Insights into birdkeeping

Last Saturday, I had a pleasant visit from 2 outstation friends whom I considered expert bird keepers. It is funny how sometimes over lunch while they were making fun at each other, you pick up pointers that have evaded you for a long time. I think I have been over eager at implementing things, trying out this and that, that I have forgotten the fundamentals of birdkeeping. I started this blog as a reminder of events, a place to jot down thoughts, place photos and videos. All so that one day I may look back and see what and where I have gone wrong. I am glad I did all that.

Now I will be revisiting the basics again - food. We are what we eat, I was often told. Now, to achieve that near complete & perfect food, its back to the drawing board (not actually drawing board, just spicing up existing food):

Below is a little experiment that didn't go too well. It has been aborted base on the tremendous drop in form. I tried changing the colour of Apollo 6's feathers. Not changing during molt, but changing it as it is. Unfortunately his form dropped and he started a molt. As shown in the picture, the wing feathers has actually developed a little white patch (after a month), but I expect him to shed those feathers as well. I have since switched him back to ordinary food.



I considered the objective has been met. Just to prove that the feather need not be molted to change colour and the dry version of the food actually worked. But with too much side effect for me to be comfortable with.
Apollo 6's form is improving and I am now giving him extra live food with addition of Vitamin B complex and he is back on an imported premium dry food.

Maybe its time to re-look into the food for Jambuls ;)


Update: 20th Sept 2009


Colour feeding food has been stopped some time already, but it appears that the white colouration is still spreading.

Stock Check

Well, the festive season is just round the corner. When most business organisations do a periodic stock check, so must I, to be more manageable.

Lets see......
1) Quail returned to the wild
2) Rompin juvenile Shama returned to owner
3) Spotted dove to be returned (as in video below) to owner (next week)

4) 2 Zebra doves

Less 5 birds to worry about, this coming Chinese New Year my home would look less like a bird park hahahaha!

As to the bird food, I tried a new instant variant last week because the raw ingredients are out of stock and I have to disappear for a few days for a meeting.
Pounded some dog biscuits and mix with chicken feed (50% mix). Next time, I would use the blender to save some labour ;)

When I came back yesterday, 2 birds (1 Magpie & 1 Shama) is in various stages of molting. Due to the food? I must presume not as the Shama has been showing sign of beginning a molt. Anyway 2 out of so many is just not statistically significant :)

Want not waste not

Bought 3 packets of insect food that doesn't look too fresh. Still usable but seems to deteriorate quite fast. Left a balance of 2 packets which I was thinking of feeding to the chicken. Then I thought why not start making bird food again. Since I am applying a theory of not letting the birds' system get too used to a single type of dry food, cooking my own food should accord this flexibility for me.

Didn't want to try something too complex, so a basic chicken feed base should suffice and it will sort of give a holiday from all those peanut feeds I have been relying on.

500g of chicken feed (Cargill Brand)
100g of dried insects
3 eggs

Method:
Sieved the chicken feed of the powdery feed to get a consistent larger pellets. Weigh the feed to get an exact 500g. Add 3 eggs and stir evenly. Then left to dry in oven at approximately 110 Celsius for 30 minutes. Fry in low fire in wok and work at getting the lumps to break down. Add 100g of dried insects (the not so fresh insect food), stir evenly and further roast at 125 Celsius in the oven for 15 minutes. The end result appears dried and palatable enough.

Not trusting my own food processing skills, I kept it in a fridge for storage until feeding time. So far so good......

Next batch, I may consider adding beef and probably egg shells.

Ready for the oven (minus the insects):


The dried insects: