Hi all,

 

I was reading in another post that birds liek eggs and sprouted seeds are treats. I know that a few of my seeds had sprouted under the budgie lawn when they got wet but i made sure i cleaned it all out. I was jsut wondering.. what is the ideal way of giving sprouted seeds? What type of seed? (just the type you give them normally?) how long to leave them sprouted etc etc...

 

Also egg? how would i do that? and do most birds like it?

 

Also while at a vet for Monty ( he had grazes on his feet and was getting treated for mites) they said that birds dont get enough vitamin A plus heaps of other vitamins that they need purely from their seed and my birds wont eat apple and brocolli as i've tried them several times. I know you can feed them lots of other veggies etc but what ones seem to be really popular with your budgies? I want to make them as healthy as possible but they just wont except a lot of things.

 

Thanks heaps

 

Helen, Pepsi and Monty

Hi! Mine love sprouted seeds, and they are so much more nutritious than dry seed. First get a good sprouting mix, or you can use the dry seed mix you feed your budgies as long as it doesn't have any seeds that are artificially colored. I just use a strainer/sieve and set it in a mixing bowl. First, rinse the seeds well, then cover them with water for about 24 hours. Dump the water (it will be a golden color) and rinse very well again. You should already see little white sprouts coming from the ends of most of the seeds. You can feed them then, or let them begin to dry and rinse them every 6 hours or so for another 24 hours. The trick is to get as much of the water OUT as possible after each rinse. I shake them several times and spread them as thin as possible in the strainer. If too much water is left on them, they will go 'off' very easily and begin to grow mold. If you sniff them, they really shouldn't have much of an odor at all, and will smell fresh. Make sure they are not very wet when you refrigerate them after you are finished letting them sprout and they will last longer.

 

As far as vegetables, mine really like baby spinach, baby carrots, parsley, carrot tops, and kale. They will also eat broccoli, green and red peppers, and some apple. It sometimes takes awhile before they will try a new food. Don't put a very big piece in at first...with things like broccoli if it is as big or bigger than their heads they usually are afraid of it until they know they can eat it and not the other way around. If you can get them to eat a cooked diet (you can buy these, like Beak Appetit or Crazy Corn) that is very good for them also. Mine eat cooked foods for breakfast every morning. It can be tough, but persevere! Best of luck.