Aussie Finch Forum

I wonder who will be able to answer this for me.
why is it that a lot of older finch breeders make Madeira cake available as a food source for their birds?
What is in the cake that is good for the birds?

Given that it's flour sugar eggs butter and milk I'd say it's a way of providing them with a dry egg and biscuit style mix with milk (or cream depending on the recipe) providing them with calcium as well.

Not only Finchies but Quarrion breeders and now I find out Red Rump breeders , I thought it was old fashioned but apparently its still common practice ...
Kinda think it maybe a cheap and convenient type of soft food or maybe its just that the birds love it ...curious to know myself .

Also worth considering is that it wouldn't be made the same way it was many years ago when fresh ingredients were used , these days it has the consistency of rubber and the taste of processed flour where once upon a time you could taste the eggs and butter .

Ive used it in winter to keep the Quarrions a bit plump to help cope with the cold , well it makes me feel like I'm helping them anyway .

I feed it to all birds, finches, softbills, Lorikeets, parrots& the cockies, they all love it. Provides some calcium, protein, fats, carbohydrate & a little starch.

Madeira cake is used by people because all birds from McCaws to the smallest finch readily eat it. It should however only be used as a treat. I know some colour canary breeders use it to mix their colour supplements through the cake as this makes less of a mess. I use Madeira to mix it through my softfood and sprouted mix as a means of introducing it to newly accuired birds at the rate of 10 procent cake to 90 procent of the food. Cheers, Case