Aussie Finch Forum

Can our vets please tell me if it is true that corn is one of the worst things you can possibly give to birds as it causes leaching of calcium from the bones? Or is this a furfy?
LML

Im no vet but id reckon its a furfy. Bred plenty of budgies, Scarlet chested parrots and mobs of Diamond sparrows using corn as part of the diet and didnt run into many if any problems.

i got 4 babies i am waiting for the other 2 to hatch in the next day or over the weekend

They usually hatch, 1 per day till all hatched. Occassionally a day will be missed, usually means that days egg is a dud.
Congratulations.
LML

finchbreeder wrote:Can our vets please tell me if it is true that corn is one of the worst things you can possibly give to birds as it causes leaching of calcium from the bones? Or is this a furfy?

This has recently been addressed in another thread by cleverer people than me: I believe that the calcium:phosporous ratio in corn is unusually unfavorable, and this can cause problems with calcium balance, but it it rarely a problem if it is part of a varied diet and they can regulate it for themselves.

I grow corn each year and every cob of less-than-human quality goes to the finches, with the kernels split with a sharp knife to make it easy for the littler ones.

Looks delish, can I have it for lunch? Budgies are seed eaters. When feeding young need good quality budgie mix and if you have a stock feeder store close recommend adding about 1/4 more of plain canary seed to mix. Green seeding grass from the garden is great as baby food, also veg. mix if they will eat it.Dont feed mine veg. mix or soaked seed. Can go sour too easily in my climate. Dont buy cheap bird mix. Birds need plain canary, jap, white and panicum millets and small amount of oats. If you can get it whole oats are better then hulled oats. Hope this is helpful .

budgiebreeder wrote:Looks delish, can I have it for lunch?

Mine get that mix as a part of their diet but I find when they have young they wolf it down first (I vary the grain part of it from cous cous to rice and as I said the vegetable portio also varies depending on what's in the fridge this weeks is capsicum,silverbeet,cucumber and carrot) I think the presoftened grains make it ideal for the babies. I certainly get told off (especially by the cockatiels) if I'm a bit late with their mix in the mornings.

My Quarrions and Princess Parrots get a bit toey if they dont get their soft foods in the morning too . When feeding young I cant get enough boiled eggs out for them , shells and all are eaten

But thats nothing to do with Budgies is it

Budgies are the rabbits of the parrot world. Why on earth would you want to encourage them even more .

Just kidding, but they do love green seed, whatever is growing in your garden beds will do ( =weeds to everyone else) as with most other seed eaters.

jusdeb wrote:
But thats nothing to do with Budgies is it

Dunno they all have bent beaks