HELP/ADVICE - Feeding 30 wild ringnecks (some moulting) through the winter

[JohnnyBgood]

I’ve had both the pleasure and honour of receiving about 30 wild ringnecks twice a day on my balcony for their breakfast and supper, for the past 2-3 months.

They were initially attracted by the peeled sunflower seeds which I put out for birds to give them a little help during the fall and winter period, when food is hard to come by.

I was hoping I could get some advice as to with what other seeds/nuts I could mix the sunflower seeds as they are not the cheapest, especially considering that this tsunami of ringnecks devour approximately 55 pounds per month. I know that it is frowned upon to feed parakeets solely seeds, however, I believe this to be more applicable to your tame house ringneck, rather than these wild ones. These guys exude an immense amount of energy, both flying long distance and having to keep warm at night, especially during the current winter period. Important to mention is that I live in The Netherlands, thankfully the winters aren’t as harsh as they were before, but they are still known to drop to 28 degrees. So with that in mind, obesity is not really a risk factor, and the fatter the seeds the better for the bird, I could be wrong though?

So, I am trying to figure out what would be the most beneficial mixture for them to get through this winter period without a scratch, so to say
Also, I’ve noticed that two are moulting of which one quite severely, which is less than ideal during this season. He has a lot of feather loss around his neck, crown, bum and in between his wings where a bald spot is noticeable (but with already new pinfeathers coming in, luckily). He looks pretty afflicted and it is noticeable in his behaviour that he is doing all he can to save as much of his energy. In having noticed this, my first intuition is to help him. But would I actually be helping or only doing more harm?

I know they are extremely social and sensitive creatures that live in colonies. I was considering setting a trap to catch and take care of him until he finishes moulting, is this a wise idea? I know that they are incredibly resilient, and have shown do endure harsh winters successfully in the Northern Hemisphere, despite being from the tropics. But, moulting during winter seems far from ideal and might put him in more of a risk, what would be my best bet, any advice is welcome!

 

[Jottlebot]

I wouldn't catch the moulting bird. The stress would likely be unbearable and presumably you'd have to keep it inside to protect it from the weather, so even more stress there. Perhaps it is unfortunate, but these are wild birds (well, wild if not native!) they need to be tough enough to survive or not. If they bird has something off with it's genetic timing you're not doing it any favours by helping it to survive to potentially reproduce to pass that bad timing on to offspring.

In terms of the foods I agree with you, I don't think you providing seeds and nuts is a concern. All wild bird seeds would be terrible for captive birds, but they do help wild ones get through winters and tough times. Sugar provides energy as well as fat, so providing fruits (I would chop them up for less waste) is a good alternative and probably less expensive than just seeds and nuts and they won't be getting the sugar over the winter.

Don't forget though that these aren't your birds. Don't bankrupt yourself because you feel you alone are keeping them alive! Just buy what you can afford to give you the pleasure of their company. They've colonised (probably not the right word) places like the Netherlands and the UK because they can survive here by themselves