Feeding I feed my birds Howard Martin budgerigar breeders mix, they also get hulled oats Jap millet and grey striped sunflower which has all been coated in Fossil Shell Flour. I have my birds on Avian Vitality Products and program http://www.avianvitality.com/ I Have been using the Avian Vitality products for well over 18 months and I have found a huge differences in activity, overall health and fertility, This year I have had the best fertility ever, 8 full eggs in every nest and from pairs that have been useless up until now some of them as old as 5 years. My seed storage bins have Fossil Shell flour through seed to get rid of moths etc , So this means in the birds feeder jars and aviary feeders all their seed is coated with FSF. Red Volcamin grit is given neat to breeders and aviary birds everyday as much as they want, birds just love it and Red Tonic grit 2 days a week, they go nuts over this one too. My Program:
AV BIRD FEEDING PROGRAM
* Avian B9 Multi-Vitamin – 3 times / week. 1 teaspoon – 2 kilos of seed * AV Gold Bird Oil – 1ml / 1kg of seed, in finger drawers. * VolcaMin Grit – given neat in aviaries and in finger drawers in cabinets.
3 days a week Gold oil is mixed 1 ml to 1 kilo of seed ratio , I add 1/2 teaspoon B9 and 1/4 cup of chia seed to this mix I put this in fingers drawers and the aviary birds get some too, I make up 2 kilos and I find this last me the 3 days
the next 3 days Gold oil as above : I make up 2 kilos and add 3/4 teaspoon of Gold oil. 1 teaspoon of beetroot powder, 2 teaspoons of seaweed meal, 1/2 teaspoon of spirulina powder , 1 teaspoon of Brewers Yeast, these products from Avian Vitality are super foods and 1 handful of sunflower kibble. I mix this thoroughly then dish up in finger drawers and aviary birds. The birds go nuts over it. You can make up smaller or larger amounts. 1 day free , just normal seed that is coated in FSF in the warmer months I leave out the sunflower kibble or just do a lesser amount.
2 days a week I add Protexon Probotic
SOFT FOOD In the breeding season my soft food consist of feeder oats, dry mung beans and grey sunflower, I leave the sunflower out in warmer months, these seeds are made up into a large container with lid as a premix and each day I take a margerine container of the mix and put into a large icecream container, I cover with about 3 or 4 litres of water and 1/2 a cap of miltern antibacterial solution used for sterilising baby bottles. I let this mix soak for 24 hours and then I put the mix into a colander and rinse thoroughly with clean running water, I do this each morning and evening. To my soak seed mix I add my premix which I make in bulk so it is available everyday, I got this recipe from The Challenge, it is Fred Sherman's soft food recipe and I and I adjusted it to my liking , and I have left out the baby cereal and I changed the soy milk baby formula to the lactose free baby formula because I have read on several sites where soy bean is a female hormone and it makes the cock birds infertile so I am avoiding it completely. My dry content consist of: In 10 litre airtight container I add half of pigeon race and breed pellets, 1/4 of Passwell budgie starter and 1/4 of Passwell egg and biscuit and a little bit of polento. All this dry mix is mixed thoroughly. For about 24 pairs and 2 large dishes I add one cup full of the premix formula to the soaked seed, a margarine of dried hulled oats. I also add breeders aide to my soft food just 2 caps full, 2mls garlic oil, 1 teaspoon of beetroot powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, I also add a shake of dried rosemary and mixed herbs and every other day I add egg and carrot, corn kernels and silverbeet. I have also got my hands on some dried meal worms so they are now added to my soft food...BUT I NO LONGER USE BROCCOLI BECAUSE THE BIRDS CAN'T DIGEST IT AND IT SHUTS THEIR THYROID AND THEY GO LIGHT AND DIE........I really love this soft food, it is so easy. I give this soft food to birds in the morning and evening. The birds eats this in no time , they just love it. I also give this to babies in the baby aviary and adult birds waiting to breed but adults waiting to breed only get it every other day
Babies in the aviary and breeding boxes with chicks get millet sprays, I believe it helps the chicks eat early. I use Red Volcamin grit with breeders and aviary birds everyday as much as they want, birds just love it. The birds get plenty of vegetables all year around , I grow it all, they get silverbeet, corn, carrots and leaves even the soil on the roots, parsley, mint leaves, celery and leaves , beetroot and leaves , salt bush., gum leaves , rose cuttings, wattle tree branches and other native tree branches that grow in my yard. They also get seedling grasses and milk thistle when the silverbeet is not abundant. I also hang cooked chicken , turkey and duck carcass in the aviaries, the birds eat them in no time, but I do avoid giving birds the carcass on really hot days.
race and grow pellets on the left and budgie mix on the right