Post by fred on Feb 19, 2007 14:00:22 GMT
The Dietary needs for finch breeding can be split into two sections.
Section One---Meal worms.
As meal worms are an easy form of live food to give finches that can be obtained from good pet stores as mini or normal meal worms.
As a breeder of Finches I do not use Meal worms as they are to high in protein and can make finches fat and lazy and can lead to death.
Gouldian finches love to eat meal worms as they are easy food but I have seen many breeders with sick and dead birds just about each death relates back to meal worms.
Parrot finches and Cordon blue,s like the odd meal worms but again they can not take them each day as the above applies to them as well.
The best form of live food for finches is Maggots not your house hold blow flys but a special fly called the West Australian fly.
They are a very small fly and need heat to survive.
Breeding fly,s as live food is easy once you know how.
I have made my own fly box about 24 inches square and 36 inches high with some fly mesh on the front of the fly box with a door big enough to pass a small ice cream container through a fly box this size can have 4 to 6 containers inside always being rotated once blow en.
A light fitting with a 60 watt light globe placed on the back wall of the fly box---this keeps the flys warm.
The mix for the flys is wheat bran and powered milk and a small amount of water.
About 4 hand full of wheat bran and one hand full of powdered milk mixed well with water to just make the mix damp then place into the fly box. Flys also need Sugar Cubes to Eat around 5 to 6 cubes a week is fine.
The flys will blow the bran and powdered milk within two to three days.
The maggots are small and they can be fed out each day.
You will notice the finches go for the live food and breeding will improve fast.
With breeding season I have 2 fly boxes going at once some of the flys will lay eggs in the mix some of the fly eggs can be put onto a stainless steal tray ( small size ) under the light to rotate the flys with fresh ones as the fly eggs take 3 to 4 days to hatch out.
Once you have the rotation system worked out you will never run out of live food.
The Bran has to be Wheat Bran Only the Powdered milk can be of any sort.
Plus Sugar Cubes.
I hope this help with your finch breeding.
If you need anymore information regarding the fly box please let me know.
Section One---Meal worms.
As meal worms are an easy form of live food to give finches that can be obtained from good pet stores as mini or normal meal worms.
As a breeder of Finches I do not use Meal worms as they are to high in protein and can make finches fat and lazy and can lead to death.
Gouldian finches love to eat meal worms as they are easy food but I have seen many breeders with sick and dead birds just about each death relates back to meal worms.
Parrot finches and Cordon blue,s like the odd meal worms but again they can not take them each day as the above applies to them as well.
The best form of live food for finches is Maggots not your house hold blow flys but a special fly called the West Australian fly.
They are a very small fly and need heat to survive.
Breeding fly,s as live food is easy once you know how.
I have made my own fly box about 24 inches square and 36 inches high with some fly mesh on the front of the fly box with a door big enough to pass a small ice cream container through a fly box this size can have 4 to 6 containers inside always being rotated once blow en.
A light fitting with a 60 watt light globe placed on the back wall of the fly box---this keeps the flys warm.
The mix for the flys is wheat bran and powered milk and a small amount of water.
About 4 hand full of wheat bran and one hand full of powdered milk mixed well with water to just make the mix damp then place into the fly box. Flys also need Sugar Cubes to Eat around 5 to 6 cubes a week is fine.
The flys will blow the bran and powdered milk within two to three days.
The maggots are small and they can be fed out each day.
You will notice the finches go for the live food and breeding will improve fast.
With breeding season I have 2 fly boxes going at once some of the flys will lay eggs in the mix some of the fly eggs can be put onto a stainless steal tray ( small size ) under the light to rotate the flys with fresh ones as the fly eggs take 3 to 4 days to hatch out.
Once you have the rotation system worked out you will never run out of live food.
The Bran has to be Wheat Bran Only the Powdered milk can be of any sort.
Plus Sugar Cubes.
I hope this help with your finch breeding.
If you need anymore information regarding the fly box please let me know.