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	Spring Zebras Zebra Finch Information Site

Food: What is reccomended by breeders and vets.

DO NOT BUY YOUR FINCHES GRIT! ALTHOUGHT IT SAYS THAT IT IS NEEDED TO AID DEGESTION, IT IS NOT NEEDED! IT COULD ACCTUALLY CLOG UP YOUR FINCHES DIGESTIVE TRACT!  FOR MORE INFO SCROLL DOWN TO THE ARTICLE TITLED "DANGEROUS SAND".

Zebra Finches are probably the most popular finch pets , because they are cheap, easy to breed, very hardy and are very active. Still they need to be feed the right stuff. Like most other Austrailian Finches, Zebras love to eat greens, thats why breeders and most owners feed them Dry Greens, which are available at pets stores. Dry greens are not the only type of greens they can eat, salad lettuce, carrot tops, parsley, cilantro ect. SPRAY MILLET, is a very important food in their diet because it offers them nutrition, activity and a little bit of fun. also treat bars are much fun too, especially the ones with fruits and veggies which not only provide a yummy treat but a healthy one. (For more information on Kaytee Diets go to : www.Kaytee.com

Main Food Diet

As the owner of a Zebra Finch you have the option of feeding your finch a seed diet or a non-seed diet.

For Seed: I find that KAYTEE is the best for avian and cage birds. the ones with the *stars are the ones that are the more expensive. they provide a variet of different seed diets here are some examples (pictures are at the bottom of the page)

Forti-Diet: its a blend of fortified seeds along with the non-seed diet crunchies, grains, and supplements. it provideds the essential nutrients to ensure better feathering and color.

*Fiesta: a mixture of fruits, veggies, nuts, specialty seeds and grains. since the different ingredients are different sizes it provides an enticing eating experience for your bird.

*Perfect Choice: combinatination of seeds, grains, veggies and greens, and a small amount of fruit.

Supreme: is just basically seeds and grains, it is the cheapest kaytee food.

NON- SEED DIETS:

Exact Rainbow- is the best non-seed diet you can get for your bird. If you plan to feed your bird Exact or Exact Rainbow you're going to need to follow these steps.

Benefits: NO SEED HULLS TO CLEAN UP AFTER....! YAY!!:)

Since exact has the nutriets and vitamins your bird needs there is no need to buy them anymore, but I still would reccomend getting one just in case.

Converting from a seed diet to a non-seed diet:

Converting your bird from a seed diet a pellet one takes some time and coaxing. To get the bird adjusted to the any new food  mix it in parts for example, I feed my bird Kaytee but, I just got this new food by Hagen. for the first day I would mix :1 part Hagen/3 parts Kaytee etc, it goes the same way for exact. here are the feeding dircections follow them exactly (any doubts go to www.Kaytee.com)

Day 1 - 3: one part Exact/three parts current food
Day 4 - 8: two parts Exact/two parts current food
Day 9 - 14: three parts Exact/one part current food
After 14 Days: Feed Exact only--your bird should be completely converted.

Make sure your bird is eating the exact and not just searching for  its old food, while conveting it is best to not put in any millet otherwise your birds might just eat the millet instead of the exact.  While feeding exact you may notice that your birds scat might be a reddish, to brownish color, don't worry this is perfectly normal, it also lets you know that your bird is eating the exact.Conversion time may vary.

If you are unsure of the adequate conversion, or have any questions regarding the conversion process, call the Kaytee Helpline toll-free 1-800-KAYTEE1. (not copyrighted by me)

 

 

Here are some good treats to feed your finches and some stuff you can add to their food:

If you dont have a diet that has fruits and veggies in it buy them 8in1 tropical fruit and veggie supplement.

Zebra finches are insect eaters. If you dont want feed them dried mealworms, egg biscuits are really important go to www.petco.com for more information.

gReEn FoOdS

Zebra Finches should have an abundance of greens avaliable for them to eat. Good types of greens to feed them are: Chickweed, Collard, Leaf, and Bibb lettuce, Endive Spinach, Cabbage, pieces of carrots, and Carrot tops, Celery leaves, Broccoli and Dandylions.

Green foods should be feed weekly or more because they produce healthy, nutritious treats. Vegtables are not the only nutritious treats you can feed your zebras, Apples, Grapes, Tomatoes, and Bananas are an example of some fruits you can feed your zebra finches.

DaNgErous SaNd

Many books on finches and other birds talk about High-Cal Grit, Brid gravel, bird sand and other terms you might hear. Many books state that bird gravel is required to aid in the digestion of your bird. but that is simply not true. Birds, finches typically tend to over eat grit which can accumulate in the digestive tract and cause blockage which can kill them. So if Finches don't need grit why? there are three reasons that sum up the answer to this question, one is that they hull out their seeds, which means they remove the hard shell, two is that they only eat the inner, softer part of the seed, and finally they have a gizzard which grinds their food for them.

So what ever you do don't give your birds grit!!!