These sticks are only sold to zoos. I suppose I could make some with pop-sickle sticks. How could I get them to stick without introducing tons of sugar to my birds diet?

 

Any bird cooks out there have any ideas for a recipe.

Phoebes, I know that you can buy larger ones at pet shops, vets, and supermarkets. However if you want a smaller one I see that alot of the have honey in them, however how much i have no idea, and if this is actually right. But you have to be careful with supermarket ones as they are no the best of quality.

I could not find the ingredients in the Stick a Roos,

http://lafebervet.co...=product&id=139

But the Avi-cakes have cane molasses, gelatin, glycerine in them, Nutriberries have corn syrup and glycerine, I guess that's what keeps them together.

 

Giving honey to birds is not the best idea. Any sugar in any form is a bad idea. The reason bird are lactose intolerant is because they do not produce the enzyme necessary to digest lactose and lactose is a form or sugar. At best they should only get sugar from fresh fruits and not more than 5% of their total diet. Honey, especially if it is not human grade and unpasteurised, may contain the bacterium which causes botulism, Clostridium botulinum. Event pasteurisation is not enough to garantee that the spores are alle killedd. It is generally not given to babies (human) before they are at least a year old. Since 1979 there has been 42 cases of botulism in infants caused by honey and there are 70-90 reported in the United States each year.

 

It could be speculated, that like the intestinal flora of babies (too immature) , that of budgie is not effecient enough )too fragile) to digest the spores quickly enough that they don't begin a takeover of the intestines.

 

Il you want to make your own, go to the health food store and ask for something sticky and not too sweet. Here is a few ideas.

http://www.myrealfoodlife.com/part-2-how-to-substitute-eggs-and-binding-agents/

A little fun never killed anybody, but remember that sugar feeds fongus and bacteria. Stuff like candidiosis can come from eating stuff too sweet.

Edited November 6, 201311 yr by Martine

True I read that sugar also is not good when they have mega bacteria. I can get Allie to land on my hand in the cage but if I have seed in it she just kind of pushes it onto the floor with her feet. Still she is for now my most social bird so I am thinking training the others has to pass by her. I would like them to be tame. She doesn't eat nutriberries she just breaks them apart and lets the pieces drop to the floor. I made blueberry muffins with whole wheat flour and frozen natural berries (no sugar). Here they grow like weeds (not in the city). I noticed Noah tasting a cooked blueberry. I think he likes that. I don't like the idea of there being glycerin in food because many countries pass off other disgusting stuff for glycerin that is not edible.

 

I used to be a runner and sometimes runners would ingest glycerin to be super hydrated. http://runnersconnec...nning-glycerol/ Notice half way down the page they give a link to buy glycerin. How can a person know the real quality of that product.http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/health/17poison.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

They maybe put it in the nutri berries to keep it soft. However I have heard of poisonings from the glycerin being some cheap inedible knock off.

Edited November 7, 201311 yr by Phoebes

Budgies don't have a large intestine, limiting to a degree what they can easily digest.

Budgies don't have a large intestine, limiting to a degree what they can easily digest.

I had ordered seeds online with the intent of growing a budgie garden of things they eat in Australia like spinefex grass. Unfortunately everything froze in the mail and nothing grew. I do get lemongrass easily during the summer but they have destroyed all of it along with the eucalyptus tree. I can't stand the idea of giving them lettuce and things with pesticides so I'm limited in what greens I can give them.

 

They have been playing with the alfalfa blocks but it's obviously too compacted and dry. I searched high and low for the steam cut stuff which is impossible to buy here. When I find biological broccoli it's always so old looking. Before I lived outside of town and had a garden (I'm in a condo) I grew my own. Broccoli often gets these larva on it when it's not treated with pesticides and usually it is soaked in salty water so they will let go and float to the surface of the water. The salt probably removes much of the broccoli's water making it last a very short time on store shelves.

 

I may try another website for the seed. I need a company that knocks when the seed arrives instead of leaving it in the mailbox when it's minus 40 out. I can easily get biological carrots and corn is said to retain less pesticides than many other veggies.

There are grasses that will grow more readily here and are perfect for budgies. I have grown setaria italica successfully in Montréal, they go nuts for the fresh stuff. You can grow it from the millet branches. Those should to be started indoors just to be safe and need lots of sun if theyr are to grow tall and make big seed heads.

I have grow panicum violaceum and milaceum. There are really easy to grow.

I have grown canari seeds (phalaris canariensis) from seeds intended for the birds ans several others, japanese millet (echinocloa frumentacea).

You can also give them wild grasses, it is quite easy to learn to recognize them.

 

I am an experienced gardener, and I don't think I would endevour to grow spinifex, the soil and wheather are two different. Also, spinifex grows after fire, too complicated for moi!

Martine Your garden looks a bit like mine. Every ting you have grown looks great. I grow much of the same and give some as a pot full of mixed immature grasses and full flower heads as you picture. I will also give them the whole plant to nibble on and forage in.

 

I also use alfalfa sprouts and semi mature plants as well as steam cut lucern chaff. Its all the same plant at different stages of its life cycle

 

Spinifex will really only grow under specialised desert conditions and the seed needs to be exposed to extreme temperatures such as those produced in a wild fire. Bloody hot.

Not something I would attempt to grow in a cold to temperate to subtropical area. Unless you can recreate the extreme desert conditions, 2degC to 43degC on a daily basis but must not freez 10% humidity max and a fire that burns at the correct temp to allow seed germination.

 

P.S. I don't specifically buy seed to germinate, I simply use the seed varieties that I feed the birds. And yes they go nuts over the fresh stuff

Edited November 9, 201311 yr by paulie

recipe ? we have one in our food and nutrition section under recipes ....there's a seed bell recipe which you can use and the sticky part of the ingredient I believe is eggwhite

Well you guys are a treasure house. That garden is so inspiring as are the images. Where did you get the seeds Martine? Do you mean you planted the white millet? I tried the red and got very small stuff they could not eat. After reading this I am less discouraged about my spinfex failure. Pauli I have tried the seed I feed the birds and I think I did not start it early enough. The balcony here gets no light so it's a poor growing season. However I am going to purchase new lights very soon for getting a better head start.

 

I am going to purchase a 48 inch one like this. http://www.wayfair.c...V4-HYF1017.html

Edited November 10, 201311 yr by Phoebes

There are grasses that will grow more readily here and are perfect for budgies. I have grown setaria italica successfully in Montréal, they go nuts for the fresh stuff. You can grow it from the millet branches. Those should to be started indoors just to be safe and need lots of sun if theyr are to grow tall and make big seed heads.

I have grow panicum violaceum and milaceum. There are really easy to grow.

I have grown canari seeds (phalaris canariensis) from seeds intended for the birds ans several others, japanese millet (echinocloa frumentacea).

You can also give them wild grasses, it is quite easy to learn to recognize them.

 

I am an experienced gardener, and I don't think I would endevour to grow spinifex, the soil and wheather are two different. Also, spinifex grows after fire, too complicated for moi!

I've been looking around on forums and so far your image is the best one for people growing stuff for their budgies. You should be very proud of this crop.