Hi all I think most of you have followed my breeding journal to discover that I have lots nearly all my chicks at about 1 to 2 days old, all had empty crops. I have lots over 50 1 to 2 day old chicks and a couple older, 7 days the oldest.

 

My birds were getting a soft food that contained soaked seed, (feeder oats, sunflower seed, budgie mix and a bit jap millet) and to this added soybean meal, yeast with added bee pollen, seaweed meal, grated carrot, broccoli and celery and sometimes beetroot.

Well Friday night I stopped all soft food and Monday I was to send droppings samples and samples of my seeds to Rob Marshall.

Up until Saturday I was loosing nearly all my new chicks. But once I stopped their soft food I had not lost a chick at all until yesterday and one today both had full crops and both were from the same nest. Very disappointed but I am hoping this is unrelated. But still there was some bad seed in the breeding boxes too.

 

I sent 4 samples to be cultured :My report on the seed was feeder oats completely safe to soak which I found unbelievable because I was sure that was the problem.

Jap millet NO GOOD has mould so I threw that away.

Budgie mix with red millet.. NO GOOD has mould. give to avairy birds but if you see them looking crook stop straight away.

Do not give to breeders.

Budgie mix B without red millet safe for breeders.

I new something was wrong with the seed for months, they keep emptying out their jars and I told Rob that and he said that is because they were trying to find clean seed.

I didn't sen the sunflower and the hulled oats that I have just bought and also Greg bought me a new bag of seed yesterday to see if there was any difference with birds.

So I am going to send them up for culture testing too.

 

Anyway Rob said never soak seed unless it has been culture tested and has the all clear.

I personally have shied away from soaking seed now.

 

I know it is not a good idea to change soft food half way through the breeding season but i feel I do not have much choice.

I do not use the soybean meal any more or the yeast with bee pollen. and I am not soaking seed.

I am using vita wheat biscuits, 9 grain bread, eggs and grated carrot and Passwells budgie crumble and finch food for the extra protein.

My recipe is

4 packets of vita wheat biscuits.. ( processed)

I loath of 7 grain bread but I couldn't find it so I got 9 grain... (put in oven or out in sunlight to dry) then processed)

12 free range eggs with shells.. (processed)

I made half this recipe up, it keeps for several weeks in the freezer in suitable containers. It doesn't really freeze.

You could replace the vita wheat biscuits with weetbix.

When I get it out of the freezer, I scoop out how much I want and I put it back in the processor with the grated and process both together , I get it a bit finer that way.

Then i add depending how many cages I am doing I add a desert spoon to a tablespoon each of budgie crumbles and finch food. I was actually surprised that the birds ate it actually they cleaned the plates.

 

The only down fall of this recipe is the vita wheat biscuits are hard as a rock and nearly killed my new processor. Next lot I plan on soaking them for a while and then process and then put in oven to dry a bit.

 

Anyway beside loosing a couple more chicks everything else seems to be going well, I have 15 little chicks out in birdroom with plenty more to hatch.

Edited August 18, 201113 yr by splat

Awesome splat.

 

I have my fingers crossed for you that it is problem solved

glad you did take the effort to send droppings n seed away great result mate best luck from now on

Hi Julie,

 

A few questions:

 

1. It is soaked and not sprouted seed you're using?

2. How long do you soak the seed for?

3. Do you use any type of anti bacterial solution (eg. bleach, aviclens etc) during the soaking process.

Lets hope this fixes the problem

Hi Julie,

 

A few questions:

 

1. It is soaked and not sprouted seed you're using?

2. How long do you soak the seed for?

3. Do you use any type of anti bacterial solution (eg. bleach, aviclens etc) during the soaking process.

 

Hi Daryl, Only soaked seed, I don't sprout because that can be dangerous, I was soaking seed over night with milton and rinsing well, the oats I was soaking Rob Marshall said was the only seed that was clear from mould. He said it is perfectly safe for soaking but i haven't soaked it since Friday. Still a bit scared to. But i was putting budgie mix in it too plus the jab millet which both seeds had mould on them so I am throwing it all away.

But this morning I lost 2 more, they must of died as soon as they hatched because they had the shell still stuck to them, they were both from different nest and their tummies were full of egg yolk, so I guess yellow belly or they hatched to early. any more deaths I will be back To rob Marshall for more advice. I have 4 chicks in my freezer since Saturday.

Any advice.

I would be guessing that if they died as soon as they hatched it would be unrelated to your seed problem, but then that's just a guess. I suppose tough if the birds weren't getting the right nutrition then the chicks may not be strong enough to live after hatching.

 

I reckon I ha dthe same problem as you many years ago. I found that my seed smelled a bit musty, like a damp room. I could hardly raise a chick. I changed to a more expensive seed and the problem stopped almost instantly.

Yes my birds have been eating poison seed for months now, But hopefully things will improve, the seed I use is from Leeton and just about every club uses it even Geelong.

Yes my birds have been eating poison seed for months now, But hopefully things will improve, the seed I use is from Leeton and just about every club uses it even Geelong.

 

I know the one. I had it offered to me the other day, everyone down here is using it. It looks like I will be paying forty bucks for the Golden Cob stuff for the peace of mind. Hope it all gets sorted Splat.

 

I have to say though, I know some people using that seed who are having very good seasons. Geoff Tonkin uses that seed and breeds 500 every year.

I am not blaming the company because who knows why it got mould on it. They have good seed normally and it is very affordable. But the jap millet is from our last order and tested the worse. Will not be using that again.

Anyway from now on I will have all my seed tested.

And another thing I will not be buying so much each time either because the seed with the red millet is a few months old that could be the problem too. I will only be getting enough to get me through but the problem is out club is only doing orders only every four months I think but it could be every 3 months can't remember.

I use to use Howard Martin maybe I should go back to it. But it is $70 something a bag 40 kilos last time a bought it and i think it was something like $46. for a25 kilo bag. It was heaps dearer to buy the 25 kilo than the 40 kilo. but they may not have the 40 kilo bags any more any way.

 

BUT the main problem was that I was soaking the seed and making it toxic. But Rob wasn't keen on the idea of the aviary birds getting really because it said are they looking okay and i said yes and he said as soon as you see them look sick take it away so I thought I would be best just tossing the lot out. better safe than sorry.

Just wondering, how do you store it? Is it possible that it was exposed to moisture somehow? It has been a wet winter. Maybe dew or mist got to it?

The budgie seed is in wheelie bins in my old birdroom. No rain gets in there. and the red millet is in small cherry barrel.

As far as I can see there is never any moisture in there or condensation or anything. Owe and the seed looks fine and it doesn't smell mouldy or anything.

Mould can happen in the paddock as the seed is maturing if the weather is humid. Cattle and sheep get staggers from mould toxins on ryegrass seeds still on the stalk. Not usually anything to do with how you store the seed.It's why I rarely soak anything (except quinoa).

Edited August 23, 201113 yr by nubbly5