Canola?

[E Orix]

You seed cost seems very low, I need to buy at least a tone (50 bags) to buy under $1 a kg.
As stated earlier unless you are buying to feed a large percentage of cup nesters you are far better off feeding the Millets and Canary Seed.
At that price you maybe getting a larger proportion of filler seeds.By the way I think Canola Seed must be about the most fertile seed available.
In the past we grew it in containers for green food and the shooting ratio was nearly 100%

[matcho]

I used to buy finch mix at near on 2 bucks a kilo from the local produce store. Went to a couple of bird sales (Cessnock, Nowra , Singeton) and saw the outside sellers with seed mixes. Bought a 'Breeders mix" from a seller for 5 bucks extra, as compared to the so called "normal" finch mix. I paid 5 bucks for the ink on the bag which read "Breeders Mix". Made me very cynical of seed suppliers at sales. Came across JNM at Erskine Park. Still going to go there because I am comfortable. Sprouting rate is a sh.t load better than the other seeds I have bought even from the produce store. Was just a query as to the amount of the little black round thingies that have appeared. Next time I go will make an enquiry if they will do a mix without it. Funny thing though when I do soaked/sprouted seed and do the rinsing there is a load of the tiniest black seeds (poppy) and white little buggers which get through the sieve so I reckon I will stay, besides, the birds love it.

Ken

[Finchman1]

I find JMs seed a little husky and dusty at times,as you said it sprouts ok though

[willy]

Being Genetically Modified will have no impact on sprouting ability.

[TomDeGraaff]

I think GM canola is modified for pesticide resistance,not bird resistance. I wonder though if the same new genes could make the seed less useful or palatable.

GM crops are controversial and knowing what the modification is aimed at is important. Some seed crops may one day be modified for bird resistance because cereals are grown largely for human use. This would affect us.

In summary and understatement, I DON'T LIKE IT.

[willy]

Genetically modified canola is modified to be resistant to either a herbicide called Glyphosate, or one called Glufosinate Ammonium . These herbicides are a broad spectrum knockdown herbicide with no residual.

[Bmac27]

My birds have never really taken Canola seed but when I have grown it and fed the pods for an experiment I found my WH Nuns stripped it clean and the others in the colony would wait for the pods to be opened by the nuns and tuck in to any seed dropped
Onto the tray ... I fed it at 3/4 ripe with success .
Be careful with it as its high fat content will lead to portly finches
Brad

[Craig52]

In regards to an indepth artical in the latests Finch News,which i did find interesting but not the comment at the beginning and at the end regarding journals and internet bird forums that canola was a contentious issue and they have put the subject of canola in a precarious position.

This thread started out with one AFF member complaining about the canola seed filler in his finch mix that his birds wont eat,which is true if you only keep Australian finches as they wont touch the stuff unless it is sprouted or eaten as green seed.

The rest of the posts/ replies were from breeders that breed canaries and or other cup nesters which relish the seed.especially when they have young.

The last part of this artical in Finch News calls us Alarmist and Uninformed Internet Bloggers,mate if 50+ plus years of breeding birds isn't enough experience to know what my birds eat and don't eat i must be missing something.

To writer of that artical,i commend you for your input but please don't put down people on public forums,we are not all alarmists or bloggers. Cheers Craig

[gomer]

Just read the article aswell. It was a very interesting read the writer really knows his seeds. I think the issue here was possibly more of a fear of a genetically modified food stuff then the original composition of the seed ? I know when the genetic canola crops that were made public in this area, were planted down here the locations were protected due to the fear of retribution by the misinformed.At the time there was a lot of scaremongering happening with regard to genetically modified food stuffs.I know this because agronomists I worked with at the time told me this. It would be good if the writer could allow his article to be published elsewhere aswell, including here as it is really interesting.