Feeding our birds.
How do we define management?
To me it means the care and attention needed 24/7 to keep my birds fit,healthy and content in the best enviroment i can provide.
in the wild state the small thin green budgies lived in flocks millions strong.they migrated within the continent following the seasons foods,the food they found in the semi-tropical shrubland of australia was very varied and so different from todays diet,the main intake was seedling grasses,plants and supplemented by some varieties of tree leaves,small twigs and even insects and beetles.the budgie was well able to keep himself supplied with a healthy balanced diet,now he can only take what we give him.
a breeder would possibly buy canary and millet seeds and mix his own choice that he considers best,this is not as nutritious as in the wild so it needs a good deal of supplements,the birds need something extra.pet owners buy a ready mixed seed with a built in supplement but the birds still need more.
in addition to the basic seed diet-even when supplemented - a budgie requires grit,to aid the digestive process and get the maximum benifits out of the hard seed kernels.cuttle fish bone to supply extra calcium for promoting bone and feather growth,an iodine block to grind his beak and absorb several mineral salts contained in the block and of course fresh water daily,i would reccomend this is boiled and cooled before supplying it to the bird.
Feeding.
Give your budgerigars seed,water,grit and calcium and they will survive,we need a little more than survival.
We need to supply vitamins, A is necessary for young birds and vital for the health of the skin and feathers,B is the main source of the physical energy required and aids the nervous systems smooth running, deficiency of vitamin C causes skin diseases,D vital in the bone formation and vitamin E prevents sterility and increases fertility.
I supply Abidec a mult vitamin which must be blended in the correct proportion and not overdosed,two drops maximum to one pint of water,this will supply your birds with vitamins A,B,C and D. Vitamin E is found in high concentration in most grains.
My seed mix is Johnson & Jeffs expert budgie mix,tonic seed and groats.
Care must be taken in the storage of your seeds they must be kept dry and free from vermin.
You must have a system of feeding one for the non breeding season and one for the breeding season,keep a record if things go wrong you can refer back to your feeding programme and see if anything changed,you may have missed something out or added something new that affected your breeding season.
The non breeding feeding programme.
Johnson and Jeffs Expert budgie mix containing plain canary and mixed millets,plus a small portion of dry groats weekly,a small feeder of Haiths tonic seed with a few millet sprays once a week.
A treat is offered at least three times a week the favourite being corn on the cob.
Cuttle fish bone,iodine blocks and oyster shell grit are available all year round.
When discussing grit, it is important to realize there are actually two types: soluble and insoluble. Soluble forms of grit include cuttlebone, oyster shell, limestone, and gypsum. Soluble grit is dissolved by acids as it passes through the bird's digestive system, therefore there is little danger of it accumulating in the digestive system or causing an obstruction. Because it dissolves, it does little to aid in the digestion of whole seeds. It does, however, serve as a source of calcium and other minerals.
Insoluble grit is generally in the form of silica, and may range in size from sand to small pebbles. Insoluble grit remains in the gizzard and is thought to aid in the mechanical breakdown of food.
Birds have a muscular portion of the stomach called the gizzard, which grinds and crushes food. The smaller particles, then, are more easily broken down by digestive enzymes as they pass through the digestive tract. Some wild birds eat grit, which passes to the gizzard where it helps in this grinding process. It aids in removing the outer fibrous shell around some seeds (e.g.; sunflower seeds), if the shell was not removed with the beak prior to the seed being swallowed.
All birds always have a finger drawer available of a cattle supplement called Thrivon Plus which is high in protein and contains cod liver oil.
I add Abidec one week per month to the water and every three months i add Ronivet (s) supplied by Vetafarm,this helps keep my stud free from disease.Do change the water daily.
The breeding season feeding programme.
On the build up to the breeding season and prior to pairing up my birds now receive the mixed expert seed plus extra plain canary seed ,soaked groats three times per week,millet sprays every other day,egg food with added grated carrot three times per week and corn on the cob twice a week.Remember supply plenty of grit,charcoal,thrive on,iodine blocks ,cuttle fish bone and clean water.
Softfood is supplied each day to all my breeding pairs, this is Biovit egg food , grated carrot and garlic powder , mixed and served moist. On alternative days i will add grated sweet apple or sweetcorn to the egg food.
Egg food , grated carrot and garlic powder.
Twice a day am and pm walk the birds,take a good look at all your birds on your walk around the birdroom,have you any birds fluffed up,huddled in corners,check the cage floors can you see any green droppings if yes that bird needs heat,isolation and plenty of fluids.
Now we have the basic diet what should we not give them,tit bits from the table are forbidden,what is good for them is fruit now and again-apple pear or orange-and of course a little greenfood daily.a little lettuce is probaly the best because of its GENTLE laxative effect,but cabbage,cauliflower,broccoli,sprouts and corn on the cob in lesser quantities.
Any uneaten greens or soft food must be removed each night,it will cause harm if it becomes stale.
A pet budgie leads a very sedentary life compared with a wild bird-or even one in an avairy-and the lack of excercise from which they suffer can lead to our equivalant of middle age spread which may cause trouble with the digestion.the proper aid to efficient digestion apart from proper food and excercise is grit.
When we eat food we swallow it straight into our stomachs where very powerful liquids work on it until it is reduced to a condition where the stomach walls can absorb the nutriments and pass on the waste into the intestines-and of course our bodies are conditioned by this process.anything hard we cook first.
Our budgies are fed on hard dried seed without any previous softening process,the seeds are first de-husked in the beak and then hard kernels are swallowed into the crop,digestive juices not as strong as ours and a muscular motion grind the seed kernels into a paste,this is where the grit is valuable with a portion of grit in the crop the grinding process is accelerated before the food goes on its way.Always encourage a young bird to eat grit,put some on the cage floor and in a pot,once they develop the habit of eating grit it will continue forever.
THEY WILL ONLY EAT WHAT'S GOOD FOR THEM-don't believe it todays budgie is a product of over a century of domestication and they have forgotten the call of the wild and the need to survive the wild elements.
the responsibility of his welfare depends on you,get it right AND you will reap the rewards tenfold,i do.
so that's the first requirements for positive health- a natural diet with no frills and table tit bits.
Well fed and content. 
For a long time aviculturalists have used sprouted seed to supplement the diet of breeding birds. The benefits of sprouted seed cannot be disputed, however, a perfect technique is necessary to eliminate the potential problems associated with the sprouting process.
The benefits
Sprouted seed provides the feeding adult with all the benefits of a seed diet together with a palatable source of easily digested energy and protein for the growing nestling. For this reason the feeding process is less strenuous on the breeding pair and there is less likelihood of the “poor parent syndrome”. Babies fed a mixed sprouted seed diet readily accept a varied balanced diet as fledglings. Sprouted seed is not necessary outside the breeding season
The Equipment
Glass and stainless steel is preferred to plastic for the soaking and sprouting containers. The porous nature of plastic prevents the sterilisation of a container contaminated by bacteria or other disease forming germs. Glass and stainless steel are easily sterilised in boiling water or with appropriate disinfectants. Plastic can be used successfully until infected, however thereafter it will be impossible to control sprouting related diseases in the aviary.
The Seed
The seed, above all else, is the most important part of the sprouting process. The seed type, quality and cleanliness are equally important.
Seed Type
The seed type used depends primarily on the bird species involved . Small birds may eat the sprout but not the kernel of large seeds and thereby miss out on the full benefits of the sprouting process. The larger birds can be given both the larger and smaller seeds.
A variety of seed types is recommended so that the nestlings will accept a varied diet as fledglings and adults.
The main seeds used for sprouting are the “oil” seeds (high energy and high protein) although often the “starch” seeds (high energy low protein) are best given before hatching and when the young are fully feathered. The high energy and high protein seeds such as sunflower, rape, lettuce, and the legumes (i.e. tic beans etc.) are easy to sprout and highly palatable. The “starch” seeds such as the millets, canary, oats, wheat and milo should be given for variety and for the correct protein balance. Some seeds such as
Seed Quality
There is no nutritional value in a seed (except
Seed Cleanliness
Most seed merchants realise the value of clean seed for the prevention of disease. Dusty and unclean seed is more likely to be contaminated with bacteria and fungus than a seed that has been cleaned.
Seed grown by irrigation is sometimes contaminated by fungus. Fungus infections are a common cause of illness and breeding failure. Sunflower, safflower, the millets and corn are the grains most commonly affected. Any suspect grains should be cultured and titrated in order to detect the levels of contamination with fungus and bacteria or be left in direct sunlight for several hours before being used for sprouting.
Seed Sprouting
The Process
The correct sprouting process must be used in order to minimise the potential problems associated with the technique. The water used for soaking seed should not come via a hose pipe or other plastic pipe. These can harbour bacteria. Distilled water (boiled and allowed to cool) is the ideal.
1. Soak seed for 12 hours in a sterilised container (preferably glass or stainless steel) using clean seed.
2. After 12 hours strain seed and wash repeatedly until the water is clean. Abort the process if the seed has an offensive odour at this time. The seed should have a sweet smell.
3. After the cleansing and straining, leave strained seed in a warm place repeating the above process at least twice daily.
4. On the third day (depending on the temperature) the seed should be sprouted enough to feed to the birds.
5. The sprouted seed is then rinsed clean and then soaked in Aviclens (made by Vetafarm) diluted 1:1000, for 10 minutes before the final rinse. Aviclens may be safely used in the water during the complete process whereas a bleach can only be used for the final rinse. Aviclens is recommended in all stages with the sprouting of suspect or untested seed.
6. The unused sprouted seed should be discarded after 12 hours.
Summary
The breeding performance of an aviary is improved with the proper use of sprouts. Seed cleanliness and quality together with good hygiene and Aviclens, guarantees the successful use of sprouts
Well fed healthy adults will breed well fed healthy chicks.
2008 CHICKS.
Test your milletspays for fungi.
Place some milletsprays on top of a piece of white paper. If there are fungi on the sprays you will see a lot of "dust" on the paper in one or two days. You can remove the fungi by soaking the sprays overnight in a solution of vanadine or virkon s ,i always then rinse in clean cold water before feeding them to the birds.
The Miracle Cure And Garlic
The Australian Budgerigar Council recommend adding a few drops of raspberry cordial to the birds water,this will help keep the birds water clean and bacteria free.Pure raspberry juice is the best option diluted to one in ten.It will kill E coli and salmonella.
Garlic.
A blood purifier and aids circulation and also acts as a deterrent against nites and insects.The birds exclude the smell through their pores and the crawlies cannot tolerate it.Available in powder form for sprinkling on your soft food.A natural de-wormer for worms.
