# Am I giving to much?



## RobinL (Nov 16, 2014)

I have had a difficult time getting my Budgies to eat any fresh food. About a month ago I put in half of an English muffin and they loved it. The muffin is Ezekial 7 sprouted grains muffins from food for life. It is made of sprouted grains yeast and salt. No flour, sugar, or oils and all organic. I have since switched them to the bread instead of the muffins since it is lower in sodium. My question is am I feeding them to much. I was giving a half a slice of bread each day cut in half between 6 budgies but I am now giving 3/4 of a slice as I noticed my paired budgies were excluding my 2 single budgies and they weren't getting much. I now put 1/4 of a slice in three different places. They go right for it in the morning and it is gone quick. It seems like grain, especially sprouted grain would be a good food for them but is everyday to much?


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## Cheesepusher (Feb 11, 2014)

That bread sounds like an awesome treat, but I'm not sure I would feed it every day. The amount you're feeding comes to an additional 10 mg of sodium per budgie every day, which doesn't seem like much, but they're so tiny! Have you noticed them drinking more or any change in the liquid portion of their droppings?


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## Spiritbird (Nov 26, 2014)

Since you have multiple budgies have you tried laying out a bunch of greens for them to munch on? Usually when there are several budgies together if one bird starts to eat they will all jump in. Try laying out some kale and dandelion greens and see what happens.
I would not feed this bread every day or you will end up with fat little budgies.

If the greens are still wet you can sprinkle them with seeds to help them get interested. Also you could break up some avicakes and sprinkle on the greens. You gotta think out of the box to get some budgies interested in a healthy diet.


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## Jo Ann (Sep 3, 2011)

*Am*

We provide mung bean sprouts daily with soft food consisting of whole grain bread froxen/fresh peas corn carrots an broccoli or other veggies we have on hand. Carrot greens/celantro /parsley /spinach/kale/ romain are also good to use as you have them for your meals. We give them corn bread as a treat in the soft food and top it off with fresh hard boiled eggs/ or Quiko prepared egg food. then we top off with Soluvite D breeder which includes probiotics and is packed with more nutreients Than Soluvite D which is perfect for people who are not involved with strong breeder program. As needed We alternate ACV for several days/ Electrolyte in times of stress or illness/travel to shows includes probiotics because we hold on the soft food and too many greens to keep droppings tight. So have a feeder available always with standard seed pellet mix every day and then a tablespoon+_ per each bird of your soft food. We also have side dishes with treats dry alfalfa greens and garden salad greens with flower parts/stems etc. of some of the common herbs. purchased from ladygouldianfinch in 1 lb pkg. You should probably start with 1/2 lb to keep it fresh. We also add bee pollen and powdered clay for extra minerals needed in small amounts, which are dusted on soft food and dry greens. We keep manu rose/ cuttlebone/ which you can microwave to guard against contaminants/ Iodine brown salt wheel with other minerals as well/ and there are mineral blocks as well to choose from for the budgies to sample at will. In the evening We give millet spray as a treat after all the standard food has been available earlier in the day. Just for fun We keep a container of special finch seeds with all those oil seed we give in small doses as a special treat.

Breeding families have a constant supply of millet spray in nest box and for papa in the main breeding cage this is easily digested and supplements the soft food that is the basis of the crop milk the hen produced for the very young chicks. We provide 2 to 3 servings of fresh food daily to be sure the hen has plenty to make the more liquid crop milk for the youngest. Yes we do spoil our parents and chicks with the soft food to keep them healthy with plenty of nutrients to grow, especially, calcium. Which is provided in the drinking water as well as cuttlebone/ manu rose etc. As the calcium can be quickly drained from the parents as they feed the chicks. We like to see our parents add some weight just before they go to breeding box so they loose less weight as they feed the chicks. There is always gravity feed seed pellet combo containers 24/7 for all our birds to sample at will. A small flock should be able to balance food intake as long as they have large flight cage/ free flight time for exercise. There are at least one some times 2 foraging stations /swings etc so each budgie has activity toys to keep their minds active and their beaks busy between naps. and flights around the enclosure. With a small flock you just pick and choose what works for you.

Blessings, Jo Ann:budge:


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## Jonah (Feb 3, 2013)

I agree with Karen and Dianne, everyday is probably too much. I would use it for a treat...


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## RobinL (Nov 16, 2014)

I was a little worried about the sodium but then I read the ingredients on the zupreem pellets I use and they have salt in them as well. I also looked up the Harrisons and it has salt as well but neither of them list the sodium content per serving. To be honest the bread seems a lot healthier than the pellets now that I have read the ingredients. My birds don't really eat that much of the pellets though. I give them 1 tablespoon a day split into two dishes and 2 tablespoons of the seed mix I use split into 4 dishes. They are out of their cage for about 3 to 4 hours a day when I get off work and I then give them 3 more tablespoons of seed mix on their play place split into 4 different bowls one on each play place. Each of their play places is 4 feet wide and at least 24 in. tall and 18" deep and now that they can fly they go on top as well so they get a lot of exercise plus they have a prevue hendryx F050 cage. I feed Volkman Super science seed mix mixed with My safebird store Golden gourmet Australian blend. I do want them to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables but they won't go near it. I have tried using a clip for the greens on their play place and in their cage which is what I do for the bread but they don't touch it and I have tried many times to get them to eat mixed vegies. The frozen mix with corn, peas, and carrots but they won't touch that either. I will try clipping some millet with the greens. That is how I get them to play with new toys or go on new perches. Also since I hang the bread with clips I am sure quite a bit ends up on the bottom of the cage.


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## Cheesepusher (Feb 11, 2014)

Sounds like a wonderful and healthy setup! :2thumbs: Your comment about sodium in pellets got me thinking, so I contacted Harrison's (because that's what I feed). Here's their reply:


> There are only essential trace amounts of sodium in these formulas.
> Adult Lifetime Coarse, Fine and Superfine each include 0.00075% sodium by weight.


That means in a 3-gram (2 teaspoon) per budgie serving, that's only .0225 milligrams of sodium per day. So that does make me think the 10 mg (or even 5, if half of it ends up on the cage floor) in a serving of bread is maybe too much for every day.


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## PrincipePio (Jan 21, 2014)

It sounds great as a treat, like others have said. I would try putting the bread under some veggies (like under a pile of parsley leaves) and see if they will eat some while they're trying to get to the bread. Also, I would give veggies every day - multiple times if you can! - until they start eating them. Budgies are known for being stubborn, but I'll bet that we can be more so! Good luck


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I think the suggestions you've received with regard to more fresh veggies (and a bit less bread) is right on.

You might take a look at the link below for some good information with regard to a healthy budgie diet:
Our Budgies Diet - Cute Little Birdies Aviary*


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## RobinL (Nov 16, 2014)

Finally success. I decided to try some vegies today. Just the frozen mixed vegies, with corn, peas, carrots and green beans, probably not the best choice but I figured it was a start. Anyway I put two bowls in the cage on their platform perches and hung the bread over the top of them so the crumbs would fall in the bowl and it actually worked. At first they just picked the crumbs out but now they are eating the vegies too, yeah!! I will just offer the vegies tomorrow and see if they go for them and once they are doing good with that I will start mixing in some other vegies and fruits. I am so excited!!


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