Chicken feed for aviary birds??

[ilikepigeons]

I was wondering if anyone knows if you can feed small aviary birds (finches,lovebirds,budgies) Pullet grower mash? Or is it not safe?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

In general, they can safely be fed chicken feed. Grower mash is probably safest as it is higher in protein and lower in calcium than other chicken feeds. The fat content is likely similar. Adding some fruit and mealworms to your cage birds may be advisable.
Will this be a temporary measure?

 

[ilikepigeons]

In general, they can safely be fed chicken feed. Grower mash is probably safest as it is higher in protein and lower in calcium than other chicken feeds. The fat content is likely similar. Adding some fruit and mealworms to your cage birds may be advisable.
Will this be a temporary measure?

Thanks for your input. If I were to use it, I'd probably hope to use it long-term. I'm trying to find a feed similar to small bird pellets that isn't as expensive in large amounts.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Ive used 22% chicken feed for my budgies while molting I soften it though

 

[Rosa moschata]

I would not recommend this as an only-food. Maintenance diets for small birds are typically about 15-17% protein and 6-7% fat. Breeding or molting diets would be about 20% protein and 12-15% fat. Poultry grower feed (18% protein, 1-2% fat) is meant to put on muscle, and at a lower fat percentage, that means more feed consumed to hit daily calorie intake, and therefore more total protein consumed per day. If small birds were to be eating this as their only source of food, they'd eat more of it to meet calorie requirements because of the lower fat content, and thus eat more protein daily than needed. Besides that, there are likely differences in vitamin and mineral levels. And one reason poultry feed tends to be cheaper than "cage-bird" feed is that poultry have greater tolerances for lower-grade ingredients and bacterial content.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Chicken feed is also cheaper due to the economy of scale. There are way more chickens in the world than cage birds. In fact, more chickens than virtually every vertebrate. Especially true for vertebrates in captivity.
There just isn't the market for tonnage of cage bird food.

 

[jak2002003]

None of my aviary birds will eat chicken feed or chick starter. I tried as I though it would be good for them when moulting or rearing young.

There is some in there all the time for my Chinese painted quails (the only ones that will eat it).

My pigeons did like the layer pellets though.

You need to feed proper bird food including fresh greens, sprouted seeds and egg food. Not forgetting cuttlefish bones and mineral blocks....for seed eating birds.