I went to my seed merchant this week and bought 3 X 20klg bags of my normal budgie mix, today I opened the bags, put my glasses on, and checked the seed. I am amazed at how small each grain of seed is, the millet is tiny. Even the plain canary seed is small. So this has got me thinking, here in Australia we have had drought conditions for 12 years [ or is it climate change] this is having a huge impact on our farmers and on the grain they are able to produce. I remember 15-20 years ago feeding my birds both white and jap millet that were double the size of todays crop. I wonder about the nuitrient value of this tiny seed.

Does anyone know of recent studies on the nutrient value?

Anyway, I have decided to change the feeding program I have used for many years. During the breeding season I have fed suppliments such as soft food mix, additional grains such as sunflower, safflower and oats and additional vegetables. I am now going to add these all year round to suppliment the diet. I will also resourch vitamin and mineral suppliments which I have used sparingly in the past.

I know climate change has altered how I house my birds, I now have a cooler in the avairy. On hot days I give my birds ice blocks, but I'm seriously looking now at their diet, I just don't believe they are getting enough from their natural diet.

Clearwing

I haven't really notice the difference in the size of the seed but you are probably right CW, I do believe there is not the nuitrient value in the seed as there was before the drought.

Last year I got a couple of bags of bad seed, it looked good and smelled fine but the birds were always hungry. In the breeding cages the babies were screaming for food. The adult birds empty the jars out straight away like they were looking for something.

So I rushed to Howard Martin and bought seed there and then th e birds were content.

So I do believe you need good seed to have happy healthy birds.

CW are you going to do your usual wet feed mix all year around now.

You would have to take it easy on the oats, safflower and sunflower this time of the year.... wouldn't you?

Splat

My birds are on the "off" season right now and I'm trying to get them to drop a bit of weight as some of them are definitely 'portly'. But I still give the young uns soft food daily.

 

I am thinking that the shrinking seeds may also have something to do with your supplier. I got some plain budgie mix last week and was surprised how big the millet and hulled oats were. But who's to say they weren't even bigger in years gone by?

 

I will get some more today and post pics for comparison.

Yes Splat, that is my intention, but the soft food may only be twice a week. I fly all my birds in one flight all year round, hens, cocks, young hens & young cocks only UBC's have a seperate flight. In 48 years I've never had a problem with overweight birds, wish I could say the same about myself.Yes Renee, my birds are also in the "off" season, but I'm begginning to build them up for the show season and my first breeding period which is in March. I devide the year into four natural seasons and only breed in Autumn and spring the birds are in thr flight in summer and winter.I think that perhaps as you are on the opposite side of the country to me, your farms may not have been effected in the same way, my bird seed comes from NSW. and there is definately a huge difference in the seed to what it was years ago. The white millet in particular was large, roung and quite milky looking, now it is small and looks dry.

Adding to what Renee said about seed brands..........I have just changed to another brand of seed as my budgies for whatever reason werent eating the canary seed much in the other seed blend........the new brand I am using has much larger seed....millets etc.

Any as far as seed over here goes, 99% of it is brought in from the eastern states and not local at all.

Edited January 23, 201015 yr by KAZ

In 48 years I've never had a problem with overweight birds, wish I could say the same about myself

Gee CW your showing your age here..

But seriously I wish I could say that.. I made my birds very fat this year mainly teh breeding one, think over fed them. They went in the breeding cage and came out to heavy to fly

I think my birds are like me (just have look at food and on goes the kilos :fear

Edited January 23, 201015 yr by splat

ever since i changed to the club seed my birds have been hungrier

its very dry and although looks good i feel they preferred the other brand better

how ever i put half half finch also in their mix so i was going to look into buying all my seeds seperatly then mix my self

do many others do this

as its said that certain seeds are better for nutritional values eg jap millet and pelenium seed (the orange colored one i cant pronounce name their for cant spellit sorry ) i was told canary really isnt best seed to make most of their diet up

 

what seeds are most important can any one help with that ????

Hi GB, check with other members of the club as to how their birds are going. I'm not sure where your seed is coming from now, but for many years Gippsland club used my mix which is Plain Canary 50% White millet 20% jap millet20% Panicum 5% hulled oats 5%.

I found that a good all year mix but added extra bits during breeding season

This is the seed I was using ( Golden Cob )

 

 

and the seed I am using now

 

 

My birds get soft food and vegies all year round.

Good photos KAZ, I like the look of the second seed, it looks fuller if that is a word, it seems to have more life in it, I like the colour of it better than the first photo. What brand is the second?

Hi GB, check with other members of the club as to how their birds are going. I'm not sure where your seed is coming from now, but for many years Gippsland club used my mix which is Plain Canary 50% White millet 20% jap millet20% Panicum 5% hulled oats 5%.

I found that a good all year mix but added extra bits during breeding season

 

thats what it still is by looks

know one elses birds are thin as such so

i add hulled otes to all breeding cages in seperate dish and charf lossen ginniping rabbit poulty mix (can be used for all three written on packet vet approved ) in their also seperate dish they get water crest and either spinich or silver beet aple carrot and corn in breeding cages

GB, If the birds are fit and well, the only other seed I would add is either sunflower or preferably safflower[it is smaller and easier for budgies to eat] it really helps add weight to the birds.

This is the seed I was using ( Golden Cob )

 

 

and the seed I am using now

 

 

My birds get soft food and vegies all year round.

 

WOW Kaz golden cob is meant to be the choice seed and the price of bag of that has sky rocketed, but your golden cob looks awful compared to the picture below.

This is my seed mix I use but I do add extra canary

Edited January 23, 201015 yr by splat

okay, as promised here is a photo of my seed mix.

 

I did give them Golden Cob Supreme Budgie Breeder mix for the entire breeding season last year but now they are getting a 2:1 mix of Golden Fields Budgie Mix and Golden Fields Finch Mix. My supplier guarantees me the quality and to date I have been very happy with it.

 

Overview:

 

From I what I have seen the straight Budgie Mix is a 3 seed blend of Hulled Oats, and 2 Millets. There is panicum in the Finch Mix plus I think Jap Millet .... probably more but I don't know how to identify all seeds.

Edited January 23, 201015 yr by renee

Good photos KAZ, I like the look of the second seed, it looks fuller if that is a word, it seems to have more life in it, I like the colour of it better than the first photo. What brand is the second?

 

This is the seed I was using ( Golden Cob )

 

 

and the seed I am using now

 

 

My birds get soft food and vegies all year round.

 

 

The brand is called Triangle........I will check on if it comes in from over east

Edited January 23, 201015 yr by KAZ

Thanks Kaz that would be appreciated, I haven't heard of that brand.

I have never heard of it either, maybe it's a western Australian brand.

I went to my seed merchant this week and bought 3 X 20klg bags of my normal budgie mix, today I opened the bags, put my glasses on, and checked the seed. I am amazed at how small each grain of seed is, the millet is tiny. Even the plain canary seed is small. So this has got me thinking, here in Australia we have had drought conditions for 12 years [ or is it climate change] this is having a huge impact on our farmers and on the grain they are able to produce. I remember 15-20 years ago feeding my birds both white and jap millet that were double the size of todays crop. I wonder about the nuitrient value of this tiny seed.

Does anyone know of recent studies on the nutrient value?

Anyway, I have decided to change the feeding program I have used for many years. During the breeding season I have fed suppliments such as soft food mix, additional grains such as sunflower, safflower and oats and additional vegetables. I am now going to add these all year round to suppliment the diet. I will also resourch vitamin and mineral suppliments which I have used sparingly in the past.

I know climate change has altered how I house my birds, I now have a cooler in the avairy. On hot days I give my birds ice blocks, but I'm seriously looking now at their diet, I just don't believe they are getting enough from their natural diet.

Clearwing

 

I think you are right - seed has changed over the past 10 years. With regard to the nutrient value of seed, that is determined a great deal by the chemical properties of soil in which its grown. Australian soils are generally regarded as been of poor quality and being deficient in some of the macro plant nutrients ie phosphorus.

 

The problem we have is bird seed is regarded as a sideline by most growers, not the mainstay of the grain growing business, therefore the agricultural inputs that a grower may use on other crops may not be applied to a bird seed crop. Another problem is all resource dollars for this type of analysis goes to the commercial industries, not for hobbiest.

 

I think things have changed the way we think and use seed mixes. It used to be the main source of nutrients with a little supplementation. Im guessing that most birds nowadays would receive a greater amount of nutreints from sources other than dry seed mix.

Good photos KAZ, I like the look of the second seed, it looks fuller if that is a word, it seems to have more life in it, I like the colour of it better than the first photo. What brand is the second?

 

This is the seed I was using ( Golden Cob )

 

 

and the seed I am using now

 

 

My birds get soft food and vegies all year round.

 

 

The brand is called Triangle........I will check on if it comes in from over east

 

 

The seed, as it turns out is Western Australian grown...from KUNNUNURRA

Edited January 23, 201015 yr by KAZ

this is all seed i have and i mixe it

 

budgie mix

 

then i add this

 

canary seed

wheat

whole oats

sunflower seed (grey)

cracked milo seed

rape seed

Who do you get your seed through Kaz, I am really lovin' the quality it has init... plus it is WA too... thumbs up there...!

Who do you get your seed through Kaz, I am really lovin' the quality it has init... plus it is WA too... thumbs up there...!

Through another club. PM me for details

GB, If the birds are fit and well, the only other seed I would add is either sunflower or preferably safflower[it is smaller and easier for budgies to eat] it really helps add weight to the birds.

thank you they do get sunflower occasionally as i have two other birds a conure and a cocky but i haven't heard of saf flower is that like saffron...i was feeding birds saffron rice i made fresh dayly but got told that i should stop due to birds dont find it in natural environment im a bit lost with what to give honestly i have been told to stop almost everything i was supplying them so i did

okay, as promised here is a photo of my seed mix.I did give them Golden Cob Supreme Budgie Breeder mix for the entire breeding season last year but now they are getting a 2:1 mix of Golden Fields Budgie Mix and Golden Fields Finch Mix. My supplier guarantees me the quality and to date I have been very happy with it. Overview:From I what I have seen the straight Budgie Mix is a 3 seed blend of Hulled Oats, and 2 Millets. There is panicum in the Finch Mix plus I think Jap Millet .... probably more but I don't know how to identify all seeds.

your mix looks identical to mine almost i give lots of panicum seed birds love it

your mix looks identical to mine almost i give lots of panicum seed birds love it

I really should get a close up photo like Kaz has done to show the quality of the seed ... but unless I have a breakthrough I'll have to wait till Kaz comes over with new camera and gives me some lessons.

 

But getting back to the Golden Fields seed that I have switched to, my birds are eating it all up and I am happy with the blend. The deal I have is 2 x 20 kilos Budgie Mix + 20 kilos Finch = $100. And I am very happy with that.

 

I don't know whether the supplier get the seed from WA too, I would assume so. The main thing is that it is clean and the grain looks full - not shriveled.