrots if I add them to the egg food.

[debbie276]

I've used handfeeding formula for years without a problem of it going off. For 2 eggs I use about a tablespoon of formula. The only time I've had super wet eggs is if there was a slight crack in the shell and water got under the shell. Them I would just dry it with a paper towel before I smash it.
I would think wet vegetables would spoil quickly, though I don't add veggies to my egg food. I try not to dilute the egg with extra stuff otherwise they would have to eat more to get as much.

[slwatson]

debbie276

Thanks for the info...I still have a can of hand feeding formula in case I want to use it. I had to use a different brand of dry egg food last night when I made my new batch, and it actually worked pretty well making it crumbly. Sometimes I crack the boiled eggs and then mash them with a paper towel to soak up excess moisture without peeling the whole egg. It seems to help