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Post by mona on Nov 17, 2020 12:00:17 GMT
Since I moved to another state, I had stocked up with seeds before moving. I had around 3kg of seeds when I shifted and I have opened up the 2nd pack, with one kg sealed pack left. The earlier seed pack took almost 5 to 6 months to finish. I know it's over consumption of seeds by them.
I might not be able to get the same seed mix from the local shop I used to get. The ones online seem pathetic here. I'm planning to explore the local shops here and check them out. I have got a lot of time to switch the seed mix for them, plus the fact that I'm trying to get them off the entire seed diet.. I'm thinking about getting one before I have to open the last pack I have and start mixing the new and old seed mix with the last pack I have (not the entire packs, just in their food bowls). Would that be okay?
PS: I know it's to early to ask this question. But, I become nervous, if I am not proactive 🤦♀️
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on Nov 17, 2020 15:23:27 GMT
I think the general "rule" is that budgies need about 25-30% of their diet from seeds. Am I right Hezz? One of my seed bags says to mix 25% of the new seed with the old, gradually increasing the new seed until its all new seed.
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May 27, 2018 18:35:18 GMT
rayray
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 49
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Post by rayray on Nov 17, 2020 16:09:51 GMT
Mona, just out of curiosity what seed mix do you use? I need change mine soon as well and I have been researching for the rights ones for my birds.
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Post by Hezz on Nov 18, 2020 0:47:13 GMT
Mona, just out of curiosity what seed mix do you use? I need change mine soon as well and I have been researching for the rights ones for my birds. mona lives in India; I doubt she has the same variety of choice that you have.
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Post by Hezz on Nov 18, 2020 0:51:27 GMT
mona, mixing your last bag with whatever it is you are going to be able to source at your new abode is a very good idea. And doing that just into their seed pot is also the way to go. You don't want to ruin a perfectly good bag of seed with something that might not be so good by mixing them both before they can be eaten. Starting off with 25% of new seed, see how they go on that, and gradually increase - 50%, then 75% etc. Nothing too severe, as you know.
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Post by mona on Nov 18, 2020 2:25:39 GMT
How do you decide on the duration Hezz? This is my first time switching seeds. Over a week or over weeks or it depends on their reaction to the new addition? rayray I live in India and there are no seed mixes available here, as the ones abroad. The ones available on amazon have got very bad reviews about the quality. I used to get it from a local shop and it was at least clean & treated, compared to others. My priority is to find clean and good looking seeds locally here. Someone from your area might be able to help with your seed mix selection
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Post by Hezz on Nov 18, 2020 2:44:02 GMT
I don't recall ever having a big problem with switching seed brands, but maybe they aren't too dissimilar here in Aus. I would go week by week initially, but be prepared to jump in move more slowly if you see that they aren't taking to the new mix as well as you had hoped. Again, no hard and fast rules, but if they are afraid of new things, you may need to move more slowly than a couple of birds who are up for anything new.
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Post by Morgan on Nov 18, 2020 6:50:27 GMT
I think what mona is asking for is what is the ideal mix of seeds for budgies, Hezz. If I remember correctly you said about 40% canary seed with the rest mixed millets such as white, red, Japanese, panicum, etc.? And a small amount of oat groats maybe every other day. Something like that? And it would be hard to calculate if mixing it yourself but should contain about 4-5% fat. I suppose if you get the ratios correct with the millet it would contain about that much fat. There is a particular seed mix I found online that I would love to order but it doesn’t ship to the US. It’s Versele-Laga’s Jo Mannes mix. I wanted to use that one to “dilute” my current budgie seed mix to reduce the fat, but it looks like I’m back at square one. mona - Are you trying to mix your own seed? That’s about where I’m at too because none of the commercial mixes we can actually get in the USA are done properly. All have too much fat and most have too much sugar. There shouldn’t be sugar at all but at least one I’ve found only has sugar in the dried fruit and no crappy pellets... *sigh* it’s a bit of a headache though so I haven’t quite gotten around to figuring out where to source the seed from, etc... Maybe you can look at the Jo Mannes seed mix by Versele-Laga on their website and try to mix something similar. Good luck!
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Post by Hezz on Nov 18, 2020 8:28:11 GMT
Morgan, this is what Mona has asked: How do you decide on the duration Hezz? This is my first time switching seeds. Over a week or over weeks or it depends on their reaction to the new addition?
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Post by mona on Nov 18, 2020 8:40:02 GMT
Morgan Thank you for providing rhe inputs. As of now, I am aiming at just getting a seed mix from the local shop. 6 months back I had been staying in a different state and right now, I am placed in a different one. I have the seed mix from the old place stocked up with me, which I would have to change with the local one. I would like to do something like this, but as of now, there are so many changes for the birdies and me. I would just want to stall on this one as of now and look at the custom seed mix threads later on.. 🤗
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on Nov 18, 2020 16:05:23 GMT
Morgan if you find a good seed mix in the US, please share! Also if you decide to mix your own, I'd appreciate getting your "recipe" and where you get your seeds.
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Post by Morgan on Nov 19, 2020 7:10:27 GMT
Ahhh, never mind Hezz, mona. I misunderstood completely! Thanks for clarifying tweetiepiesmom - will do! It may take awhile though!
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Post by mona on Nov 19, 2020 11:35:03 GMT
Morgan I'll look forward to a future thread on custom seed mix too! 😊
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on Nov 19, 2020 15:41:24 GMT
One thing I've decided to do is to try to sprout some seeds from the seed mixture I am feeding my budgies. I recently started switching them to the Kaytee brand which can be found in any pet store here. It has a lower amount of oats and no added sugar but it does have pellets and added "vitamins" coated on the seeds. I picked out the pellets and rinsed, rinsed and rinsed a sample of the seeds to sprout. While soaking them, I changed the water frequently to get as much of the coating out of the water. This mourning is the third day in this sprouting process and I'm seeing "tails" on only 2-3 seeds in the 2 TBL that I am trying to germinate. So far I'm not impressed. I don't want to feed my guys dead seeds. I'm sure you are buying your seeds mona from a good source but you might want to try germinating some just to make sure they are viable seeds.
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Post by mona on Nov 19, 2020 18:19:33 GMT
tweetiepiesmom Thank you for mentioning that. With every new pack I open now, the first thing is to put the seed mix for sprout test. The seeds from the seed mix spare bag I have from the old place, did sprout. I planted those seeds in soil this time to grow plants for birdies. I'm also going to sprout their seedmix along with other sprouts I had been offering them. I was a bit skeptical about the seeds developing bacteria, so I got the ACV to spray on the sprouts during the process. The seed mix takes a day longer to sprout than the custom sprout I do (including moong beans, chickpeas, fenugreek, yellow mustard etc). Maybe, wait up a little to see if they sprout.
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