Nesting material.

[MadOzzie]

Thanks Craig...I will take a detour on my way home from work and have a look.

MadOzzie

[Diane]

There must several types of swamp grass as Ive had two types here, one is what I considered the "normal stuff" and a harder version my local club got a supply of when the normal stuff ran out. When Gomer saw some of the softer stuff I had here he commented that the swamp grass he had was even softer than that.

[desertbirds]

Swamp Grass. I do get a local version thats finer and softer but have been too lazy to pick .Can induce a nesting frenzy if added at the right time.

[loz]

I origanally bought a small bag of swamp (november) grass from a pet store & there was about 25 mm of seed in the bottom of the bag, so, I planted it & now I have a small bed of it, but now I buy it by a big bag (20 lt seed bag) for $20 or $25 , all depends on the supply.

[Netsurfer]

Just curious, how do you sterilize the grass? Anyone tried in the Microwave for a 15 - 30 seconds? That would certainly kill the bugs.
Years ago a dozen or so coconut fiber nest inserts were taken by the customs at Sydney airport on the way back from Europe, apparently had some bugs in it (not lice). They had to be fumigated first, I assume a Microwave would do the same job or is there a better way without having to use Fly Spray.

[Craig52]

Wow Netsurfer,now this is turning to the rediculous. Craig

[COUNTRY CAPITAL]

try to source the fresh stuff and your finches will love you for it....
my doublebars in particular really go for it as soon as i give them a handful.
diamond firetails and others eat the small seeds with gusto as well.
luckily i live in a rural area and i pick my own.
like others have said their are several similar grasses like november/blowaway grass, all are worth a try.
swamp grass is softer/finer than most and mine grows around a farm dam where its not grazed on.

[Netsurfer]

Wow Netsurfer,now this is turning to the rediculous. Craig

Why? All you have to do is put it in a small plastic bag and try it. I do that with the feathers!

[GregH]

20 seconds in the microwave is unlikely to sterilise anything and certainly not dried grass however any longer risks starting a fire so don't do it! Microwaves basically only heat liquid water and other polar molecules and can not even effectively heat ice let alone dried egg-shells and other dessicated substances. Many insects, like weevils, are themselves on the dry side, containing insufficient water to be greatly affected and they happily wander around in the oven while it is on for periods up to 5 minutes. If you want to sterilise things like this put them in something like an ice-cream container with a damp cloth and then microwave it for 3 minutes and the steam generated will be much more effective at killing than dry microwaving. I've seen fires in microwave oven on two occasions from people trying to quickly dry plant material so be careful not to let things dry out during extended periods in the microwave.

[SamDavis]

In my aviaries I've got dried grass on the floor about a foot thick in many places. I just go down the paddock with a brush cutter where there's heaps of different fine, coarse, short, long grasses, seeds, thistles, weeds and no doubt a variety of bugs. I cut a whole heap (like many massive arms full) and chuck it all over the floor - the finches all go mental foraging around in it for days. I continue adding more every week or so. Some like the green stuff to build their nests and others use older dried up stuff but they all love the variety. I reckon its half the reason my finches breed well (the other half being live food).
I'd need a big microwave to zap that lot!