Are these PLANTS safe for Lady Gouldians

[adnan]

Hi,
Can someone help me if which of these plants listed below are safe or not for Lady Gouldian finches:

Green chilli plant
Tomato plant
Strawberry plants
capsicum plant
garlic plant
Parsley leaves
grape vine
cestrum nocturnum
cestrum diurnum
cananga odorta
Neem tree

Thank you.

[Robyn]

Hi to be honest i wouldn't give any of those plants to finches. However if you want to give greens Cos Lettuce is a good place to start. Also grow some of their seeds, they love fresh seeding grasses.

[vankarhi]

Green chilli plant........the chillies are fine but I don't give the actual plant
Tomato plant........... the fruit is fine
Strawberry plants........the fruit is fine
capsicum plant.........the fruit is fine
garlic plant.......no
Parsley leaves........yes
grape vine.........grapes are ok but once again I don't give the plant
cestrum nocturnum......will have to google this one
cestrum diurnum.......will have to google this one too
cananga odorta.......and will have to google this one also
Neem tree........I have this growing in my yard (was in a pot but I planted it and now it is a beautiful tree....but I have never seen birds in it).......so I would not give it.

[meandem]

Ahhh, google - where would we be without it!

[Robyn]

Diet:

Seeds and insects (especially when breeding).
In captivity, a good quality finch seed mix is the mainstay of the diet. This should be supplemented with greenfood (eg half ripened seed heads of grasses or most other herbs from the garden such as Shepherd's Purse, Dandelion and Chickweed, or any vegetables such as silverbeet, lettuce, etc.).
Many aviculturalists provide live food (often mealworms) during the breeding season although others have had good results without it. Lastly, it is important to provide birds with ample grit (fine) and perhaps cuttle-fish where possible.

Adnan, If you have Gouldian Finches the above should be fed to them.

I really wouldn't feed the plants you have questioned to finches. However some of the fruits can be fed to parrots.

Hope this is of help.

[vankarhi]

I didn't read the heading of your post.....I just looked at what you were asking "is safe".......

I have owned finches and canaries (still own one male canary) and I have fed them all of the above that I have said is safe....except the chillies. I have only given the chillies to my parrots. When I do up a fruit and vege mix I give my canary a few pieces of most of what my parrots get. Ie he gets carrot grated .... sometimes a small slice which he loves to dig into. Piece of tomatoe, piece of strawberry, even a half a grape, a small piece of parsley and a slice of capsicum, cucumber slice, etc etc. I even give him some of the bean mix I cook for my parrots and warmed frozen mixed veges and even a small piece of brocoli.

This is what I give in a small container with his seed dish separate and he absolutely loves his fresh stuff.

Many many years ago my father used to breed canaries and finches just as a hobby and he used to also give them tomato, capsicum and carrots as well as lettuce (back then I don't think people realised lettuce has little nutritional value).

Oh I just remembered I also give a small piece of silver beat or bok choy if I have it.

I am not a breeder of finches or canaries either.......it is just what I have done in the past and still do with my present canary of 6 years and he seems to really look forward to his fresh stuff.

Oh and I do remember as a kid breeding "bugs" probably mealy grubs for the birds too ;D but gee that is pushing my memory a bit lol

[adnan]

What other aviary plants you people think are good for small aviary for Finch perching..?

[adnan]

Specially for PERCHING and NESTING..?

[vankarhi]

If I owned an aviary with finches and the such in it i would put native trees like bottle brushes etc in it in pots (so I can take the pots out and replace with new ones every now and then.....and clean the older ones and let them revive a bit). We get heaps of wild finches here and they seem to love the long grasses too as well as they nest in our mandarin tree too ;D they seem to use grasses and twigs for nesting material. I think you can buy nesting materials for them and just put them in the aviary for them to pick at. I think you can also buy cane type baskets/nests to hang in your aviary too and they then just need to line it the way they want.

[urgeoverkill]

Are any seeding grasses ok for finches? I am building a habitat aviary for finches. I am thinking of putting seeding grasses in as well as a tee tree and grevillia and bottle brush. Is that ok?

[avinet]

shrubs are fine, and most seeding grasses are also OK - just avoid those that get sticky seeds like paspalum.

A good solution for seeding grasses is to sow some of the finch seed mix - that way you get a mix of different seeding grasses which are guaranteed to be OK

cheers,

Mike