Help with Finicky Gouldians

[Gawain1974]

Help! I need your advice on how to get my two male Gouldians to eat something other than their finch seed and millet. I've tried giving them mashed up boiled egg and assorted greens, and they just ignore anything but the seeds. I only give them a spray of millet once a week. I've also offered Lafeber's finch pellets in a treat cup, and they ignore those as well.

My next step is to try to make a mash out of the pellets and seeds to slowly acclimate them to the pellets, but I don't know what to do about the greens or eggs. To supplement their protein, I've been adding dried insects (housefly larvae and crushed bodies) from ladygouldianfinch.com to their seed, and they do eat that. If they take the nasty dried up flies, do I need to worry about the eggs since they are getting some protein?

Ideally, I'd like to get them switched over to the pellet died and only offer the seed as a treat since it seems to be a more balanced diet, but considering how picky they are, I don't have much hope for that, lol.

Your suggestions are much appreciated.

[debbie276]

I'm not sure that mashing the seeds will be a good idea. Gouldians are seed eaters so it's natural for them to want to eat seeds. First thing in the morning I would take everything out except the mashed hard boiled egg. After an hour or two I would put back the seed. You could also try to mix a small amount of eggs in with some seed to try to get them picking around in it.
My goulds do not like wet egg so I add some exact handfeeding formula to the eggs to make it drier. I also run the boiled egg through a garlic press so they look like little worms. Spread the egg out on a dish thinly so that it drys out as time goes by.
Egg is the perfect food so if you can get them to eat egg I wouldn't fret over the other things.
Good luck

[cindy]

Instead of the brand of pellets you are using try the Zupreem finch pellets. They come in fruit flavor or natural. I tried the Lafeber's and mine would not go near them. The love the fruit flavor Zupreen. I also use the Roudybush Nibble size, sometimes that is ground into the dried egg food.

[lovemyfinch]

Keep persisting. Mine wouldn't eat any of their veggies in the beginning and now they all flock to it in the morning. Also since adding some hulled millet to their eggfood they are going crazy for it. Sometimes we just have to change their recipes a little to get them to go for it. In my veggie food, I started adding couscous, I think they thought it was seeds so they then started.

[L in Ontario]

You could also try sprinkling a little of the dried insects on top of the eggfood. Perserverance pays off.

[ac12]

(edited)

I used the method in the FIC
http://www.finchinfo.com/diet/introducing_new_foods.php

- I remove the seeds just before lights out.
- Then in the morning, soon after the lights turn on, I put in the food I want them to learn to eat; egg mix or pellets.
- I leave that out for a couple hours, then I put the seeds back.

If they don't eat the new food for several days, then I increase the time an hour (to 3hrs) for several days
If they still don't eat, then I crease another hour (to 4hrs) for several days.
The tricky thing is they will soon learn that if they "hold out" the seeds will come back to them. So you have to get past that hump, where they are hungry enough that they will try the new food. Mine always ate the new food before or by 4 hours. If you get one eating the other will soon follow.

If you have other passive birds, put them w the gouldians and they will teach the gouldians to eat other food. This is what I did with some of my goulidans. I have a hen that did not eat anything but seeds. Putting her with other birds that ate egg/veggi mix got her to start eating egg and veggi. Monkey see...monkey do.

For my birds, I give them a mix of veggies, egg mix and sometimes a pinch of seeds. The seeds helps to get them to the dish, especially in the beginning. Once they regularly eat the veggi/egg mix I stop adding the seeds, except as a treat.

My egg mix is
- hardboiled eggs (3 yokes + 2 whites)
- commercial dried egg food (Orlux) (1 rounded teaspoon)
- miracle meal (1/2 rounded teaspoon)
- organic corn meal (1 level teaspoon)
Then I grind/mix it in a mini food processor. The food processor does a better job than a fork.
The corn meal and egg food are added to dry out the egg, so it isn't pasty. I also put a piece of paper towel in the bottom of the container to absorb additional moisture.

I use both LaFebers and Zupreem. The birds seem to prefer Zupreem. I think because the pellet is about the size of a millet seed. I use the Zupreem natural (brown colored). I used to use the fruit flavored, but their poop would be colored, and that color would stain the perches.

[Gawain1974]

Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely give them a try!

[ac12]

oops, sorry, I'm trying to remember what I did.

I think I gave them the new food for 2 hrs before putting the seeds back for several days.
If that failed, then I would increase to 3hrs, for several days.
And if that failed, I would increase to 4hrs, for several days.
I have never had to go beyond 4 hours...yet.

Basically, you are trying to get their hunger (after not eating anything all night) to get them to try the new food.

As I mentioned, it is like dealing with a stubborn kid that does not want to eat his vegetables. You just have to outlast the bird. This is why you increase the new food time, so it become harder and harder for the bird to "hold out." And sooner or later it will be hungry enough to eat the new food.

[Gawain1974]

Are any of you familiar with Goldy Egg Food for insectivores?

[franny]

Is that the stuff made by Quicko? Sold by Petsmart? If so, my goldbreasts absolutely loved it. They preferred it over the real eggfood, so I started mixing it with my boiled eggs to get them to eat it. I think it's better than any other I've tried. Not so many big insects which they don't touch anyway.

Unfortunately, the Petsmart near me did a major remodel of the store layout (moved the birds from a centre aisle to a back wall, so they are not constantly having people walk by them on both sides of the cages, which is great). But they then discontinued carrying the Quicko Goldie Eggfood. Now they don't have it in either regular or insectivore... I can't seem to find a local source at all and will have to try to find it online now.

Where did you get yours?

[Gawain1974]

Yes, it's the stuff made by Quiko. I'm gonna start introducing it tomorrow since I want to finish up my second round of S76 (I'm pretty confident my guys don't have air sac mites, but I figured I'd treat them anyways so I don't have to worry about it again in the future).

I picked mine up at a local Wisconsin pet store chain--Animart. I didn't see the regular egg food, just the egg food for insectivores, but I didn't look very hard (I saw this and I stopped).

Here' s a link where you can order it online from Animart: http://www.animartpetstores.com/quiko-g ... oft-bills/

[Gawain1974]

Ok, this is just too funny. My boys have always ignored mashed up boiled egg, but they are going absolutely NUTS for this Goldy's Egg Food, and they're even munching the little insecty bits. Well, at least it's some sorta egg product. Now if I could just get them to stop ignoring their greens--they're as finicky as I am. If they eat this egg food, do I even need to bother with real eggs? I don't mind buying it, I'm only feeding two birds and not an entire flock.

[franny]

Ok, this is just too funny. My boys have always ignored mashed up boiled egg, but they are going absolutely NUTS for this Goldy's Egg Food, and they're even munching the little insecty bits. Well, at least it's some sorta egg product. Now if I could just get them to stop ignoring their greens--they're as finicky as I am. If they eat this egg food, do I even need to bother with real eggs? I don't mind buying it, I'm only feeding two birds and not an entire flock.

I would agree, that if you are not breeding them (i.e. they are not feeding babies), you don't need to feed real egg. The only reason you might want to get them used to eating the real thing, is so that they are familiar with it and will eat it, down the road if you breed them and they need to feed it to babies.

But in my opinion, if you just intend to have the two birds, like I do, I seldom bother with the "real thing" anymore. They both prefer the dried eggfood. I suppose that even that would do for feeding babies, if you moistened it first, and perhaps added some nestling food to it.

Thanks for the tip on where to order more. I'm getting low and they DO love it!

[Gawain1974]

I had you confused with someone else, Fran, so I didn't realize you lived in Canada when I posted that link. I'm not sure if Animart ships to Canada, or how expensive it'd be if they do.

[franny]

I had you confused with someone else, Fran, so I didn't realize you lived in Canada when I posted that link. I'm not sure if Animart ships to Canada, or how expensive it'd be if they do.

No problem. I buy online for other things too. There are only one or two Canadian online sources for many of the products I like, and they are back east in Ontario - and Canada Post charges so much for shipping! I actually get a better deal ordering from the US! I buy most of my stuff from Fairest Finches, but they don't sell the Quicko products.

It's not that I buy a lot (Michelle won't get rich off my orders, with only two birds), but maybe it's because I only have the 2 to worry about, that I don't mind spending a bit more, to get what they like.