How to Feed a Bird

Dry bird seed normally provides a satisfactory diet, but many experienced fantiers maintain that a diet of soaked andsprouted seed proves more nutritious.Cheap seed should be avoided since itusually contains a great deal of dust andproves difficult to germinate. Birds withyoung must be provided with amplequantities of good quality soaked andsprouted seeds. The vitamin content ofsprouted seed is extremely high. Seedsshould be soaked in cold water for 24hours, then washed, drained and left tosprout in a warm place, until the shootsare about 6 mm ( 1/4 in) long. This can taketwo to four days, according to thetemperature.



The most universally popular seeds arethe four varieties of millet seed: white,panicum, Japanese and red millet. Theseare usually mixed together. Plain canaryseed is the next most frequently used withother seeds fed as required. Maw seed,rape, linseed and hemp seed (if available)and the black niger seed are useful,particularly during cold weather whenbody fat needs to he maintained. Hulledoats, groats and sunflower seed are usually fed to larger species. Parrotlike birdsneed adequate supplies of sunflowerseeds and many eat maize and peanutstoo.

A simple extra is clear honey which may be mixed with water in drinkers oreven with seed for birds with young in thenest. Raw- egg yolk may also he mixedwith seed. Stale wholemeal bread, whichhas been well soaked, should be crum-bled into small pieces and may have alittle milk poured over it to form an ideal rearing aid. Any leftovers must be re-moved quickly lest the milk turn sour.Alternatively, the bread can he soaked inwater, which is better if the remainscannot he removed promptly. Never usefresh bread for this purpose; it is tooheavy to digest and can prove fatal toyoung birds.

Ample supplies of grit and cuttlefishbone are essential. Grit comes in severalforms including oystershell, crushed gra-nite and slate. Proprietary tonic grit inpacket form may be purchased at petfood stores. It contains several vitalminerals including salt, iron oxide, cal-cium, lime, phosphorus and a little char-coal. This preparation helps birds tomasticate seed in the crop and thereforeto digest their food properly. The calciumin cuttlefish bone is very high. Cuttlefishbone may be given both whole or flakedinto small thin slivers.

Chicken egg shells are a very worth-while source of added calcium, particu-larly important during the breeding sea-son to help form healthy egg shells. Cleanegg shell should he baked in the ovenuntil very brittle and crushed into fineparticles before feeding.

Charcoal is relished by certain seed-eaters, especially Australian finches. Alltypes of grit should be provided in aseparate dish to discourage birds fromtaking only their favourite kind from aselection.

If practical, annual or perennial seed-ing grass should he grown in the aviary.With these semi-ripe seeds availablemany types of birds successfully rearbroods with little more than a hard seeddiet.

Fresh greenfood should be fed on aregular basis as sporadic feeding cancause stomach upsets. New stock should be introduced to greenfood gradually andquantities increased as they becomeaccustomed to it. Take care that anygreenstuff has been obtained from areasfree from insecticide spray, and that thefood is always washed carefully. Chick-weed (Stellaria media) is an importantsource of Vitamin E. Lettuce, dandelionand spinach are all useful. Among suit-able seeding weeds are plantain (Plant-ago lanceolata), groundsel (Seneca° vul-garis), shepherd's purse (Capsella bursapastoris) and clover (Trifolium pratense).Thistles, such as Carduus and Cirsizon,are enjoyed by many birds including thegoldfinch. Frozen greenfood shouldnever be given, as it chills the stomach.Some birds use left-over greenstuff intheir nests during the breeding seasonand this damp material often helps insoftening the egg shells, allowing thechicks to hatch easily.

Cod liver oil is a highly beneficialaddition to the seed during cold weatherand particularly in the breeding season tohelp prevent egg binding in young hens.Add 5 ml (1 teaspoon) of stabilised codliver oil to Vz kg (2 lb 3 (m) of mixedmillet, shake well and allow to stand for24 hours before feeding to birds. Anyuneaten oiled seed should be removedafter a further 24 hours to prevent it frombecoming rancid. This seed can then hewashed and allowed to sprout beforefeeding so that it is not wasted. Oiled seedshould be fed about once a month duringsummer and weekly in winter.

A liquid multi-vitamin preparation may be added to the birds' drinkers. Twodrops are sufficient in a standard 50-ce ( 1pint) drinker every other day.

During the breeding season breedingpairs may be supplied with proprietarybrand canary rearing food mixed with finely mashed hard-boiled egg. This is anourishing food for regurgitation by theparents for feeding to their young. It isbest to start the parents on this before theyoung arrive, so they become accustomedto the mixture, and to check that they arefeeding well. It should be given in themorning and uneaten mixture thrownaway by dusk, or earlier in very warmregions, to ensure it is not tainted.Ground birds, such as quail and smalldoves, require a seed mixture comprisingequal parts of canary seed, mixed milletsand a small quantity of hemp (if avail-able) and groats. Wheat should be addedto the diet of larger quail. Since quail areavid consumers of insectivorous food,meal worms, beetles and fresh ants' eggsshould be offered.

For parrotlike species, add sunflowerseed, fresh peanuts, groats and a smallamount of hemp (if available) to mixed

Striped sunflower seed should be plump andhard

millets and plain canary seed. Sunfloweriind peanuts should make up about halfof the mixture.

Large parrakeets enjoy other seedssuch as buckwheat, whole oats, barley,wheat and maize. They enjoy small sweetapples, grapes, pears and bananas. Allshould be unbruised fruit of sound quali-ty. They also like raw carrot and freshsweetcorn (maize). They may also begiven twigs co chew. Many types of woodare suitable, except laurel and laburnum,which are poisonous. Boiled sweetcorn(maize), should be fed in a separate dish,or its moisture makes seed turn mouldy.Some birds prefer fruit containingseeds or pips and waste the flesh to reachthem. Pomegranates are often enjoyed.Sponge cake soaked in a honey mixturemay also be offered.

Parrotlike birds often suffer from adeficiency of Vitamin A in seed diets, so itis wise to provide a nectar mixture torectify this. Two teaspoons of honey andtwo of rose hip syrup should be dissolvedin water. If desired, add a few drops ttf amulti-vitamin preparation and perhapsalternate this with a meat extract. Thisprovides ample quantities of Vitamins Aand D. Other alternatives, such as malt,condensed milk and honey, may also beoffered mixed with water. This should begiven in dishes.

Most parrotlike birds love picking overa clod of earth with roots and grassattached. The trace elements manganese,iron, copper and zinc are often lacking intheir diet and are provided in this way.It is recommended that cooled, boiledwater is always given to small seedeaters,particularly Australian species, such asGouldians, who seem to thrive better onthis. It is difficult to prevent birds drink-ing front other sources when they are kept outside, but at least the water intheir drinkers should he boiled.Australia and the State of Californiahave declared the sale of hemp seedillegal. Sunflower seed provides the samenutrients as hemp.