Finch Thread—Discuss and Show Off Your Birds

[BantyChooks]

All mine eat pellets as their daily base diet, and did not resist them from the first try, though my parakeets refuse them thoroughly. I use Lafeber canary pellets for them all.

My budgies are being brats about the pellets as well, though I was able to get them to accept the nutriberries, which I figure is at least a start. I'm still hopeful that they'll give in and eat more of the pellets eventually. I've seen evidence that they're at least picking at it.

 

[Pyxis]

My budgies are being brats about the pellets as well, though I was able to get them to accept the nutriberries, which I figure is at least a start. I'm still hopeful that they'll give in and eat more of the pellets eventually. I've seen evidence that they're at least picking at it.

Cricket was a bit tricky (my cockatiel) but he's fully on Harrison's pellets now. The natural coloring helps, I think, and he also eat Roudybush and Zupreem naturals, but both of my cockatiels prefer the Harrison's so that's what I use.

I used the method of mixing in with the seeds and just slowly upping the pellet-to-seed ratio.

Harrison's also makes a bird bread that's basically made of their pellets, so if you can get your budgies to eat that, they'll be used to the taste of the pellets and will eat them easier. That is actually a conversion method they recommend on their site and they used it on a pair of difficult budgies that would only eat millet.

 

[BantyChooks]

I used the method of mixing in with the seeds and just slowly upping the pellet-to-seed ratio.

Yep, that's what I've been doing for the last several months. How large are the pellets in the brand you use? I was thinking about lightly grinding them and seeing if bite-size pellets are received any better.

Harrison's also makes a bird bread that's basically made of their pellets, so if you can get your budgies to eat that, they'll be used to the taste of the pellets and will eat them easier. That is actually a conversion method they recommend on their site and they used it on a pair of difficult budgies that would only eat millet.

I might look into this. My two are fairly receptive to new veggies but pellets has been a bit of a roadblock.

 

[Pyxis]

Yep, that's what I've been doing for the last several months. How large are the pellets in the brand you use? I was thinking about lightly grinding them and seeing if bite-size pellets are received any better.

Harrison's has three sizes, super fine, fine, and coarse. I use fine for the tiels, but super fine might work well for your budgies. As a bonus, super fine is also the size used for finches, so you might be able to get all your birds on them.

 

[BantyChooks]

Harrison's has three sizes, super fine, fine, and coarse. I use fine for the tiels, but super fine might work well for your budgies. As a bonus, super fine is also the size used for finches, so you might be able to get all your birds on them.

How about the nutrition profile? Does it match the needs of both species?

 

[Pyxis]

How about the nutrition profile? Does it match the needs of both species?

That I haven't checked into, since I don't keep finches. I know it's great for both cockatiels and budgies. I do know that a Gouldian breeder (I was looking into getting Gouldians) was recommending the brand for them. They don't make a pellet just for finches like Lafeber's does, though.

Harrison's does have two formulas, high potency and adult lifetime. All small birds are recommended to start out on High Potency, and then some species can stay right on it (cockatiels are one of those species) or you can switch them to the Lifetime formula after six to eight months.

 

[Serin]

 

[BantyChooks]

 

[BantyChooks]

New budgie cage! I'm getting a similarly sized cage for my finches shortly. I'm planning on adding another pair of zebras or potentially societies.

 

[Serin]

Societies may get attacked, I never mix those species.
If you do more zebras, add four and not two and keep sexes equal. Four birds will fight a lot, six becomes a flock where nobody can bully anyone else too much.