| SEEDS |
| Canaries and finches are mainly seed eaters and there are many pre-packaged foods on the market blended specifically for these birds. There are also companies on line that will mix blends of seeds especially to your order. But no matter what seed you choose to feed, it should be viable; in other words, alive. There are no nutrients available to your bird if it is eating dead seed. How do you know your seed is viable? By testing. We take one teaspoon of seed and soak it in water for 24 hours. If the seed is fresh, it should sprout within 12 to 24 hours. Spray millet is especially favored by finch and some canaries love it too, because the seeds are easy to hull. This makes it an excellent training seed for young birds. But millet should only be used as a treat because it has very little nutritional value and a high fat content, which can cause your birds to become overweight and lazy. We have had people ask us if it's alright to give their canaries and finch the same seed as their parakeet gets because it looks the same. We have to answer no to this question because it really is not the same. Canary and finch food is made up mostly of canary grass seed and rape seed. Parakeet mixes contain seeds too large for your canaries and finches to hull, so there not only would be quite a bit of waste, but your birds will not be eating properly. |
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