Bird Diets:

For Finches:-

Seed diet is our base diet for all our finches. A good quality finch mix (plain canary seed, red pannicum, jap millet, niger, rape, hulled oats, green panicum) is used for all our finches. Of late we have been using avi grain, although this is the base. We are always adding extra grain for all parts of there diet depending on whether birds are sitting on eggs or have young and what type of finches are in that particular aviary.

Along with dry seed mix we offer our finches a soft food mix as well. Here is an example of some of our recipes:

Egg and Biscuit mix:-
2 hard boiled eggs
1 teaspoon of cod liver oil
1 teaspoon of wheatgrem oil
1 teaspoon of glucose powder
2 tablespoons of arrowroot biscuits
2 tablespoons of dried breadcrumbs

Once all mixed together we add grated carrot, broccoli and cucumber and feed out fresh daily.

A good clean fine shell grit mixed with charcoal is always offered.

Another mix we use is:-
1 tablespoon of raw wheat germ
1 dessertspoon of semolina
1 dessertspoon of rice flour
1/2 teaspoon prolac
10 drops infant pentavite
Add a hard boiled egg and mix well

All these mixes can be found in Russell Kingston Keeping & Breeding Finches and Seed Eaters (a must to own if breeding finches).

I prefer to mix up my soft foods in small amounts to make sure food is fresher this way.

Parrot Diets:

Same as our finch diet, we start off with a base mix. For smaller parrots its avi grain love bird mix. For large parrots its avi grain parrot mix. We then add extra grey sun flower seed, hulled oats, safflower seed, pellets, nuts dried fruits, etc.

We offer bake carrot and banana cakes for the parrots, they love it. Calcium is given via cuttle fish and via there water.

Additives to seed mixes are also given in oil form. Breeder's aid, cod liver oil and oliver oils are used. Oils are used at a rate of 5 to 10ml per kilo of seed stirred in well and then left to soak for at least 12 hours before feeding to the birds.

We also provide fruits and vegetables (this list is just to long to write, but if they eat it they will get it)

Our Aviaries:

All of our aviaries are of conventional style. All are made out of 1" x 1" box tubing with solid walls (tin) so birds can not see the pairs beside them, just the pairs across from them. No same pairs of parrot are paired up in sight of each other.

All our parrot aviaries are fully roofed and have a suspended section at the rear of them, this is the area were fruits and vegetables are fed. This area also has a sprinkler system in it so birds can have a shower during the warmer weather. All our parrots aviaries are fully concreted.

Our finch aviaries are all planted aviaries apart from the holding aviaries which are conventional style. Our planted aviaries all have a catching feeding room attached to them. These rooms are also used to lock birds down during the colder months of the year.

Medication:

All our birds are treated with appropriate drugs for the control of worms, parasites and coccidia. For any other illnesses an avian vet is consulted and a course of action is taken.

The most important method for good health is fresh water out of a clean bowl every day.

Tips in the hobby of bird breeding:

Your routine is very important. Find a method that suits your lifestyle and stick to it. Its no good running around like a chook with your head cut off. Always listen to blokes that have been doing it for a while and have a bit of success. Don't be scared to try something new. Be confident in what you do and in what you keep. Don't be scared to ask a question or 10.

My thoughts on aviculture:

25 years in it, hope there is another 25 to come plus a few. Loving the birds you keep not the money they bring. They are my birds, I own them and I will sell them for what I think they are worth (remember all price lists are a guide only) to build on my collection.

People making a full time living on birds, GREAT, hat off to them if they can, I hope to also one day. Keeping our hobby a viable one. Getting the best quality birds you can afford and then breeding them. Making some great friends along the way and always learning.

Massey.