Hi peoples,

 

I was talking to a long time breeder (58 years) who origanly came from England. very experienced.

 

He told me that the seed we buy here in Australia can be to dry, because of the vaiables of our weather.

 

He suggested to mix Olive oil in with the seed to aliviate this problem, it helps alot with digestion while giving protien etc...one importent thing the oil does is assist big time with egg laying hens.

 

I've been doing this for a while now, you can imediately see the differnce in seed texture, the birds seem pleased with it as well.

 

What do we think.

Interesting concept What quantities and proportions are you using ?

 

PS The violet dominant pied boy I got from you is a real charmer....sings his heart out and talks away to himself or anyone who cares to listen......tries to woo his sister....I called him Valentino

I had been sort of thinking along the same lines but was thinking of Cod liver oil and Safflower oil instead.. The Cod liver oil helps in giving the birds an extra Iodine intake as well as extra vitamins and the Safflower oil is rich in essential fatty acids (Apparently) This is something i've read in one of my birds egg food recipes and thought about using it in the seed also

Cheers :beer:

Una

Interesting concept What quantities and proportions are you using ?

 

PS The violet dominant pied boy I got from you is a real charmer....sings his heart out and talks away to himself or anyone who cares to listen......tries to woo his sister....I called him Valentino

 

I bet you he's a happy boy with all those hens you've got for him to chase.

 

With the seed, I mix up a 5kg bag in a bucket which has a lid.

 

I put say a third of the seed in and then pour the oil in, when you start mixing it with your hand you can see

as the seed becomes moist.

Then I do the next third as before and so on, don't be to worried if it looks to oily or clumps together because

after a couple of days it seeps into the seed and then becomes less oily.

 

If I have a guess I probably pour in over a half a cup, some times more if the seed seems to dry.

 

You end up with a slight oily hand, however you can feel the texture better with your hand other than a glove.

 

 

I had been sort of thinking along the same lines but was thinking of Cod liver oil and Safflower oil instead.. The Cod liver oil helps in giving the birds an extra Iodine intake as well as extra vitamins and the Safflower oil is rich in essential fatty acids (Apparently) This is something i've read in one of my birds egg food recipes and thought about using it in the seed also

Cheers :beer:

Una

 

Yes Una, I do know about Cod Liver oil, howeverif you use kilos and kilos of seed the Cod Liver oil works out to be to expensive.

 

The olive oil does what you want it to do, that is moisture back into the seed with adding some protien and will help with egg laying.

 

I find if you want extra Iodine I use a Iodene block.

 

Thanks Una for your imput

Could someone convert the metrics for me please? How much seed is 5 kg?

Thanks,

Shell

Could someone convert the metrics for me please? How much seed is 5 kg?

Thanks,

Shell

There is 2.2 lbs to the kilo if that helps.................... :hap:

5 kg = 11 pound.

Does it keep okay with the oil- if it were sitting for a bit, the oil doesn't go sour?

Might give it a go- any oils you shouldn't use with birds (besides the obvious!!)

5 kg = 11 pound.

Does it keep okay with the oil- if it were sitting for a bit, the oil doesn't go sour?

Might give it a go- any oils you shouldn't use with birds (besides the obvious!!)

 

The longer its got to soak in the better, if you are worried just mix smaller lots at anyone time.

 

I have never had a problem with olive oil and have never had a problem with it going sour.

 

If you stick to the oils we can digest (like olive, vegetable, canola etc) you will be right.

just curious.. by adding oil to the seeds, would that like add extra fat content to the sometimes already fatty food?!?!

 

i would have thought for such a small little creatures, even the tiniest added oil would mean a huge amount of fat going into their little bodies.. afterall, in comparison for their size, that'll be like us human eating four table spoon of oil per meal or something....

just curious.. by adding oil to the seeds, would that like add extra fat content to the sometimes already fatty food?!?!

 

i would have thought for such a small little creatures, even the tiniest added oil would mean a huge amount of fat going into their little bodies.. afterall, in comparison for their size, that'll be like us human eating four table spoon of oil per meal or something....

 

Hi Cheeta, the oil is replacing in the seed what it has already lost.

The angle here is to put back what the seed has lost and at the same time it is

beneficial to hens when egg laying eg: helps to decrease the chances of egg binding.

 

So if you are breeding, the birds do need to retain a certain amount of fat while they are feeding.

 

As well with my birds I feed them all whether breeding or not, with a budgie breeder mix which

does not contain major fats in seed like oats.

So the amount of oil you add is not a problem.