Diet

[HeatherS]

So I tried sprouting with the Higgins soak and sprout and I just couldn’t do it…. The first time I tried I ended up really sick and was unable to complete the process and then I tried again this week and ended up have a rheumatoid flare up and didn’t complete the process yet again…. I was also really worried about mold ect because directions were limited….. but last weekend I did make our babies their second chop…. I made a months supply this time and included quinoa legumes and oats with all the fresh veggies…. Also I’ve been giving avi cakes in the afternoon because they have not been eating enough of the zupreem pellets I switched them to from their all seed diet…. The last few days they have been eating all of the two avi cakes I give them so starting today I’m giving them 4 of the cakes …. Also I over the weekend purchased a egg supplement but I’ve not looked into it to much yet if anyone has advice as to how often I should include the egg supplement in their diet… daily or every few days? Maybe use it as a dry ingredient in their next chop? Oh and of course I’m still using oasis vita drops daily in their water!

Any thoughts on what I’m doing… if I should add anything that would be more nutritious for them ect?? I’m so new to this I’m always worried I could be leaving something out or not doing something I should for them

 

[JjEjFjF]

Oh and of course I’m still using oasis vita drops daily in their water

Vitamin supplements should not be given every day especially when they eat pellets and vegetables.Once a week is plenty. Too much of a good thing is bad.
Pellets contain all necessary vitamins.

 

[JjEjFjF]

So I tried sprouting

This is how i do it if im going to let them fully sprout.

My birds love these.

Lil Bird Sprout Mix

24 seeds for your small winged children. The seeds are listed in the About tab below.

sproutpeople.org

I let them soak all day. Rinse in the evening. Rinse the next morning. Rinse again that evening. By the next morning they should have a little quarter inch tail one them. Feed them that day and refrigerate any leftover. I use the mason jar with stainless steel screen like the one in the video above.

 

[HeatherS]

Vitamin supplements should not be given every day especially when they eat pellets and vegetables.Once a week is plenty. Too much of a good thing is bad.
Pellets contain all necessary vitamins.

So I’m only doing the drops because they are not yet consuming the amount of daily pellets from what I’m gathering…. Between the two they have only just started eating 2 avi cakes daily (not each)… unless 2 tablespoons of chop (not fully consumed) and two avi cakes are considered a good amount?

 

[JjEjFjF]

So I’m only doing the drops because they are not yet consuming the amount of daily pellets from what I’m gathering…. Between the two they have only just started eating 2 avi cakes daily (not each)… unless 2 tablespoons of chop (not fully consumed) and two avi cakes are considered a good amount?

Every day with the vitamins is still to much.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I think the two avicakes and the chop are enough nutritionally to give them everything they need. Avicakes contain small pellets which are nutritionally complete (I looked it up on Lafeber's website). When birds are hungry they will eat. If the only foods you're giving them are the avicakes and chop, and they're being mostly consumed, they're good. Just to be sure, when the avicakes are completely consumed, give them one more to share.

 

[HeatherS]

Every day with the vitamins is still to much.

Thank you for letting me know!!

 

[HeatherS]

I think the two avicakes and the chop are enough nutritionally to give them everything they need. Avicakes contain small pellets which are nutritionally complete (I looked it up on Lafeber's website). When birds are hungry they will eat. If the only foods you're giving them are the avicakes and chop, and they're being mostly consumed, they're good. Just to be sure, when the avicakes are completely consumed, give them one more to share.

This morning before I left for work I put four of them in a zip lock bag for my son to crumble and give them when he took the leftover chop so I could see what they would eat with us offering more… I’m just so excited they have finally started to be interested in pellets lol

 

[HeatherS]

This is how i do it if im going to let them fully sprout.

My birds love these.

Lil Bird Sprout Mix

24 seeds for your small winged children. The seeds are listed in the About tab below.

sproutpeople.org

I let them soak all day. Rinse in the evening. Rinse the next morning. Rinse again that evening. By the next morning they should have a little quarter inch tail one them. Feed them that day and refrigerate any leftover. I use the mason jar with stainless steel screen like the one in the video above.

Thank you I’ll watch the video when I get home from work tonight

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Cont'd.
If you're still giving them Zupreem pellets and they are eating them, too, keep it up. I agree that daily vitamin supplements are a potentially dangerous overkill when your birds are eating pellets. The exception is you should give a liquid calcium supplement for female birds once a week in their water and daily when laying eggs. What sexes are your lovebirds?

The sprouts are a terrific idea but as you have seen it's not that easy to do it correctly, and mold and spoilage can ruin it pretty quickly. I've always failed to avoid making a moldy rotten mess out of it when I've tried, but a BIG thanks to @JjEjFjF for the link to SproutPeople! I just ordered a Lil Bird starter kit! Carefully follow the instructions!

Regarding the egg supplement. Is it something called Egg Food? Breeders use egg food to make sure their birds have enough high quality protein and calcium to make strong healthy eggs and babies. It's a dry, crumbly/powdery product that works best for me when mixed with chop because birds tend to ignore strange powders in their dry food. Added to moist chop, it softens and swells and they eat it along with the chop. Try it. It's very good for them. You can also give them a slice of hard boiled egg or a small amount of plain scrambled egg once a week. Most birds really enjoy eggs. I'm been wanting to try taking scrambled egg or chopped hard boiled egg and drying it in my veggie drying machine, which is really no more than stacked plastic perforated trays with a hot air blower similar to a blow dryer that blows warm air through the sliced veggies until all the water has evaporated. Then I'll store the dried eggs in the fridge until I add it to my chop. Instant egg food!

By the way, what are their names?

 

[HeatherS]

Cont'd.
If you're still giving them Zupreem pellets and they are eating them, too, keep it up. I agree that daily vitamin supplements are a potentially dangerous overkill when your birds are eating pellets. The exception is you should give a liquid calcium supplement for female birds once a week in their water and daily when laying eggs. What sexes are your lovebirds?

The sprouts are a terrific idea but as you have seen it's not that easy to do it correctly, and mold and spoilage can ruin it pretty quickly. I've always failed to avoid making a moldy rotten mess out of it when I've tried, but a BIG thanks to @JjEjFjF for the link to SproutPeople! I just ordered a Lil Bird starter kit! Carefully follow the instructions!

Regarding the egg supplement. Is it something called Egg Food? Breeders use egg food to make sure their birds have enough high quality protein and calcium to make strong healthy eggs and babies. It's a dry, crumbly/powdery product that works best for me when mixed with chop because birds tend to ignore strange powders in their dry food. Added to moist chop, it softens and swells and they eat it along with the chop. Try it. It's very good for them. You can also give them a slice of hard boiled egg or a small amount of plain scrambled egg once a week. Most birds really enjoy eggs. I'm been wanting to try taking scrambled egg or chopped hard boiled egg and drying it in my veggie drying machine, which is really no more than stacked plastic perforated trays with a hot air blower similar to a blow dryer that blows warm air through the sliced veggies until all the water has evaporated. Then I'll store the dried eggs in the fridge until I add it to my chop. Instant egg food!

By the way, what are their names?

So they were not eat many pellets and when I started the chop they stopped eating the zupreem so I introduced the avi cakes… we dont know the sex of either yet but their names are peach and mango

 

[JjEjFjF]

BIG thanks to @JjEjFjF for the link to SproutPeople! I just ordered a Lil Bird starter kit! Carefully follow the instructions!

Let me know how you make out with those. Ive never had sprouts mold or spoil. I dont keep them in the fridge for any more than 3 days although they say you can go longer,

 

[HeatherS]

This is how i do it if im going to let them fully sprout.

My birds love these.

Lil Bird Sprout Mix

24 seeds for your small winged children. The seeds are listed in the About tab below.

sproutpeople.org

I let them soak all day. Rinse in the evening. Rinse the next morning. Rinse again that evening. By the next morning they should have a little quarter inch tail one them. Feed them that day and refrigerate any leftover. I use the mason jar with stainless steel screen like the one in the video above.

Is distilled water the same as filtered and how far will 24 go with two birds?

 

[JjEjFjF]

Is distilled water the same as filtered and how far will 24 go with two birds?

Its not the same but it should work. I use tap water.
24 is the number or different kinds of seeds in the mix.
They sell it by the pound. A pound goes a long ways if you sprout a couple tablespoons at a time.
I never counted how many batches i get per pound. I have 8 birds. I sprout 4 tablespoons at a time. That gives them all one meal. Of course they still get their seed and what not.

I dont make them sprouts every day. I make it for them a couple of times a week. The others days they get vegetables.

​

​

 

[HeatherS]

Its not the same but it should work. I use tap water.
24 is the number or different kinds of seeds in the mix.
They sell it by the pound. A pound goes a long ways if you sprout a couple tablespoons at a time.
I never counted how many batches i get per pound. I have 8 birds. I sprout 4 tablespoons at a time. That gives them all one meal. Of course they still get their seed and what not.

I dont make them sprouts every day. I make it for them a couple of times a week. The others days they get vegetables.

​

​

Thank you!

 

[HeatherS]

Thank you!

Just ordered from the link you posted…. Thanks for all your help… I’ll probably be reaching out again I’m sure lol … I came into this without knowing anything at all and now I’m 100% focused on giving our two little friends the best of everything they need