Aussie Finch Forum

G'day all

I was reading Rusell Kingston's excelent new book, and read about using vinegar flies as live food.
so i was wondering how many people do this?
and just how much benefit are vinegar flies?

Cheers

The answer depends on the birds you keep. I have a vinegar-fly trap in on aviary just to keep myself in practice but the most insectivorous birds I keep are cut-throats and star-finches but I've never seen anything at the trap but that doesn't mean they don't eat them. The small African waxbills will go for them when they have nestlings but don't even bother if you keep zebbies or Gould's.

There a some more topics and pics on the fly trap here
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viewtopic.php?f=42&t=2833&p=13686&hilit ... rap#p13686" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Vinegar fly cultures are a great low maintenance live insect supply for especially favoured by small finches such as Orangebreasts, Strawbs, Ruddies, Cordons, Cubans, Jacarinis, etc.
Very simple: Container or bucket with fruit & vege scraps covered in wire mesh & kept in a shady part of the aviary. May need a moat to keep ants out - sit on a brick in a shallow bowl of water. Favoured scraps are watermelon, tomato, banana, stonefruits. Best to avoid onions & citrus peel.

Tiaris wrote:sit on a brick in a shallow bowl of water.

I've tried that but I find that I still get my bum wet.

Tiaris wrote:Vinegar fly cultures are a great low maintenance live insect supply for especially favoured by small finches such as Orangebreasts, Strawbs, Ruddies, Cordons, Cubans, Jacarinis, etc.
Very simple: Container or bucket with fruit & vege scraps covered in wire mesh & kept in a shady part of the aviary. May need a moat to keep ants out - sit on a brick in a shallow bowl of water. Favoured scraps are watermelon, tomato, banana, stonefruits. Best to avoid onions & citrus peel.

I've never found ants to be an issue. I use waste paper baskets with the slotted sides. Cut the bottom out and bury it to the rim of the slotted sides (this way all the juice goes into the subsoil). Place a lid on top (you don't want bird faeces entering the system or then the flies become a worm intermediate host) and your'e set to go. zMost of my african and most softbills relish them. My cubans are obsessed with them and virtually live on the edge of the dish.

i had a trap just of citrus peel,an another just banana peel before they went to 20 odd dollars a kilo the flies went nuts in it...i know earthworms hate onions and citrus peel .pete