Fonio Paddy

For all your questions about diet and food for your finches
User avatar
starman
...............................
...............................
Posts: 590
Joined: 04 Oct 2016, 18:51
Location: Coastal N.S.W.

starman wrote: 09 Nov 2017, 18:43
vettepilot_6 wrote: 09 Nov 2017, 17:41
starman wrote: 09 Nov 2017, 17:23
Was it the Perilla that MuzzaD mentioned, Craig?
It is noted as having similar qualities.

Really? I cant find any thing on Perilla that says that? can you show me a link please? :thumbup:
I'll get you a link VP, it was not a scientific breakdown just the opinion of a European breeder who has used it to effect for some time.
Still working on this, VP.
I searched for about two hours last night and kept getting side-tracked by loads of parallel information, that while being relevant and interesting certainly was not what I wanted to find. The thing that stands out to me is that these seeds have the same groups of constituents and to the layman look as if they could be substituted for each other. Whatever the magic of Fonio P proves to be, I suspect that it will probably be something obscure and possibly to do with the ratios or interactions of the ingredients....(guessing only). Another thing that I noticed is that Fonio P or Perilla don't get a mention in any of the classic aviculture or avian diseases books, so must be fairly recent finds to aviculture, obviously not to agriculture as Fonio P is described as an 'ancient' millet.
When I get some more free time I will have to dig a little deeper. The only reference I have to it is from a few months ago when having a damp aviary floor after a bout of rain, a few of my birds looked decidedly 'off' and after trolling the www I had written a note to myself that said "Coccidiosis: Amprolium, Sulphonamide, Fonio Paddy and Perilla", but didn't need any of them as the birds perked up quickly. Might end up crossing the last one out....
Last edited by starman on 10 Nov 2017, 14:13, edited 1 time in total.
Sm.
Avid student of Estrildids in aviculture.
User avatar
MuzzaD
...............................
...............................
Posts: 99
Joined: 25 Jan 2016, 13:50
Location: Perth WA

Thanks BrettB,
Folio same species or same plant as we call crabgrass. Research seems to indicate yes.

Spent winter mounding and and covering my winter veges beds with black plastic ( which i do not like using) to overcome the crabgrass plague in my vege garden after last year. This spring have had to plant wider and hoe continually to remove the menace. Slightly better though as I have removed the overhead sprinklers and gone back to a drip system.
In saying that, still have had plenty of seed heads for the finches. They love it. The pumpkin patch has plenty to pick and it does not interfere with the vines growth.
This may help to explain the healthy plumage on the birds, or is it just using lots of natural pasture seeds helps overall?
User avatar
Tiaris
...............................
...............................
Posts: 3517
Joined: 23 Apr 2011, 08:48
Location: Coffs Harbour

When my dad used to market garden in the early-mid 1980s (tomatoes, cucumbers, beans) the Summer grass crops on the cultivated ground toward the end of summer were phenomenal. I remember one season then where we would give our finches 2 buckets full of half-ripe summer grass heads every afternoon which resulted in our best ever season breeding Saint Helenas with over 250 young Saints bred for the September to May season - many of them fawns when fawn Saints were very sought-after (and much better quality birds than those available today). That result gave me long-term faith in the nutritional quality of at least one digitaria grass seed. Sure, its a prominent weed when growing veges on loosely cultivated soil, but its one weed I have never sprayed or pulled out whilst ever I've bred finches.
User avatar
starman
...............................
...............................
Posts: 590
Joined: 04 Oct 2016, 18:51
Location: Coastal N.S.W.

STUART WHITING wrote: 09 Nov 2017, 18:36 Ive used perilla seed here in England for over 30 odd years and do still use it at times for particular species IE when young bullfinches have just been weaned and also a good few other various finches that are very partial to the seed,

As much as I'm aware of the seed having very good nutritional values and properties etc it does not have the same qualities as the Ugandan Fonio paddy seed and does not eliminate coxidosis
Good info thanks, Stuart.
In that 30 years of feeding Perilla did you ever feed it to birds with known coccidiosis?
Sm.
Avid student of Estrildids in aviculture.
STUART WHITING
...............................
...............................
Posts: 343
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 18:30
Location: England

starman wrote: 10 Nov 2017, 17:05
STUART WHITING wrote: 09 Nov 2017, 18:36 Ive used perilla seed here in England for over 30 odd years and do still use it at times for particular species IE when young bullfinches have just been weaned and also a good few other various finches that are very partial to the seed,

As much as I'm aware of the seed having very good nutritional values and properties etc it does not have the same qualities as the Ugandan Fonio paddy seed and does not eliminate coxidosis
Good info thanks, Stuart.
In that 30 years of feeding Perilla did you ever feed it to birds with known coccidiosis?
Yes mate, very much so, in truth I was a fanatical breeder of big exhibition British greenfinches and these birds are some of the worlds worst for picking up coccidiosis,
I fed the perilla seed to them all but I personally don't think it had the qualities to say it eliminated the waisting disease,

At the same time I was also administering a decent sulphur drug as soon as all of me young birds had fledged and continued right the way to the end of the youngsters first moult,

The perilla seed was fed to a lot of me British finches throughout the course of the year, it's a very very good tonic seed pretty much the same as another wild weed seed that we also have here which is known as shepherds purse.

I've obviously still lost the odd few Greenies as most of us have at some stage but normally manage to to keep the majority of youngsters bred,

I really and honestly think that the only real safe way to keep and save yer youngsters is to administer a sulphur drug as soon as fledged rather than rely on any seed, the seeds as far as I'm concerned are just to unpredictable and we really and truly don't know enough about the seeds to say that it's a guarantee way of stopping coccidiosis , I'd personally use the sulphur drug all the way :thumbup:

Incidentally I've just put up an article last night about coccidiosis on the coccivet and rain treatment thread
User avatar
Tiaris
...............................
...............................
Posts: 3517
Joined: 23 Apr 2011, 08:48
Location: Coffs Harbour

Shepherd's purse also exists in Australia, but I must admit I haven't seen any growing for quite some time.
User avatar
BrettB
...............................
...............................
Posts: 470
Joined: 13 Jun 2012, 23:28
Location: Perth

Thanks for the link Starman
Foinio and Coccidiosis:

More than three years of studies under vet supervision has proven that Fonio dramatically decreases coccidiosis. Birds were infected with coccidiosis and their faeces checked, after one week feeding on Fonio, the faeces were checked again and coccidiosis could not be found.
This is the only info on Coccidiosis in the link.
Has anyone seen the original article, I would love to read it.

Cheers
Brett
"We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are ." Anais Nin
STUART WHITING
...............................
...............................
Posts: 343
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 18:30
Location: England

Tiaris wrote: 10 Nov 2017, 19:50 Shepherd's purse also exists in Australia, but I must admit I haven't seen any growing for quite some time.
The shepherds purse at times seems to dry up and perish to virtually nothing even with our summers and knowing the temperatures that you have out in Aussie Graham I wouldn't be atall surprised if yer haven't seen it for a long while
STUART WHITING
...............................
...............................
Posts: 343
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 18:30
Location: England

BrettB wrote: 11 Nov 2017, 00:18 Thanks for the link Starman
Foinio and Coccidiosis:

More than three years of studies under vet supervision has proven that Fonio dramatically decreases coccidiosis. Birds were infected with coccidiosis and their faeces checked, after one week feeding on Fonio, the faeces were checked again and coccidiosis could not be found.
This is the only info on Coccidiosis in the link.
Has anyone seen the original article, I would love to read it.

Cheers
Brett
Very interesting Brett,

I'd sure like to find out more about Fonio paddy seed as I'm still a little optimistic about the qualities of this seed, if it's as good as it's made out to be I'm a little baffled to why it's not being used a lot more and have more of a known reputation, I personally don't know of any European finch breeders whatsoever who have used it and British / European finches are well known for getting coccidiosis at an early age,

I haven't the faintest idea if I can get it here in England or not, seems I need to do some research on this :thumbup:

Speak soon
User avatar
starman
...............................
...............................
Posts: 590
Joined: 04 Oct 2016, 18:51
Location: Coastal N.S.W.

BrettB wrote: 11 Nov 2017, 00:18 Thanks for the link Starman
Foinio and Coccidiosis:

More than three years of studies under vet supervision has proven that Fonio dramatically decreases coccidiosis. Birds were infected with coccidiosis and their faeces checked, after one week feeding on Fonio, the faeces were checked again and coccidiosis could not be found.
This is the only info on Coccidiosis in the link.
Has anyone seen the original article, I would love to read it.

Cheers
Brett
A bit more here:

http://www.lavoliere.com/elevage/alimen ... nglish.htm
Sm.
Avid student of Estrildids in aviculture.
Post Reply

Return to “Diet & Food”