Avian Conversations

(May/June 2001)

by: Tom Riggs and Ross Bishop

SEED & GRAIN

Tom: I think that the main problem with finches is that people keep them on a dry seed diet. To me this is equivalent to slow starvation. There are a lot of finches that are very sturdy and can survive this kind of treatment. But that's not my style of bird keeping and fortunately these days many other people agree with me.

Ross: Let's begin with the area of dry seed and them move into the other ways to feed seed. Seeds are primarily sources of carbohydrates and some fat and a little protein. They have little calcium, few vitamins and a good deal of phosphorous. That changes a good bit, however when the seed is sprouted. The experts tell us that seed should comprise somewhere between 20% and no more than 50% of a bird's diet. And, like anything else in the diet, seed, if fed to excess, will lead to problems. Although rarely a problem in nature, excess fat can be a problem for caged birds with rich diets and limited exercise.

As was mentioned before, birds eat primarily to satisfy their caloric requirements. So if they stuff themselves full of fatty seeds and fatty foods they will get the calories they need but not necessarily the nutrition, and that is why we should be careful regarding seed-heavy diets.

Here are the most commonly used finch seeds and their basic dietary components by percentage. You can see that the carbohydrate to fat ratio varies considerably. (We are indebted to Ian Hinze of The Estrildian for these figures)

Seeds are high in phosphorous. For good nutrition you want your birds to take in about 2-1/2 times as much calcium as phosphorous. This means that the fresh greens, cuttlebone and supplements you feed are very important for proper nutrition. Corn, incidentally has a ratio of one part calcium to 13 parts of phosphorous. Although corn does provide some good nutrients, these can easily come from other sources without creating an excess phosphorous problem. Stated simply, a good deal of corn is not ideal for birds. The freshness of seed is important. Grains are often stored a long time and then sold when the market price is favorable. Unfortunately, the longer seeds sit, the more of their fats turn rancid. We do not have product dating on seeds, but it is something to keep in mind. I bag and freeze my seed so that it will remain fresh longer.

Tom, what is the basic dry seed mix that you feed your birds?

Tom: I have always used mixes, and there are endless formulas available. 20% of this, 10% of that. I simply don't have time to do that and I do not have a source that will mix seed. I presently use Kellogg's Exotic Finch Mix and the normal Parakeet mix. I sprinkle thistle seed on top of the finch mix.

And that's it. During the late fall and summer I also pick seedling grasses from the wild grasses that grow near my home. The birds relish them especially at the half ripe stage.

Ross: I like to be able to mix my own blend. It is more economical and I feel that I can control the quality and freshness of the seed better. I buy organically grown seed in bulk whenever I can. I use a mix of 30% white millet, 40% yellow millet, 20% canary seed and 10% Japanese millet for all my birds. This is in addition to spray millet which the birds get occasionally (dry and soaked). I offer a thistle seed, oat groat, hemp seed mix separately in small amounts. I have a canary who absolutely loves sunflower seeds, so he gets those. I have located a natural foods wholesaler that will sell organic bulk millet. It's human grade so it's a little more expensive, but millet is pretty cheap in the first place so the additional cost is not significant.

SOAKED AND SPROUTED SEED

Ross: One of the best ways to gain even more nutrition from seed is to present it to birds in soaked and sprouted forms. I think birds should get all three forms - dry, soaked and sprouted. When a seed begins to sprout it's chemistry and nutritional content change. Sprouted seeds are a powerful source of good nutrition. The amount of Vitamins A, B, C, E and K all increase significantly. Riboflavin and folic acid increase up to 13 times the amount present in dry seed. Two of the most important amino acids, lysine and tryptophan increase significantly during sprouting. Also, a sprouted seed's oil content drops, reducing fat intake.

A recent study at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine found that "Large quantities of inducers of enzymes that protect against carcinogens can be delivered in the diet by small quantities of young crucifer sprouts, that is, three day old broccoli sprouts, that contain as much inducer activity as ten to a hundred times larger quantities of mature vegetables." There's a message there for both us and our birds.

Most of us sprout only millet because that is what we have on hand, but there are a great many other seeds available that provide excellent nutritional alternatives. Just a few are: amaranth, barley (unhulled), buckwheat, wheat, cabbage, kale, mustard, radish, sunflower, rice, quinoa and clover. Most health food stores sell untreated sprouting seeds and as a rule, if they are edible by humans they will work fine for birds.

After doing the research for these articles I really gained an appreciation for the nutritional value of sprouts and have begun to regularly grow and serve them daily to our birds (they are great for humans too!). My favorites so far are: white millet, broccoli, wheat, radish and clover. My efforts to sprout quinoa and amaranth have not been very successful.

These seeds turn sour on me before they sprout, so I am going to have to refine my technique. Rice sprouts well for me, but I have to watch the sprouts as they have a tendency to go "off" quickly. But the birds really like them. (Carolyn Swicegood has written a good article entitled "Sprouting For Healthier Birds" which can be found at (http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww32e.htm). See also, "Sprouted Seeds The Living Treasures" by Alicia McWatters (http://www.parrothouse.com/sprouts.html).

Tom: I agree that birds need all three seed forms.

Ross: We sprout only one seed variety to a container. I found that in trying to sprout a mix I ran into seeds' differing timetables and needs. Two other thoughts I would add: There is a risk of bacterial growth in sprouting.

When I soak my seed I put a few drops of either Vanodine or Oxyfresh Dent-A-Gene in the water to minimize pathogen growth. I have been told that grapefruit seed extract sold under the trade names Citricidal or Agrisept are good natural alternatives for this. I haven't tried those, however. I found some sprouting trays at a health food store that really work well. I soak millet 24 hours, then thoroughly rinse and drain it. Then I put the tray on top of the hot water heater as you do. The seed is rinsed a couple times each day and in short order we've got sprouts. Rinsing the seed a number of times is important because as seeds sprout, toxins are produced by the process. Those toxins must be rinsed away for the seed to be safe.

This is true for both soaked and sprouted seed. (Incidentally, don't let your sprouts grow too far. The best nutrition is when the sprout is about 1/8 to 1/4" long. When finished, the sprouts are thoroughly rinsed and soaked in dilute bleach water (a couple of drops in water) for about 10 minutes and then rinsed.

Dr. McWatters maintains that if seeds are properly sprouted, a disinfectant is not necessary. The only thing to watch once your seeds have sprouted is that they don't go "off" after a couple of days in the fridge. So long as they have a nutty smell, they're fine. If they start to smell even a little off, toss them. It's not worth the risk. We only make a few days supply at a time. For soaked seed we just drop a measure of seed into water and a few drops of disinfectant for 24 hours, rinse very thoroughly and serve.

Tom: I no longer feed either one any more. I had a breeding break and I think sprouted seed is good for your birds even when they are not breeding, but I think it is particularly important for feeding nestlings. Since I had no one breeding at that time I thought I would stop sprouting seed until breeding picked up again. Then I offered only dry seed, but I soak millet spray over night and offer that generously to the birds. I had a pair of Gouldians that I had removed the nest box (I had more Gouldians that I knew what to do with at the time) but lo and behold, they nested anyway, and I didn't realize it until they had chicks. Since I hadn't been looking, the chicks were 8-9 days old before I realized what was going on. I though, "Well, whatever's done is done" and thought I'd start soaking seed again. This was a most remarkable breeding. The male became ill shortly after I found the chicks, and I had to remove him. The female continued to feed.

When the male recovered, I put him back, but by then he had lost interest in the chicks. Out of that nest came 8 babies and the female continued to feed them all. One chick did not make it. The birds were as good as any I had produced, so I said to myself, "What is going on here?" "What's this thing about soaked and sprouted seed?" And then it suddenly dawned on me that the parents had been feeding their chicks soaked spray millet, which Gouldians love. That is fine with me. It is very high in protein and . . . So I just don't any more.

I watched and found that all my Australian birds fed soaked spray millet to their babies the first few days. The Africans, of course, consume large quantities of live food during those first critical days. I watched carefully and feel that the quality of birds I now produce is identical to those got when I offered both soaked and sprouted seed.

I think that something soaked is essential if you have young birds.

Ross: We have noticed that with soaked spray millet the birds (particularly the Gouldians) will all go to that instead of their regular food. On the days we serve soaked sprays we'll always have more regular food left over. Since they are not getting complete nutrition from the seed, we only serve it as an occasional treat and we do it in the afternoon so as not to interfere with regular nutrition.

GREENFOOD

Ross: Green food is one of the most important sources of essential vitamins and minerals for birds. Let's talk a bit about the fresh food that you provide for your birds.

Tom: Well as I said all of my finch flights contain softbills and so in addition to the seed mix that I mentioned before there's nectar available, greens, of course which are available for all of my birds I use.

Ross: What about the greens?

Tom: Greens, I use green leaf lettuce, I use Romaine lettuce, and I use the name of that lettuce I can't think of. I occasionally use red leaf and sometimes I will use three or four if I just happen to have them. Again it is soaked, even the organic when I use it, it is soaked in vinegar water rinsed three times, laid out on a towel and patted out pretty dry.

Ross: We've had extremely good success feeding a mix of chopped greens and sprouts to our birds. We'll do carrot tops or kale or whatever greens are nutritious and in season. But what has really been a hit in the aviary is to bring dandelion greens in from the yard and chop those with sunflower sprouts. The birds just love them, and they are about the most nutritious greens you can feed (Vitamins E & A, iron, calcium, potassium, and thiamin).

I am told that chickweed is even a little better nutritionally, but I wouldn't know a chickweed if I saw one. I guess they don't grow in New Mexico. Anyway, we have plenty of dandelions so this solves two problems for me. I feed my birds well and get the dandelions out of the yard! We also have a good farmer's market, so during the summer I get lots of good organic greens and sprouts there, too. During the winter our health food stores carry wonderful dandelion greens, and they aren't terribly expensive.

Before serving, all greens are all sprayed with Oxyfresh Cleansing Gel and then carefully rinsed and spun dry. I bought a small $30 Quisinart that we use for our bird food preparation and we coarse chop the greens with sunflower sprouts in it. The birds love it.

Tom: Easy to pick up.

Ross: I know that you and I agree that it is pointless to feed iceberg lettuce because it has nothing in it.

Tom: It's totally nutritionally worthless.

I like to make my birds work as much as possible and by that I mean they don't really have to do anything, the food is there, the water is there and I think it is good for them to work. I attach all of my greens with clothes pins to branches and they have to pick at it and work at it and you know get it.

Ross: So you'll just take a leaf and use a clothespin to put it on a branch.

Tom: Yes. although there is a theory that one should not feed greens in the winter because winter greens are nutritionally worthless, all of my birds relish greens even in winter and I always make them available.

Tom: You mention chard and things. I've used chard, I find most of the time it's very difficult for little Waxbills and things to get it because its a little bit too tough but I see your point of chopping it up.

Ross: I think the only thing you have to watch there is not to chop it up too finely because you end up with a pulp and they won't eat it.

The list of things you can feed your birds is almost infinite and I would encourage people to both try and experiment to see what their birds like because often what works for somebody in one place doesn't work in another place. Also, like us, it seems that birds enjoy some variety in their diet.

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Last modified: January 07, 2004
Copyright © 1999 National Finch and Softbill Society