Frozen pinkies

[finch master]

Here is a method of preparing and freezing you own pinkies instead of buying already done. Does anyone on this forum do their own and use a different method? Thanks Paul,
I recently got fed up with trying to get hold of frozen pinkies, so I decided to make my own. I found it very easy, if a bit smelly. I bought some un-dyed pinkies from a fishing shop and boiled and froze them. If it helps anyone, here's how I did it.
3 pints of pinkies straight from the shop (sieve out any maize flour). Bring a big pan of water to the boil, add all the pinkies and bring the pan back to a roling boil,then start the clock for 10 minutes keeping at a roling boil. This is to destroy any Botulinum toxin that may be in the maggots.

Then using a sieve (dedicated soley for this purpose!) take out half a sieve worth at a time and rinse thoroughly under fast running water (bit like soak seed). I then dry them a little by bouncing the sieve on a towel. Then to freeze them, I line a roasting tin with a tea towel and spread out the pinkies thinly, then fold the tea towel over and start another layer. Then continue adding layers with more tea towels till all the pinkies are in. I then put the tray in the freezer.

When they're frozen use a metal spoon to scrape them free of the tea towel and put in to bags. The bottom ones will stick to the towel, but most come free easily. I had to do this in stages as single pinkies defrost really fast, so the tray had to go back in the freezer for a top up. The end result is free flow frozen pinkies. When they thaw they look exactly like the ones I buy, if a bit plumper. So far none have gone black on defosting. I was so pleased with the result and it made loads. The birds like them as much as the bought ones

[mattymeischke]

Pinkies meaning commercially available frozen maggots?

There is another thread on here where people found it difficult to freeze maggs in a way their birds would take. They were turning to mush or becoming otherwise inedible in the process.
Your method sounds worth a try.

Many people on here have flyboxes for pumping out live maggs, and some people mail-order live maggots from the Amphibian Research Centre in Melbourne.
I am fortunate to have an endless supply of termites and they are my main live food here. I understand that they also freeze well, though I've not done it.

[finch master]

I was buying the "top insect " from a UK supplier but was expensive at £13 for 450g delivered so i am doing my own from now on....I use them to rear my painteds with good results..
Paul

[Danny]

You had me worried when you started boiling them - here a pinkie is a day old mouse.

[finch master]

You had me worried when you started boiling them - here a pinkie is a day old mouse.

Yep it is here in the UK Danny to feed the falcons and reptiles ,Pinkies are also the name of young maggots which are half the size of mealworms

[ruthieharris]

LOL yeah i was like what ? have you got a Snake? and dont tell me people are feeding little chicks out of nest aswell as pinkies!