Mixing seed or serving separately

[craig]

Have just been wondering about the various seeds and seed mixes you can buy. I currently buy my
seed separately and mix it up myself. Rather than doing this, I thought it might be a more natural and less wasteful
way would be to put each individual seed in a feeder as then the birds can pick and choose what they want.

Does anyone feed like this or is there any reason not to ? Only concern was they they just hammer one seed and dont touch the others. But then my argument would be that they are not eating the other seed anyway.

Seeds including would be

White millet
Red Pannicum
Canary
Jap Millet
Niger
Rye

and maybe some White Lettuce and Black Lettuce

[jusdeb]

I mix mine , Ive thought about separate seed containers but there would be so many feeders in the cage for them to poop on and Im not prepared to be cleaning that many containers.
I have noticed that they eat different seeds at different times of the year .

[gomer]

When i only had a few avairys,I used to feed it out seperately.But it become's time consuming the more avairys you have.I still buy it seperately and mix it myself now.The list you have sounds like a good mix of seeds.

[toothlessjaws]

two words...

red. panicum.

[craig]

The plan is to make a seed hoppers refillable from the outside of the cage and I thought it would give me a lot better idea of what seed they are actually eating and only having to refill as per requirement. And as they go into the breeding cabinets come breeding time i can mix seed a little more acurately with less waste.

[GregH]

I too mix my own seed and feed from a hopper. Everyone's circumstances are different and while it's nice to emulate nature the birds are adaptable within limits so I expoit that. I find that to get seed that will sprout I have to purchace many different types over a period of time to find some that is viable as it's nearly all dead here in the Philippines. If I didn't mix there is the possibility they would only eat one type and that isn't natural but they do discriminate anyway as they avoid the black seeds. I've tied niger, rape and black milet in the mix and they are seeds that invariably collect in the waste trap below the hopper with the husks. These generally oily seeds are probably more relished by species other estrillids and in less tropical climates but I do wonder where they get their essential fatty acids from (perhaps my fruit-fly traps?). I've seen recommendations for feeding seed like lettuce and niger separately because of the cost and perhaps there are other reasons to - especially if there is an undetected season requiremnet and if you have frigillids in your collection.