Finches and Egg Food

[Leo519]

Hello All,

What are your thoughts/opinions/experiences with store bought dried egg food vs. mashed hard boiled egg for your finches?
And what are the pros and cons for each type?

On a side note: I am getting back into finches as pets/hobby (not interested in breeding - have males only).
The last time I had finches was about 30 years ago when I was a kid. And back then as you all know there was no Internet to find answers to your questions.
At that time I bought a pair of Zebras from the neighborhood pet store with my allowance, gave them bird seed and water, changed the paper on the bottom of their small cage once a week, and figured that was all there was to it.

Now that I'm older and wiser ( - that second part is up for debate LOL) and have since learned that properly providing finches with good nutrition and care for their well-being involves much more than what I had thought when I was a kid.
I had never even heard of egg food for birds until recently!
Turns out it's quite a science - giving our finches the proper amounts of nutrients they need, and I don't want to fall into the uninformed trap of thinking "Well, if a little XYZ is good for them, then twice as much must be twice as good!"

Thanks everyone for any expertise you can share about egg food (fresh or dried)

[lovezebs]

Leo519

Hi Laura...

I guess we all had birds as kids, that lived on seeds and water , although mine used to also get a bit of bread soaked in milk, hard boiled egg and lettuce (when I thought of it).

Anyway, regarding egg food. My guys, are not too keen on the store bought product. Mine like the real thing. Boiled eggs, put through a garlic press, with crumbled spray millet mixed into it.

~Elana~

My Zebras, Societies, Gouldians, Parrot Finches, Stars, Canaries, Budgies, and Cordon Bleus all love it. Even some of my tiny Wax bills eat it.

[kyro]

I give my finches store bought egg food since I'm kinda lazy

Actually when I was new to the hobby more than 15 years ago, I gave hard boiled egg mixed with wheat germ. The finches really enjoyed it but it was an ant magnet. I gave up when ants bit several of the birds and I lost some of them and others were injured.

I''m now mainly using Versele laga/Orlux egg food but I do sometimes give hard boiled give.

[Sheather]

I have 37 (or so) birds who go through one hard-boiled egg, smushed and crumbled in a little bowl, daily, every day, all year long. I would go broke buying fancy eggfood for the amount they eat, and instead I just make up a batch of a dozen eggs every couple weeks and keep them in the fridge.

Some people provide egg food only weekly or not at all outside nesting, I use it daily as part of a balanced diet and every bird uses it, though it can take time for birds who have never had it and have nobody to learn from who likes it to learn to taste it. Some days they lick the plate clean and occasionally almost none gets touched, but I always provide it. It's also good to provide some greens every day if you can. I put out a plate of romaine lettuce and broccoli every day (I go through a head of both weekly), and I try to supplement with other greens (kale, spinach, chard) and add in a few grapes or apple slices two times a week if I'm able. Beyond this, a good seed mix is all you need for a healthy mixed diet (I keep all sorts of different birds so I offer three distinct seed blends and two sorts of pellets, but this is more than the minimum needed to maintain just a couple birds). Seeds are better than pellets if you offer a mixed diet with lots of fresh foods but for the owner unable to provide this, a diet of only pellets is way better than one of only seeds - a bit boring, but nutritionally complete.

[lovezebs]

fetching

Mix spray millet into your eggs ( instant delicacy and finch magnet).

~Elana~

[lovezebs]

fetching

If your guys eat this mix, then by all means. I never say that my stuff is better than someone elses. My opinion is, whatever works for you and your birds. If your birds are happy and healthy, that's all that matters.

~Elana~

[MiaCarter]

I'm like Sheather.
I serve fresh eggs daily and they just love them. I go through about 1 egg/day for 22 birds. It's always polished off so I think if I gave them more, they'd probably eat it!

It's like a birdie superfood, as it's packed with all sorts of great nutrients.
It's also a great method for giving them powdered meds and supplements. If I put it on the eggs, I can rest easy knowing they'll definitely eat it!

I make a batch of eggfood every 3-4 days.
I'll do 4 eggs cooked in the microwave. Then I mash them up with a fork and add in the crushed shells. I then add a couple scoops of handfeeding formula. (It's packed with great nutrients, plus it's only good for a finite period before it expires. So better to use it up, right?)
That gives the eggs a drier texture and they seem to prefer the egg food with handfeeding formula over just plain eggs.

I've tried commercial egg food products and they get totally ignored. There's no interest whatsoever.
In fact, I couldn't even give it away to the outdoor birds, which surprised me as they usually eat anything/everything. Therefore, I suspect that it's not the most palatable food. But I admit I've only tried two brands. Skipio and some other brand that I got as a free sample from Laraine.
I didn't push the issue, as I think the fresh stuff is better.

[steve]

Leo519, I mix the store bought egg food with the boiled egg, spinach, carrot, beetroot, corn, broccoli and bottle it, freeze and use daily, most of it gets eaten. I also feed greens and mealworms.

Steve

[Leo519]

Thanks everyone for all the neat ideas - I love how everyone has their own thing!
Gives me ideas to try with my birds.

I have since tried mashed hard boiled eggs which half of my birds have taken to, and also found what seems to be some decent store bought egg food, which the other half of my birds are eating, and some of them eat a little of both. I ordered some powdered sea kelp and will add that to the mix when it arrives.

So a few days ago I noticed that one of my two B&W mannikins REALLY digs the fresh hard boiled egg, and fresh greens. (The other one is definitely a male)
I wasn't sure of its gender, but I now know it's a female because I discovered an egg in the nest! (The nest I thought they were using only for sleeping!)
I also saw the male go through some courtship behavior and he mounted the female a couple of times.
But I digress, as this is starting to lead to more of a post for the Breeding category and I'm sure I'll have questions about that very soon