The Nel Brothers Stud
Equipment and Feeding Methods

Electricity is laid on in the aviary. Lights come on at 6:00 in the morning and go off at 10:00.
The lights come on at 16:00 in the afternoon and go off at 20:00. The lights are on an automatic
timer and the times remain the same all year round. Red night lights are used to provide
light during the night in case of night fright. Plugs are available for the radio and vacuum cleaner.

Radio and Vacuum cleaner

The aviary has a radio which is switched on when the aviary is opened in the morning and is
switched off when the aviary is closed at night. This is mainly used to make the birds used to
different sounds so that they are more relaxed at shows. A vacuum cleaner is used to clean
the breeding area daily and used to clean the flights once a week when the aviary is cleaned.

Seed

We use a seed mix made up of 25% canary, 50% white millet, 19% jap millet and 6% red
manna. Oats is added to the seed mix when available. The seed is topped up daily. All
seed is first soaked in water for about 30 minutes then washed until water runs clear.
The seed is then left to dry before being fed to the birds. Vegatables are provided
regularly from our garden.

Softfood

We make use of a special softfood that is made by AV-Plus. Water is added to the
mixture before use. This is fed once a day in the evening to all birds.

Supplementary feed

Calcium and grit is always available in the flights as well as in the breeding cages. These are
replenished weekly. A locally made grit, consisting of iodine, shell, charcoal, etc, is fed.
Iodine blocks are also always available.

Water

Water is replaced daily and all water holders are cleaned weekly.
Water is taken straight from the water purifier.

Additives

The following additives are added to the water or soft food once or twice a month.
Probiotic, AVI Stress, Multivitamins & Electrolights, Ferti-vit, Omivet, etc.