Raising Finches without White Ants or Maggots

[BlackCobra]

Over the years there has been many ways to give a little protein to finches without going bush for white ants or raising maggots.
Lately there has been crumbles, I would never get my finches onto crumble only, if some get sold at a sale or elsewhere & then the new person feeds seed, the finches would starve to death.
I learnt a valuable lesson about 30 years ago when I was given a Maskovi drake, I was use to feeding grains to all my chooks & ducks but I didnt realize he couldn't eat them as well as all the other Birds I had, I noticed him getting light so I contacted the old owner & she use to feed wet pollard only, so now when I buy any animal or bird I first ask what do you feed it.
Anyway Ill tell of all the different ways I add protein to my aviaries, I learnt some of these from some my old friends, first a lot build a compost heap in the aviary & add vegetable scraps & add seed & a bit of soil & turn it over all the time, the finches love to forage & pick out sprouting seeds & fruit fly, my mate at Kitchener does that in every aviary.
Also a tin with vegetable scraps is good to bring fruit fly, the birds sit on top & wait for any new ones crawling out, the flies sits on top until they can fly, you cover it with flyscreen & fruit fly only go in.
Another method is lights in the flights, all the moths come at night & in the morning all the birds have a feast, I remember the saints use to go crazy in the morning for the moths, you can also make moth traps & dump them into the aviary the next day.
I also give sprouted seeds that give a good boost, they reckon that the birds get 300-500% more vitamins ect.
I also give Turkey or chicken starter in a small dish & sprinkle over the seed, but I avoid the one with coccidiosis medications.
Make sure you give lots seeding heads they give a great boost to babies.
I probably forgot some ideas.
Oh another one, Some people give Cake & egg foods.
Another method is to mainly go finches that can live without live food like, Painteds, Stars, all manikins/nuns, Gouldians, Parrot finches, Singers, Cubins, Bengaleses, Zebs, Orangebreasts, I have known some to breed ruddies, plumheads, & greenfinches without live food.
But I would still give sprouted seeds & seed heads to all the finches above to make sure they get enough protein ect.
If you don't have much live food, then I suggest you don't get Melbers, there the biggest pigs ever, there the first into the white ants & last to leave even when there not feeding young.
Has any one else got any good ideas.