Seed hopper questions

[murray_cod]

Hello all,

Just wondering if anyone has experienced the same problem as me with the seed hoppers from Alan up Tullamarine way. It seems to be only about 48 hours after I have filled them (I have the bid ones) that the hopper tray is full with a lot of uneaten seed. I have 3 large hoppers for only about 25 finches so they can't physically be eating that much seed surely. Is there a trick to the way you hang them or is this a common issues with these hoppers?

Due to the fact I leave for work in the dark and get home in the dark it is becoming a problem as I can't refill during the week very easily.

[wagga]

I have had finches that will prefer one seed in the mix supplied and will empty the entire hopper looking for their favourite seeds (usually canary seed). I no longer use the gravity fed seed hoppers instead have plastic 'cat kitty litter' trays in my aviaries.

[Diane]

I use gravity fed hoppers 2x 2kg round type 1x 3kg and 1x 4kg oblong type. The birds dont empty any of these within 48 hours. I also have a kitty litter tray under each hopper so any scattered seed is still clean and dry.
One thing I have noticed with one hopper is that the birds seem to like eating from one corner in particular so there can be a bit of pushing and shoving to get the preferred corner even if the rest of the food tray is vacant.

[Misso]

i empty my hoppers from Allan like once a month or even longer.... but i also have 2 large size hoppers for an aviary of 3-4 pairs of gouldians, this time of yr with the babies theirs alot more birds in the aviaries, but still takes a while for the husk basket to fill up.

what seed mix are you offering? maybe your birds are flicking a lot of seed out searching for a particular seed??

misso

[Greg41]

I once made the mistake of buying a hopper that was meant for larger birds like parrotts and the small finch mix just about fell straight thru.
I fixed the problem by making the gap where the seed falls thru a lot narrower and no more problems.

Cheers Greg.

[Craig52]

I once made the mistake of buying a hopper that was meant for larger birds like parrotts and the small finch mix just about fell straight thru.
I fixed the problem by making the gap where the seed falls thru a lot narrower and no more problems.

Cheers Greg.

I totally agree Greg,my seed hoppers are gapped by using a standard 2" nail for regular finch mix,at a guess it would a 3mm gap. Craig

[TomDeGraaff]

You may well have a hopper too large for finch mix.

I wonder what type of birds you have? Some species are also prone to flick seed. Canaries, kakarikis, doves and quail come to mind. I have covered the exposed seed tray of the hopper with 1 inch chicken mesh which still lets them eat but limits the sideways flick movement of the birds. Poultry trays often have a cover grid on them just for this purpose.

Another way of reducing wastage is to feed separate seeds. I place canary, hulled oats and the dark oil seeds in separate hoppers.

[finches247]

Some Hoppers I brought had a gap underneath where seed was held above and uneaten seed would go through gap and spill straight into the tray so i put some glue in the crack.Try not to overfill the seed hopper as some don't handle and bulge and make cracks appears.Also as others mention some birds prefer there favourite seed.

[murray_cod]

Thanks everyone. I have mixed Aviary of mostly Gouldians, Painteds and Stars. I am feeding them Avigrain Blue finch at the moment. I was wondering whether I should supply the different seeds separately.

I might try kitty litter tray's, its starting to do my head in.

[finches247]

Its good if you supply separatly then you know which seeds your finches like and don't like and then you don't have to buy the seed they don't like.