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Post by nettles on Sept 14, 2013 3:40:14 GMT
Am I doing this wrong?
I completely change the entire bowls of seed once a day, plus I top the bowls up half way through the day.
I've noticed that they both seem to eat the seeds they like first so when I change it, I'm always binning the ones they don't like as much.. Will they still be getting ALL the vitamins they need if they aren't eating each type of seed in the box?
The bowls are the round stainless steel "coop" type bowls that hang on the side of the cage. They hold quite a lot of seed and I seem to be wasting loads every day! On average, one box of trill lasts just under a week which seems a bit excessive for two budgies? Especially when they eat quite a bit if fresh veg too.
Should I be leaving the seed in longer so they eat the "not so tasty" bits too? I've tried just blowing the husks out but they usually end up on the kitchen floor (or in my eyes) plus they sometimes poop in the bowls so I thought it was best just to change it completely every day.
What does everyone else do?
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Post by OP on Sept 14, 2013 5:28:56 GMT
That is lot of seed you throw away. I do blow the husks off the top. I do it over the kitchen sink, very gently rotating the dish. It is the same type as yours. I never fill it up and he seems to take it to the bottom. If he has pooped in the dish then one has to throw the contents away, at least I do. If the dish is not full there isn't so much to throw away. A packet of Trill lasts a month and more, but then there is only one bird to feed. So you should get about two weeks by that measure.If they are hungry they should eat what is available I would have thought.
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Post by nettles on Sept 14, 2013 7:04:38 GMT
Thanks OP, I knew I was going through a box of seed far too quickly for only two budgies! It seemed every few days I was putting Trill on the shopping list again. I've been filling the bowls at least half way and then topping them up again during the day.. I'll try blowing the husks out over the sink and see if that helps with the mess! I must have the wrong technique as the husks ether swirl round inside the bowl and don't come out or they fly out everywhere lol. After you remove the husks, do you top the seed up again or just put the bowl back in as it is?
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Post by mizloco on Sept 14, 2013 7:46:04 GMT
I'm the same nettles but I don't top up during the day. My two like certain seeds so put their foot in the dish and kick it about anyway. With what I spend on Costa coffee for me a week £1.60 for trill a week don't worry me. I'm a bit funny with anything edible being around for long too.
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Post by OP on Sept 14, 2013 7:50:51 GMT
just put the bowl back in as long as there is about 3 desert spoonfuls left. There is another method that my daughter uses and that is the vacuum cleaner. Now that would depend if you have one with a hose. Don't put the bowl on the floor and run over it with a normal upright vacuum. There would be no seeds left. If you have a hose just hold the crevice tool above the seed bowl and it will pick up the husks and leave the seed in the bowl. It does work, I'm just lazy.
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Post by samwiseg on Sept 14, 2013 8:06:53 GMT
If you wanted to save on blowing husks and save on seed, we have found these to be absolutely brilliant! They are a gravity "silo" feeder so you fill from the top so they get fresh seed at every meal. Easy!
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Post by OP on Sept 14, 2013 8:46:50 GMT
Er! at the risk of sounding stupid, what happens to the husks?
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Post by samwiseg on Sept 14, 2013 9:00:45 GMT
As the budgies eats them they drop on the floor and not into the tray as the tray is smaller housing for the seeds
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Post by Hezz on Sept 14, 2013 9:53:52 GMT
Unfortunately most seed bowls are far too big to be filled and expect a budgie to eat in a month! Mine probably get one to two tablespoons in each of two containers. Each morning I blow the husks out into the compost bin, and if necessary top up the seed with a small amount. With birds that insist on sitting in their seed and pooping, Sam's solution is probably the best and gives the least amount of waste. The down side being that the husks end up on the floor and there you have extra added mess, especially when your birds get mobile. Every wing beat sends husks flying everywhere. There is another type of container that I have, this one, modeled by the gorgeous Smudge The downside with this being that the pot has to be full for the birds to be able to reach the seed. So while they can't poo in it, it has to be kept topped right up - not a huge problem when you have a few containers in use all the time and a few birds, as I would recycle the seed from this container into the others, so keeping the seed fresh all the time.
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Post by ffiscool on Sept 14, 2013 10:39:38 GMT
I blow the husks off, over my bin in kitchen that gays most off. I then tip what's left into his spare dish and top up. I throw it all away about once a week. His dish is smaller than the coop as he kept sitting in that, and clips onto bars with little ledge
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Post by OP on Sept 14, 2013 11:25:06 GMT
I've just been down the meerkat market for some fresh eggs and guess what I saw on the pet stall, yes the exact feed silo that Samwiseg has. So Joey has now got one. I just hope he can find the seed before starving to death.
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Post by birdguhl on Sept 14, 2013 12:06:50 GMT
Go for it, Joey! Don't get me started on bad design. It is incredible how many products there are out there that have ONLY ONE VERY SIMPLE function that don't do the job properly. The feeders that come with the Ferplast Piano 6 are far too deep. I have modified them to look like this. It is still a bit of a fiddle but I am trying to get the buds to eat out of them rather than open dishes which they spill most of the food from.
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Jul 16, 2013 9:22:31 GMT
chicklett
Brand New Budgie
proud new mum to two baby budgies, mikko and sunshine
Posts: 79
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Post by chicklett on Sept 14, 2013 17:57:29 GMT
I find I get a lot of waste too, even with 3 birds, but I got 2 pots on the go, ha I know what you mean bout seeds in your eyes, I just scoop out the top layer with my fingers now and don't fill it very high, still have some waste though when I empty entire pot each day, like the look on the tube pots others have, angel likes to sit on mine that can't be good for her feet so would help with that problem too
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Post by nettles on Sept 14, 2013 18:13:35 GMT
just put the bowl back in as long as there is about 3 desert spoonfuls left. There is another method that my daughter uses and that is the vacuum cleaner. Now that would depend if you have one with a hose. Don't put the bowl on the floor and run over it with a normal upright vacuum. There would be no seeds left. If you have a hose just hold the crevice tool above the seed bowl and it will pick up the husks and leave the seed in the bowl. It does work, I'm just lazy. Hahaha I'm glad you're back with the jokes OP! Well at least I hope it was a joke and u don't think I'm that daft
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Post by nettles on Sept 14, 2013 18:19:36 GMT
If you wanted to save on blowing husks and save on seed, we have found these to be absolutely brilliant! They are a gravity "silo" feeder so you fill from the top so they get fresh seed at every meal. Easy! That feeder looks perfect!! I bought two gravity feeders a while back but stupidly I ripped open both packets and filled them with seed before making sure they fitted through the cage bars.. the seed holder bit was to big and I couldn't return them Do u happen to remember where u got this one?
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