Balance between dry & sprouted seeds

[Birds_lover]

I have been sprouting finch mix. The birds love it. Should I stop feeding them dry finch mix? If sprouted seed is much more nutrition, why bother feeding them the dry stuff?

On the top of that, I feed my birds soft food, green seeds, veggies/weeds, and greens & grains.

Thanks in advance!

[Tiaris]

I wouldn't stop the dry seed altogether. It is best to leave the dry seed constantly available & give as much sprouted seed fresh daily as they will eat & they can make the choice. If they choose more sprouted, the dry seed will last longer & if the sprouted seed becomes dry/less desirable later in the day they are then likely to take more dry seed. I regard the different forms of the same seeds (sprouted, dry & half-ripe green) as providing extra variety in the diet as much as providing extra seed varieties (plus the fact that you are better meeting their requirements for soft/enriched seed for rearing food). Do you also feed mineral foods? (cuttlebone, eggshells, shellgrit, etc.)

[elferoz777]

Search maxicoat.

If you have siskins this is a great supplement.

As for seed I would keep the dry stuff in decent amounts.

[GregH]

The reason aviculturists feed dry seed is that it ticks most of the nutrition boxes without the hazards of microbial contamination inherent with sprouting seed if you get it wrong. Too wet or cold and you get bacterial proliferation and too dry and a little warmer and fungi proliferate. Unless you feed and remove residues 3-4 times a day then its far easier to feed dry seed ad libitum and provide sprouted seed 1-2 times a day. Graniferous birds like finches breed to when grasses set seed (a mixture of green & mature seed) and in many ecosystems the only seed available for the rest of the year is dry seed. Sprouting seed is only available for a short time after rainfall events so it's only ever a supplement not the usual diet.

[Birds_lover]

Thanks guys!

I've been leaving a bowl with sprouted seed in the morning and replacing it in the next morning. Would it be acceptable?

I also feed them eggshells, shellgrit and charcoal but they don't seem to case about it at all.

[finchbreeder]

Keep the eggshells, shellgrit and charcoal. There will be times when they hardly touch it, but you will not have to worry about softshell eggs or hens having insufficent calcium in the breeding season if you leave it and let them decide when they need it.
LML

[matcho]

Sounds good to me, that is what I do,although no soft food. I do feed greens, as you do (dandelion, milkthistle, wintergrass etc) daily plus mini mealies becauses of the stars and painteds. Dry seed is the basic. Take out the others and they will survive, take out the dry and I am not too sure how they will go. I also have a couple of salt blocks and cuttlebone/grit/eggshell spread around.

Doing ok

Ken.