Ideas for foods high in protein?

[Brette]

I can't seem to get my birds eat boiled eggs and i'm at a loss as to what else to give them that would contain high amounts of protein. Does that dry egg-food have a lot of protein in it?

argh!

[B CAMP]

I know what you mean mine will eat some and then they won't eat for awhile ,try mixing some fine chopped broccoli in it or different vegs. But yes the dry has a lot of protein and you can leave most in cage as it don't spoil like the homemade . but don't give up just try different ways to give it to them its good for them

[L in Ontario]

After I boil 1-1/2 to 2 dozen eggs - I let them cool completely and then toss 4 at a time into the food processor to mash, 'fluff up' and mix the egg with the shell. Then I pour the egg into a LARGE bowl and add previously soaked and drained SoakSeed as well as dry commerical egg food (like Orlux Tropical Finch Eggfood) to dry out the hardboiled egg even more. Sometimes I will toss some carrots and / or broccoli into the food processor to chop them up and add them to the mix as well. It takes a fair bit of dry commercial eggfood to dry out the hardboiled egg/soakseed mix. I stir until it is a nice crumbly mix then I scoop into ZipLok sandwich bags and freeze until I need one. I can get approximately 4 eggs worth into 1 sandwich bag.

When I retrieve a bag from the freezer and after it has thawed - I pour the contents into a large bowl again and add 1 teaspoon of Cod Liver Oil PLUS 1 teaspoon of Wheat Germ Oil. Mix well and if needed add more dry commercial eggfood.

My breeding birds feed this to the chicks and the weaned chicks flourish on this after being separated too. All my finches get this every day of the year.

[Brette]

Great suggestions, thanks you guys!

[batuhan]

spirulina: vegetal natural protein : Spirulina.......

batuhan

[nixity]

After I boil 1-1/2 to 2 dozen eggs - I let them cool completely and then toss 4 at a time into the food processor to mash, 'fluff up' and mix the egg with the shell. Then I pour the egg into a LARGE bowl and add previously soaked and drained SoakSeed as well as dry commerical egg food (like Orlux Tropical Finch Eggfood) to dry out the hardboiled egg even more. Sometimes I will toss some carrots and / or broccoli into the food processor to chop them up and add them to the mix as well. It takes a fair bit of dry commercial eggfood to dry out the hardboiled egg/soakseed mix. I stir until it is a nice crumbly mix then I scoop into ZipLok sandwich bags and freeze until I need one. I can get approximately 4 eggs worth into 1 sandwich bag.

When I retrieve a bag from the freezer and after it has thawed - I pour the contents into a large bowl again and add 1 teaspoon of Cod Liver Oil PLUS 1 teaspoon of Wheat Germ Oil. Mix well and if needed add more dry commercial eggfood.

My breeding birds feed this to the chicks and the weaned chicks flourish on this after being separated too. All my finches get this every day of the year.

Just out of curiosity how much (teaspoon wise) would you say you offer each bird, and how long do you leave it in the cage?
I've always avoided fresh eggs because I can't offer it daily otherwise I'd have to leave it the 9+ hours I'm at work.

This morning I woke up early to go walking with my fiance and dog.. so I used three yolks from some eggs he boiled (he eats the whites) and mixed it with a bit of corn meal and a pinch of Nekton (powdered vitamin). For the birds with babies, I then mixed it with some veggie mash, but I dumped it after an hour when I had to leave for work and most of them had barely had a chance to touch it.
I just felt too paranoid to leave it all day.

In terms of other high protein foods - certain seeds are higher in protein than others; but usually the caveat is they are also higher in fat, so you have to limit the amount you provide.
I offer my birds my own blended oil seed treat. It is a mixture of sesame, white and black lettuce, nyger, and fennil now (used to be flax, but they don't eat it) - I usually mix it dry with their sprouts and mash 2-3 times weekly for the breeding birds.

[L in Ontario]

I don't measure but it probably works out to close to 1/2 teaspoon for each bird of the mixture: hb eggs with shell, soak seed, commercial dry egg food and any veggies plus 1 teaspoon of Cod Liver Oil and Wheat Germ Oil for every 4 eggs. Sometimes there is leftover when I get home from work but usually the "plate" is cleaned off in each cage. I put the plates (actually lids from jars that I've run through the dishwasher) in the cages at 5:30am and collect them around 4:30pm every day to be scrubbed & washed for the next morning.

On another forum there is an experienced breeder who puts his plates of eggfood in the finch cages every morning and collects them only the next morning when he replaces them all... 24 hours later.

[MLaRue]

Liz,

Since feeding the oils on your eggfood every day do you find that any of the birds become over weight? Do you have to use a calcium supplement since using the two oils? What do you use to soak your seeds in?

Also, do you use a air purifier in your bird room?

I found when I mixed anything in my birds sprouts or soaked seed they would not eat anything. But when served alone they devour them.

[L in Ontario]

Liz,

Since feeding the oils on your eggfood every day do you find that any of the birds become over weight? Do you have to use a calcium supplement since using the two oils? What do you use to soak your seeds in?

Also, do you use a air purifier in your bird room?

I found when I mixed anything in my birds sprouts or soaked seed they would not eat anything. But when served alone they devour them.

Hi Misty - Only one finch is overweight - my Seagreen Parrot hen - I'm shipping her to my daughter at Thanksgiving - who has two large aviaries so the SP hen can work off all the goodies and get in shape for breeding. Her mate is not overweight nor any other finch. The SP hen is in a double-flight cage; her mate is in a single flight.

I give them calcium basically only when prepping to and actually breeding.

I soak my soakseed mix in a pitcher of water with about 1 teaspoon of ACV (never measure though) and rinse really well!

I do not have an air purifier - I do have a humidifer which only gets used in the winter.

When I put dishes of eggfood in the cages in the morning - every single finch will jump/fly down as soon as I'm a couple of feet away. I thought that was pretty surprising that every single finch will flock around the plates of eggfood at the same time!

[lovemyfinch]

I also tried putting it in and removing after 3 hours, but ended up leaving it in until I change the next morning. There is never any left when I get home from work.. I try to measure about a half tsp per bird except for those sitting or feeding...in which case I spoil(they deserve it).