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Winnower

Posted: 03 Aug 2019, 02:41
by Pickles
I’m new to the forum (apologies if this is an old topic), but breed Gouldians and painted’s only and get a lot of discarded seed and wondering if there is an efficient design for a winnower (vacuum type) fellow hobbyists have constructed.

Re: Winnower

Posted: 03 Aug 2019, 07:17
by Brisbane_Finches_333
I think there was an article about this in the June-July BirdKeeper magazine

Re: Winnower

Posted: 03 Aug 2019, 07:58
by Tiaris
If you have a lot of discarded seed, this means that the seed mix is not well suited to the birds you keep. Take note of which seeds are mainly left over & try to avoid mixes with high proportions of these. If you have the right mix there will be very little uneaten leftovers.
I give any finch seed husks & scraps to my chooks to pick through. Whole seed is a small proportion as the mix I feed is based on what my birds eat.
An ideal start for a palatable basic finch seed mix is one part each of white, jap, plain canary & red panicum.

Re: Winnower

Posted: 03 Aug 2019, 08:54
by Talven
I am looking to make one myself. I found this design which seemed it may be worth having a stab at. Seems like it might suit your needs.

I have a bunch of different parrots indoors and they will only eat the top layer of the seed in the dish. Even giving it a mix through some seed that they do like gets left. Getting a little fed up with the waste.

Re: Winnower

Posted: 04 Aug 2019, 23:25
by finchbreeder
If you type winnower into search at the top of this page you will find a number of easy to make types.
LML

Re: Winnower

Posted: 05 Aug 2019, 11:22
by noah.till
I just usually blow the husks out the old fashioned way, With your lungs

Re: Winnower

Posted: 08 Aug 2019, 08:48
by Talven
Normally I would have done the same thing as that Noah. Stand out in the back yard and blow out the husks onto the lawn. It has since been pointed out to me that this is a good way to spread disease to our native birds. If I bring home a bird that's sick, by blowing the husks onto the lawn for native birds to pick through I spread the disease to them. If I use a winnower I can separate the husks and dispose of them into the bin reducing the chance of spreading disease. Granted the chance of spreading disease is slight but I figure our natives have enough problems to deal with without me adding to them.

Re: Winnower

Posted: 08 Aug 2019, 09:35
by finchbreeder
Personally I think there is always a stronger chance of the native birds passing illnesses on to the captive birds. By sitting and Pooping into the avairies.
But good on you for your consideration of the wildlife.
LML

Re: Winnower

Posted: 08 Aug 2019, 09:38
by noah.till
I certainly would not blow out husks or remove anything out of my aviaries if my birds ever (if ever) have something bad like psittacosis or anything like that

Re: Winnower

Posted: 09 Aug 2019, 08:25
by Talven
finchbreeder wrote: 08 Aug 2019, 09:35 Personally I think there is always a stronger chance of the native birds passing illnesses on to the captive birds. By sitting and Pooping into the avairies.
That's exactly what I think as well. Far more likely to go the other way but why take the risk? Plus with as many parrots as I have it makes more sense for me to winnow the seed and save what I can. They waste so much seed. I'm tossing out about 200 - 300g every 2 or 3 days because they won't dig through the husks.

Birds are so good at hiding illnesses that by the time you realise there is a good chance that they have been ill for a while and if you have been blowing the husks out into the lawn from that bird prior to realising its ill you may have spread the illness to the local population. Chances are incredibly slight but still there. Far more likely it will create a perfect ambush site for cats but that's a whole other topic.