Bag O'Bugs question

[cindy]

I would like to ask if anyone how long can you leave out Bag O'Bugs. I gave all the finches a separate dish of it to pick at.

I also leave the ground Roudybush/dried ABBA 92 out in a small egg cup. When I called ABBA they said you can leave it out for 2 to 3 weeks. I change it weekly when the cages get changed or if one of the birds soils it.

Each cage also has the dried Herb Salad out in a separate treat cup. The Owls, Gold Breast, RCCB really like it.

I am just a little concerned about leavinh the BOBugs out longer than it should be.

[Sally]

It is all dried bugs, so I would think you could leave it out till it gets eaten or soiled, or just looks funky. I only dump things like fresh eggfood on a daily basis, everything else stays in till needing replacement or freshening.

[CandoAviary]

I make a bug mixture for my red throated parrot finches.. Miracle meal, BagoBugs, Feast Insectivorous, orlux insect patee. I mix all together and then freeze all but about a weeks worth of thawed. I offer in a seperate feed cup. Most are refilled/dumped refreshed twice weekly. As long as it does not get wet or pooped on it is fine. There is no spoilage, as Sally stated, it is a dried product.

[cindy]

Thanks Candace and Sally. I was thinking of ordering Miracle Meal also. My birds for some reason just are not a big fan of greens. They like the dried herbs. I wanted to give them enough of a supplement even though they like the Roudybush.

Candace when you freeze the mixture, do you thaw it out on the counter or fridge the night before?

Do you freeze your dried egg food also? (if bought in quanity) I use ABBA92 with greens.

[CandoAviary]

I didn't know Abba had an egg food with greens I will try that stuff. I do use Abba 92 with seed. I also make a commercial egg mixture and freeze. I mix ABBA 92, miracle meal, Feast simple eggfood, Cede eggfood This mix periodically changes depending on what eggfood I have ordered. My bug mix will also vary. I package in freezer gallon ziplocks . These products do not frreze hard. so there is really no thawing. I have taken it straight from the freezer and fed the birds. It isn't really frozen, just cold. The container I feed from every day is kept in th refrigerator. I have those little refrigerators in the bird building and in the bird house. I try to keep all food as fresh as possible. I also freeze the seed. I bought a giant upright freezer just for bird seed and salt water fish foods(frozen plankton, mysis and brine shrimps, silversides, bloodworms, krill, seaweed, cyclops, etc) I buy seed 300 pounds at a time...... I also bag this in ziplocks and make mixes. The only seed I find I need to thaw before feeding is some of the small hookbill food that I feed my scarlet grasskeets. Also the dried fruits. The only thing I do not keep frozen or refrigerated is the millet spray..... 25 pound boxes are too big. I try to use it up before it can go bad. In the Florida heat and humidity it can go bad quickly so I have been known to bring it into the guest bedroom under airconditioning to store. I use to run the air condition in the gouldian breeding building but this summer I did not. The birds did better than ever with just opened wired door and vetilation fans.

[cindy]

Candace,

Bird Supply NH has the ABBA92 with greens. My birds love it. It has a lot of fruit and assorted green in it. Mine just don't take to the fresh greens that much with the exception to the owls and Helenas, they are little pigs.

https://www.birdsupplynh.com/catalog/pr ... bf5d0f518a

[L in Ontario]

I buy seed 300 pounds at a time......

300 pounds of seed at a time?!?! Holy cow! I thought I bought a lot of seed but it just doesn't compare!

So exactly how many birds do you have altogether The curious NEED to know

[Sally]

I can't imagine ordering that much seed at one time--you must have a huge freezer! I'm with Liz, curiosity is killing me--just how many birds do you have, Candace?

[cindy]

Head count please!

I get 25 lbs and last for about 2-3 months.

[CandoAviary]

LOL... I have a 6 foot tall, humongous bird food freezer.... I though every one did this. I buy my seed like 4 times a year.... Smaller eggfoods and specialty foods more often. I have the 300 pounds freight shipped from ABBA in New Jersey. Freight shipping is much cheaper. I usually order 100 lbs of finch, 50lbs canary, 50 lbs song food, 50 lbs parakeet, 25 lbs small hookbill, 25lbs fruit and nut treat, 25 lbs parakeet treet, 15 lbs mineral grit, 25lbs eggfood. Actually my orders are more like 400+ lbs
I buy goldenfeast, rowdybush, zupreem fruitblend, and the other bug / egg foods from other companies in 2, 5, 10, 25 lbs. units.
Always buy 25lbs boxes of millet.
Here is my freezer getting light.Down to one bag of canary and low on my grasskeets treat and seed. When full each shelf is doubled lined with ziplock bags full. In the door is where I keep my eggfood and bug mixtures.... And I have 2 small refrigerators in each of the bird buildings for soon to use stuff and medicines/suppliments.
Bird count follows:





91 gouldians.... not counting 5 nest with chicks and 5 nest w/eggs
30 goldbreast....give or take a few
150 zebras.... give or take a dozen
19 Red Throated Parrot finches
14 grasskeets
10 societies
4 orange weavers
3 canaries
So somewhere around 321 birds.....and counting
Come spring I plan on selling at bird fairs. The majority of gouldians were my chicks born last year...35, and chicks born this year 45 so far. I started with 1 pair that had 5 dhicks. I went to buy mates for them.... along with a couple of yellow backs and the lilac chest that I could not resist. These pairs had 35 offsprings last year. I paired some of the offspring up and so far this year I have had 45 chicks on the perch so far this year.... it hasn't taken long to increase the flock. By spring they will have colored out and I will keep the lines I want to continue to work with and sell the rest..... I never realized that gouldians would breed so readily I think I need to try something like strawberries

[cindy]

Candace, That is one mighty big fridge!!!

That is also some head count in regards to your finches. Tell me, you didn't just do that did you?

[CandoAviary]

Do what... The headcount? lol... I just happened to chart who was who ( by band color as I have seperated them by sexes) in the Gouldian grow out cages yesterday and while I was at it I did a head count...that is how I new I had 91..... I have at least 15 chicks in nest also
I always know the numbers on the others except the zebras and goldbreast. Those are a little harder to count as they are in species flights. On the zebras I did do a count and recorded the colors and sexes when I put them all loose in the winter aviary.... I have it written down somewhere...150 is a close estimate though. They do not have nest in there... so 150 is what should come out The goldbreast will be counted, sexed and seperated when I catch them up for winter resting (which is soon I Have a couple of nest with soon to fledge I am waiting on.) The gouldians are easy to count because they are housed individually or by pairs(if breeding) the young are now no more than 4 to a grow out flight and I have 4 pair in the large aviary. I have every cage numbered and a list of who in each one. Makes things a lot easier

[lovemyfinch]

Candace

[CandoAviary]

You know when you live in a hurricane prone area...you had better be stocked up..... My birds would not go without

[carmena]

Candace,
Are you going to go to the Pompano Beach fair this month???