Aussie Finch Forum

Was just told by an old timer that feeding boiled rice to finches is ok?? Haven't heard of this before has anyone here heard of this before this came from someone into canaries not finches

Cant see it hurting them at all . Brown rice is going to be better for them of course .

Have heard of giving them rice but think it's java sparrows that i heard it sparrow

I used to feed it to the fruit-piegeons, & the weavers would have a go at it.

I think GregH has spoken about it ? Cant recall if it was boiled though.

I have heard too that it can be given and tried it, but my birds were not interested. I tried it hoping to fool them into thinking they were getting maggots and encourage breeding. No pulling the wool over their eyes. That was before I learnt how to breed maggots by you Aussies.

Off the web:
One cup of brown rice cooked (195g) has 216.4 calories 1.76g of fat, 0.64g of monosaturated fat, 0.63g of polyunsaturated fat, 0.35g of saturated fat, 44.8g of carbohydrate, 5.03g of protein, 0.66g of fibre, 0.19 mg of thiamine (B1), 0.05mg of riboflavin, 2.98mg of nicotinic acid, 0.28mg of pantothenic acid, 0.28mg of vit B 6, 7.80mg of folic acid, 19.50mg of calcium 0.82 mg of iron, and 1.23mg of zinc.

◦Rice is an important source of complex carbohydrates, which provide energy to the body and fuel for the brain. According to RiceTrade.com, rice provides vitamins including riboflavin, thiamine and niacin. Rice also contains iron, vitamin D and calcium. It contains no cholesterol or gluten and has no additives or preservatives. Rice contains eight amino acids which makes it a good source of protein.

What would the birds get out of it that they are not getting already in their diet? That is the question I always ask before trying something new these days.

Monique/Myzomela or anyone else
Question on Rice
Would it be an added bonus if I blended Brown Rice that has been through a blender(not to dust though) dry to my soaked seed mix
I do know of a person who feeds boiled rice,peas and corn kernals to his collection and has said it works for his birds.

I don't see that rice provides anything more than another carbohydrate source, just like many other grains.
Being soft it is easily digestable but if you're looking at adding rice because it provides something extra for the birds that they are otherwise lacking then I think you'll be disappointed.
In summary, nothing really wrong with it-but nothing special either!

Mmm not sure, I think I have more questions than answers. Never thought to give it to them raw. It takes a fair amount of boiling to soften rice. Would it swell up after eaten - probably not sufficiently to soften and allow for good absorption? Rice is just plain hard raw. How do Javas eat it? Is it hard when they eat it off the plants or more like a regular seed, like green milk seed? I'm not familiar with a rice plant only the product in a bag? How do the wild Java's absorb that hard kernel.

I use cous cous every now and then as an addition to my soaked seed/soft food mix. It only takes a couple of minutes in hot water to soften. I just measure out what I want, add the equivalent of boiling water to it and leave it covered with a dish towel for a few min. Come back and its ready to add to seed and soft food. Plus my birds actually like it and eat it. Rice just lies around for me to pick up

E Orix wrote: I do know of a person who feeds boiled rice,peas and corn kernals to his collection and has said it works for his birds.

A breeder in Vic?