ISSN 1492-8132
Issue 75, © 2003
No reprints without permission

We've been having email problems the last few weeks, so if you sent us a note by email and it 'bounced', please send it again, this time we should receive it correctly.

There are several breeds of Frill canaries, but only one breed who also has naturally curly toenails. These beautiful birds, sometimes called the 'gentle giants' of canaries, are among the oldest breeds of type canaries. They are quite large by comparison to most canaries, usually being around 7 inches in length, and are one of the few of the frilled breeds to carry frilled feathers over their entire head and body. The breed? The type canary known to one and all as the Parisian Frill!

Do you have a favourite tip or trick that you like to use? Maybe you know of a great bird site which deserves a review? Why not share them with other Flock readers? Send your ideas here, to Robirda.

The folks at Bird and Cage Co have made it their goal to provide birdkeepers with a great selection of quality cages for the best possible prices - and if you live in the continental US, there's an even nicer bonus - for now at least, shipping is free!

But the good news doesn't stop there! In response to the interest displayed in these cages by our readers and visitors to Robirda.com, Bird & Cage is continuing to offer a special deal to those buying their cages from our site.

See Robirda's reviews of these and other cages.

While on the surface this looks like an excellent product, similar products made for pet birds have been known to grow mould at the roots by the time the wheatgrass is as tall as shown in the photos of this product shown at the site.

The inhalation of moult spores can potentially cause huge problems for any bird. An email sent to the company inquiring about this issue received no response, and therefor I don't feel safe about recommending the use of this product for your birds.

Do you have or sell a great bird product? Send us a sample, and have it reviewed for Flock Talk readers! We will be reviewing foods, cages and cage accessories, toys, and other bird items we have direct experience with in upcoming issues. Send your inquiry and a brief description of your product(s) here, to Robirda.

We rely on you to help keep this publication and its associated websites alive. If you find help you need in this ezine, please consider joining our sponsors. Sponsor us for $75 or more and you'll also get a free lifetime Nest membership!

If you're looking for something different, don't forget to check our home page for links to all our great products!

For all those who've helped out in so many ways, thank you for your ongoing support. We hope you enjoy our feature story in this issue! The next is due July 20th - 'til then, we hope you and your birds will be well and happy, and enjoy the summer. We look forward to seeing you all then!

Robirda
July 6, 2003

Welcome to Robirda's Companion Birds eZine

For breeder or pet bird owners who care.

"Brats in Feathers, Keeping Canaries" will soon be available in print! This book combines the two Brats in Feathers ebooks for a beautiful and useful book, printed with special long-lasting colour-fast inks.

This book is packed with sound information and all the fabulous photos from the original ebooks. The production process we chose reproduces the picture quality better than any of the other methods tested, and gives the printed pages a durability we feel will be very useful in any birdroom.

Each volume in this limited edition is hand-numbered and personally signed by Robirda. We feel these books will become collector's editions. The first issues will be rolling off the press in a few short weeks, so don't miss out on this special offer exclusively for ebook customers and Flock Talk readers!

Pre-order our new book now and receive 10% off the cover price of $39.99, along with a bonus copy of one of two of our other popular ebooks; choose between our "Tips 'N Tricks" ebook, or a copy of our popular big-birds ebook, "Living With A Parrot".

To pre-order your copy of Brats in Feathers, Keeping Canaries, send an email to books at robirda.com, and let us know which complementary ebook you would like to receive. We will then send you a email that will allow you to send your book payment online or offline, as you prefer.

Feature Article

I've been asked a lot of questions over the years, but one of the more commonly heard ones is never simple to answer. Finding the right solution for me involved factoring in a great deal of variables - and what works for me, may not work for you.

Nevertheless, as stated in my article 'Soak Seed and Nestling Food', (posted at robirda.com/soakseed.html ) I have found soaked seeds to be an invaluable addition to my birds' diet, and for a number of years now, using soaked seeds has been a central part of my bird care routines for much of each year.

So, for everybody who's ever asked, here's my answer to the question,

by R C McDonald
www.robirda.com
Copyright © 2003

I first encountered the notion of soaking grain fed to livestock years ago. In the midst of a domestic crisis, I faced having to sell my beloved poultry due to lack of money for feed.

"Well, what're ya feedin' them that stuff fer?" one of my neighbours inquired, waving her hand at the bags of layer pellets stacked in the barn.

"Well, I tried feeding them mixed grains, but they weren't doing very well on it, and there was a lot of waste..." my voice trailed off. She was regarding me with the gently patient look she usually reserved for young children or idiots.

"Dry?" she inquired, folding her arms. One foot was beginning to tap, I noticed. I had a feeling I was missing something.

"Of course, what other way is there?" I responded, struggling not to squeak.

"- what other way?! Oooohhh!" she exclaimed, obviously at a loss for words. Finally, she asked, "You mean you've never heard of soaking grain before you feed it to your poultry? I can't believe it! I thought everybody knew to do that. They can't digest it properly, dry, unless it's ground or rolled, and soaking it's so much easier..." her voice trailed off. This time it was my turn to give her 'the look'.

"Why on earth would 'everybody' know that?" I demanded firmly, not realizing, of course, that what she was about to tell me would be useful to me (and used by me) for the rest of my life.

The concept was simple. You took a mixture of grains selected so their nutrient value would balance as much as possible. This mix was placed in a bucket with twice the amount of water and left overnight. In the morning the water was strained off and dumped on the garden, and the soaked grains rinsed, strained again, and then fed to the chickens.

Her father and grandfather had always done this, she said, and they always had a 'fine fat flock', with little to no problems with sick or unproductive birds. Crushed oyster shells were offered seperately, to provide the calcium needed for producing eggshells, and the birds would be allowed to roam in a pasture in the afternoons, where they could glean insects and munch on greenery.

The biggest advantage to me was that this mixture of grains supplemented with the oyster shells, gave my birds a good diet at about half of the cost I'd been paying, or less. Thanks to my neighbour's advice, I was able to keep my flock.

Perhaps due to this background, when I first began keeping canaries it was natural to feed them soaked seed. The mixture that had served my chickens, doves, geese and ducks would not do for the canaries, however - they did not seem to like the taste of some of the grains in the mixture, and would not eat everything I served them.

I felt that it was important to find a mixture of grains that would be acceptable to them that would still supply adequate amounts of the nutrients needed during breeding and moulting - especially during the critical period when they were raising their babies - and so began a series of experiments.

It wasn't long before I found a mix of soaked grains and seeds that my canaries would eat reliably, but I wasn't entirely happy with the nutrient content, nor was I thrilled with the fact that my birds loved these soaked seeds so much that they would eat them exclusively to all the other foods they were offered, if given the chance.

I could see where this could cause problems, particularly during the critical nesting period when they were spending so much energy raising babies. Add in the fact that canary babies require constant supplies of nutrients at a high enough level to support their rapid rate of growth, and I could see the potential for problems.

Finally, I did not like the fact that the damp, soaked seeds would go sour fairly quickly if offered in amounts greater than the birds could eat in a few minutes.

How could I create a food high in the necessary nutrients that would remain stable reliably enough to offer in quantities large enough to provide steady nutrition for growing babies?

This was a bit of a quandary, in particular because some days I would be gone at work for 9 hours or more. Add in the fact that towards the end of breeding season in particular, the weather would be getting consistently quite warm, and you could have a recipe that could add up to disaster unless I could find a way to prevent the soaked seeds I offered from going sour.

The problem was less significant when feeding adult birds who required some extra nutrition throughout the rest of the year; say, through the moult, or to help allay stress. I would be feeding only once a day in such cases, and all I had to do was to serve a small enough portion so that it would be eaten quickly.

In the end, I settled for a combination effect. My soak seed mix has varied a little over the years, but nowadays usually consists of something like 50 lbs each of canary grass and black oil sunflower seed, 40 lbs of canola, 20 lbs each of wheat berries and safflower seed, 10 lbs of buckwheat, and 5 lbs each of mung bean and raw sesame seed. (I include the sesame seeds because they are one of the few seeds high in a necessary protein factor rarely found in other seeds.)

These seeds would be soaked for 12 to 24 hours or so, rinsed well, and offered to the canaries, but first, they would be mixed with equal portions of either a good commercially available nestling food mix, or my homemade nestling food.

My homemade mix was based on ground whole-wheat breadcrumbs, rolled oats, and (depending on if there were babies in the nest or not) varying amounts of baby cereal. It always included powdered vitamins, minerals, and probiotics. To eat the soak seed, they would also have to eat the dry mixture the damp seeds were mixed together with, and so they would get more complete nutrition than if offered soaked seed alone.

The final factor in my multi-pronged approach was to buy cheap paper plates on which to serve the birds my soaked-seed and nestling food mixture. These plates would help absorb any excess moisture so the mixture tended to dry out, rather than go sour.

This meant that parent birds with babies to feed would be able to offer edible food to their youngsters for an hour or two longer than if I served their food in the usual dishes, where it would go sour quite quickly on a warm day. As long as I made sure that there was also plenty of dry seed, pellets, and greens available, the parents would have plenty of food to offer their youngsters, even when I was gone for most of the day.

Before leaving for work, I served generous portions, leaving some prepared soak seed already mixed with the nestling food in the fridge. When I got home, the birds would have cleaned up everything, and be hungry but not overly so. All I had to do then was go to the fridge and get out some fresh soak seed and nestling food mixture.

The babies grew rapidly and well with this approach, normally fledging at 17 or 18 days, and to my delight, they also weaned very easily, and were usually eating enough of the soaked seed and nestling food mix to support themselves without their parents by the time they were 25 days old, sometimes less.

The same soaked seed and nestling food mix, without the extra proteins of the baby cereal, helps to speed the moult and add a little extra nutrition and interest to my adult birds' diet throughout most of the rest of the year. It may only be served once a week or so during some periods, but the birds stay familiar with it and always seem to regard it as a treat.

I have been using this method of serving soaked seeds with nestling food for over a decade and a half now, and have found that this habit has eased many obstacles along the way. So if you are not currently offering soaked seeds to your birds, why not give it a try?

If your birds are anything like mine, they will thank you with increased health, vibrance, vigour, breedability, and song.

by R C McDonald
www.robirda.com
Copyright © 2003

When you need help on housing, feeding, care or behavioral questions, now you can ask for Robirda's personal advice for only $15. Even avian vets sometimes consult with Robirda on small-bird behaviour and other such issues.

A recent consultee said, "I must tell you that this service is worth much more than we pay. You certainly provide a valuable and informative service! Your information will make the difference... "

Robirda can help you learn to understand your birds better.

This issue's question;

"What proportion of which seeds do you include in your basic seed mix for canaries? I would like to make my own mix, but am not sure which seeds to use in which porportions."

Robirda's answer;

"Hello! I use a slightly varying mix depending on the season - but the most common mix I use is 80% canary grass, 10% Pretty Bird mini-pellets, 6% oat groats, and 4% niger. (measured by weight.)

"I have tried different kinds of small pellets in the mix, but Pretty Bird seems to be their favourite. Of course, that could be because those are the only pellets reliably available when fresh, in my area. Try several different kinds for your birds, to find which they will eat best.

"Around mid-winter I will change the mix to 75% canary grass, 12% pellets, 7% oat groats, and 6% niger. I'll use that mix until the middle of breeding season or so, then switch back to the first mix through the moult, fall, and early winter.

"Of course, they always get lots of greens too, often mixed with grated carrots - and in the winter they tend to get a little more spray millet to play with, and I will sometimes give them an extra handful of rolled oats then, too.

"They get most of their vitamins in the soak seed/nestling food mix that I serve them. (for more on my methods of offering soak seed, see the article above, as well as the article posted at www.robirda.com/soakseed.html )

"Outside of breeding season, instead of a higher-protein nestling food, I will substitute a mix based on finely ground whole-wheat bread crumbs, adding powdered vitamins and minerals, some probiotics, and maybe some canthaxanthin, if I am colourfeeding.

"Sometimes I will add a little fresh bee pollen or some other such supplement to the mix, but only a little - such extras are quite potent, and should only be offered in tiny amounts. The soak seed and nestling food mix format makes it simple to offer this kind of variety in small amounts.

"Just exactly what goes into the dry mix will vary a little, depending on what I have on hand, and what's available at what price; in general though, I try to vary the 'extras' a little but still keep the mix fairly balanced, nutrition-wise.

"My flock will get the soaked-and-slightly-sprouted seed with the breadcrumbs/vitamins/supplements mix on it daily through the moult, and weekly the rest of the year. They also have free access to a good soluble-mineral mix, like the ones from Abba Seed or Silversong West - plus, I get my friends & family to collect and save eggshells for me, so I can add plenty of crunched-up baked eggshells to the mineral mix.

"Overall, they seem to do very well on this routine - it has worked excellently for me for a good number of years now.

"I do hope this answers your question - good luck, and, happy canary-keeping!"