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Chick Starter Ingredients
The chick starter I use comes with all the necessary vitamins,
amino acids and minerals. Many times people ask me what vitamins I use, and I can only refer to the chick starter.
I've taken some flack from people who feel finches must be fed only organic food. OK, well if you have the money and
will to buy food which is extremely expensive for your finches, more power to ya. I feel that the chick starter I use
is NOT full of nasty chemicals (chemicals sometimes found in handfeeding formulas, cat foods, dog foods etc.), and I do not
feel one iota of guilt feeding them chick starter. I list the ingredients here so people can compare what I use to what
they may have available to them.
| Chick Feed Starter Mash |
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| Buying mash helps save time - it is already the perfect texture to mix with boiled eggs. |
20% Chick Starter (so it has 20% protein)
Guaranteed Analysis:
CRUDE PROTEIN (MIN) 20.00%
LYSINE (MIN) 0.9% (I think - the stitching went through the number)
METHIONINE 0.2% - again stitching issues
CRUDE FAT (MIN) 2.0%
CRUDE FIBER (MAX) 7.0%
CALCIUM (MIN) 0.7%
CALCIUM (MAX) 1.2%
PHOSPHORUS (MIN) 0.6%
SALT (MIN) 0.25%
SALT (MAX) 0.5%
INGREDIENTS:
Ground corn, soybean meal, wheat middlings, corn distillers dried grains.
(The rest are essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, organic acid preservatives and anti-caking
agents):
Calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, salt, DL-Methionine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement,
Vitamin E supplement, Menadione sodium bisulfite complex (Vitamin K), calcium pantothenate (Vitamin B6), niacin supplement
(Vitamin B3), Riboflavin supplement (Vitamin B2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B1),
vitamin B12 supplement (Cobalamin), biotin folic acid (more B Vitamins), calcium carbonate, potassium sulfate, magnesium sulfate,
manganeous oxide, zinc oxide, ferrous carbonate (Iron), copper oxide, calcium iodate (calcium & Iodine), sodium selenite
(Selenium), propionic acid (used to prevent spoilage), acetic acid (used to prevent spoilage), sorbic acid (used to prevent
spoilage), benzoic acid (used to prevent spoilage), sodium bentonite (used for a preservative and for weight gain - its clay
so it also has micronutrients), calcium bentonite (see Sodium Bentonite - but Calcium bentonite doesn't swell - used also
for carriers) , verxite (magnesium-aluminium-iron silicate - anticaking agent and used as a filler - its basically superfine
vermiculite which is used in horticulture), Sodium bisulfate (another acidifier to prevent spoilage but this doesn't affect
the Calcium phosphate ratio - also used to improve flavor), natural and artificial flavors.
Note: Do not purchase medicated chick or turkey starter.
The medication is Amprolium, the same active ingredient in Cocci-vet anticoccidial medication. This chemical is usually
completely unnecessary so there is no point in using it. If you are unsure if the chick starter is medicated - ASK!
Turned Off by Chick Starter?
Suppose you don't want to use chick starter. I'm not typically one to tell anyone what
they should or should not feed their birds, unless you are feeding them really nasty foods. We all have our own feeding
philosophies. If you find the idea of using commercial chicken feed repugnant, here are a few alternatives for
you:
1) Turkey Starter Mash (just making sure you're awake here).
No seriously, Turkey Starter does have slightly more protein (23%), and if you are looking for more protein to feed your birds
or if you have this available, it works too.
2) Commercial Egg Food. Most pet shops and exotic bird
stores carry commercially made egg food. If your birds will eat it straight up, great! If not, you may find that
you can mix the commercial egg food with fresh eggs in order to make a palatable product your birds will relish. Roy
Beckham has a great page on how he makes egg food using commercial egg food as his base. You can check it out here:
3) Commercial Exotic Bird Mashes. I have used both
Roudybush and Harrison's with great success. I just find it expensive and I don't have the fridge room to store the
Harrison's (nor do I want to go to the vet and buy it at a ridiculously high price). If you have the money, space and
inclination, then Harrison's mash may be a good alternative for you.
4) Petamine. This can be purchased at just about any
pet shop. I know some who make their own egg food using this as the base.
5) Insectivore Food. This works well for highly insectivorous
birds like Cordons. Don't expect your Zebras to be too nutty about this recipe.
6) Birdie Bread. I know some who make their own Birdie
Breads and then use that as the base for egg food.
7) Organic Chick or Turkey Starter: Some have told
me that they've been able to locate an organic version of what I use. If you feel better feeding organic, then do some
research and find a source.
8) Cat or Dog Food: In a pinch, I've used these.
You will need to put the kibbles through a food processor first to make a mash out of them before you use them in egg
food. The birds, surprisingly enough, seem to really like it. I was using an organic product that was free of
manmade anti-oxidants (See 'Preservatives' section). If I'm out of chick starter and unable to get to the mill soon,
I will buy a five pound bag of organic cat food and use that until I can get up to the grainery for their chick starter.
I first started using cat food for my finches' egg food when I was rehabbing a blind wild Starling.
NOTE: Do not feed softbills pet foods which are high
in iron for a prolonged time period. They may develop Iron Storage Disease (Hemochromatosis).
FINAL NOTE: You cannot use just plain flour to make egg food.
It will make a gooey gloppy mess that you will find disgusting and your finches will laugh at. Furthermore, it will
stay too moist and go rancid too quickly (assuming it doesn't harden into a brick first). You must use some sort of
baked product to mix with egg in order to dry the egg down and not make a pasty mess of it. I've tried them all (flours
etc) and you get the same net end result. A gross disgusting mess!
Furthermore, you want to add something that keeps the protein content UP, not add something
that further dilutes the protein content of the egg. Just adding carbohydrates such as flour DOES NOT INCREASE or MAINTAIN
PROTEIN CONTENT. So not only do you get a mess, but if you add flour products only, what your are feeding is lower in
protein than feeding egg alone.
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