fruitfly

[Redwing]

Sorry- you must get tired of questions from beginners. Firstly what is the difference between fruitfly and vinegar flies? I'm going to need to have some form of live food if my orange breasteds produce some young and the mealworms I breed are too big and maggots are out of the question. I was wondering if fruitfly would be a good option and if so what is a simple way of breeding them on a small scale, (only have 8 birds at this stage)

[Diane]

We like questions, helps everyone and reminds us ;)

Being in South Australia we dont have and are supposed to report fruit flies. So my trials have been with vinegar flies.
Ive tried the vinegar fly trap, but didnt like the way it went, look too slimy and mushy to be right. So I now have a new method, we have two compost bins with lids at the back of the garden. So every couple of days I take a net and as I open the lid I swirl the net around and catch a few of the flies that rise up. Not so many now the weather is cold.
I also provide mini mealworms to the live eaters too. I get my mini mealworms from the aquarium shop.

Take a look at these topics on fly traps

viewtopic.php?f=42&t=3772&p=20308&hilit ... ies#p20308
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=3547&p=18632&hilit ... ies#p18632
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=2833&p=13766&hilit ... ies#p13766

Would like to see your mealworm breeding setup

[Redwing]

Hi Diane
Thanks for the articles on fruitfly breeding set ups.Think I can work out a way to rig a small one up in my aviary. It will have to be hanging I think to deter the ants.Will let you know results.
My mealworm setup is very simple and has been working well for over 10 years without needing to buy new mealworms.
Have a plastic container approx 30x20cm.and 10cm deep which comfortably holds a packet of bran from the supermarket. On the top I have a facewasher folded in half and a carrot broken in two. When I need somme mealworms there's usually plenty under the top layer of cloth. When the bran has all been eaten I seive it and put the mealworms and beetles back in and put a new packet of bran in. Because they don't have a very high nutritional value if I need to boost it I collect some and put them in insectivore powder the night before. I use them for adult native birds and juvenile orphans who are learning how to eat live food, but as they are only part of the "menu" nutrition not so crucial. Have read more sophisticated methods written (I think )by Marcus Pollard to prevent cannibalism, but this way has supplied my needs so far.

[Diane]

Im like you, I dont have a lot of live eaters so I need to be able to have small, regular supply.
You said the mealworms you breed are too big. Do you know if there are different types of mealworms, or is it just a case of sieving them out and getting younger, smaller ones. Im asking because I know from costly experience that my birds wont eat the larger mealworms either, but they go to town on the mini mealworms, and thats the size I want to be able to grow. It gets a bit expensive @ $8 a tub

[Redwing]

Hi Diane
I just have the "normal" mealworms and just have to pick out the appropriate size depending on what I'm feeding, but have discovered the finches are only interested in the small ones and am guessing if they're feeding them whole to babies it will be even more critical to offer them tiny ones

[spanna]

i have the same "throw in a tub with some carrot and leave be" breeding program lol, also been working well for a number of years (even went a couple of YEARS unattended out in the feed shed while i was briefly out of the breeding hobby, still had a few live mealies in there somehow!). tried breeding maggots once, worked well with my custom built fly box (thanks to my grandad and his old woodworking company) but the finches never really loved them, so it gathers dust now.

the mealworms i feed are all the "medium" ones, about 3 cm long on average. not the super big ones but not the minis either. when i introduced some new birds they wouldnt touch them, but after observing how my stars and painted crush them in their beaks and simply suck out the insides (gross huh?) they started getting the hang of it. even have one particular diamond firetail who will stick a mealworm under his food on the perch and tear at it like any raptor eats a mouse!!! found that particularly hilarious, but havent managed to get a photo yet...

so, after all that, my point is that most australian finches should do fine on mealworms as long as they arent enourmous, but i am aware that some exotics dont like mealies at all...