Aussie Finch Forum

Hi Nova did you breed the mealies your self , or did you buy them . My Africans always had a go at mealies, I haven't seen a canary eat a mealie , But red face would go anything live or green .

Blue face for me never ate mealies .

Like Tiaris , I don't prefer to mix canaries with some finches . Fires and cordons can also suffer with airsac mite .

Just put in small amounts of each food type and try sprinkle seed in with the mealies and on the cucumber see if they peck at them then , are your feeding seed heads at present ... Pete

I bought the mealies, i have the intention of breeding them but have not got round to it yet.

The main feeding station is below with loose seed mix and seed heads which they eat with a bowl of yummy mealies and a bowl of scrumptious greens which they don't.

Ill just keep offering it and see how they go.

Maybe the seeds heads are the favourite and the birds fill up on them before even looking at the meal worms and veggies.

If that is cut up cucumber in the picture I think you are presenting it in a different way to most.
I feed it in either in circles or more often split length ways
It seems to keep fresher and by the end of the day all is left is the green skin.
Like most new foods it will take time for the birds to start eating it.
As for Mealworms some birds will only eat the odd one until they have chicks in the nest and
will then eat a huge amount. Generally after time many species will eat them.

I read somewhere .. i think it was on clifton aviaries website that you shouldnt keep mealworms in bran but rather in pollen? as the bran gives the finches a build up of calcium.. anyone know anything about that. I'm just starting a mealworm box up

That would be pollard I'd say. Pollard is higher in protein is easier to sieve the mealies out of & bran can result in the mealies passing on calcium absorption issues for birds which eat them compared to those reared in pollard (apparently).

Yeh pollard.. thats the stuff I meant. Ive started a worm box. Will see how they go

A few weeks of offering fresh greens and meal worms and the introduction of the owls and BFPF have made all the difference.

My finches are now devouring a cos lettuce, a leb cucumber and a bowl of meal worms each day, plus whatever other green leave I supply.

I just need to learn some patience it seems.

Cutting the cucumber lengthways helped as aall that is left now is the rind.