I for one have tried and tested a multitude of pots containers seed hopper and the like, each time, the last better than the first. however my personal favourite for absolutely NO WASTE is a simple one .
a large rectangular tray with approx 1.5" sides works best -this and finely chop all your fruit veg and a thin mix of your seeds to end..!
they jump in -scatch around with v ery little kicked over the sides..if any they clear that up too..best bit only cost a £1.
We have NIL waste.
Like looby above plastic seed tray 35cm x 25cm x 15cm deep
And throw between 2 and 3 cm deep seed
Depth depends on how many birds in the flight, but at a pinch will see them 14 days....replenhish every 7 to 10 days
A good friend who put me onto this concept yrs ago old small glass fish tanks about 10/12" deep 10 " sq.
They use a windrow.
I played with wind rows to sort seed/husk..they work but very time consuming.
I shake/virate the tray and the husks float to the top....skim most off and put in a bucket, .....some seed they dont eat, reduce this down in another bucket and then top up the tray
Do this in every flight.
The bucket with the skimed husks, put in a 2nd seed tray in the community flight...they will dig thru this over the next 7 to 10 days and finish it off...I dont even bother shaking this anymore...1/4 handfull of seed is not worth the effort.
Since they is stuff all seed left, it gets dug into the garden...between the rows of veggies where one walks....because the next row will go down that strip., as does the nesting box muck...
havnt fertized the garden in yrs
The floor sweepings go around the trees in the main gardens.
In winter we have a big trim up and that nearly supplies the wood for the winter fire to heat the house.
Since the parrots go thru about 5 to 6 times by weight of veggies fruit and meat... we have between 40 and 80 parrots at anyone time....about 120kg of cockeil mix a yr.
Basically the 120 kg of seed pays for most our veggies and the birds, and our winter heating.
No we are not bloody greenies....but I had never thought it thru like that before _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Steps, when are you coming over and have a chat with my grandpa, explain him basic economics and stuff.
I have chatted to him several times about these concepts but he thinks I'm nutty
He has strictly forbidden me to throw aviary sweepings in the orchard because then sheep won't eat the grass that grows there and last time also forbidden me giving the sweepings to the chicken
Let alone I had a few sq. meters of 20-30cm tall grass from aviary droppings he gave away to this guy.
Rant over, thanks for your attention folks!
Edit: I also use large plastic containers for seed, it's the best option with kakariki.
Edit: Mine cost 1 Euro, at current exchange, I'm doing better than Looby :P _________________ AD ASTRA PER ASPERA
throw aviary sweepings in the orchard because then sheep won't eat the grass that grows there
That rings a bell...something my grandfather daid 45/50 yrs ago???
So why not try a small patch..see what happens?
I have just chopped down the grapefuit and part of one of the plum trees to fit a new 30m sq avairy in the middle of the orchad..
Dont get the wrong inpression thu...our orchard...even whole section is not big enough to have a sheep.
Quote:
Steps, when are you coming over and have a chat with my grandpa, explain him basic economics and stuff.
Watching the economic news ...Spain is not looking very good. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
he doesn't have sheep in the orchard. His theory is that if I spread the aviary sweepings in the orchard when he harvests the grass, sheep won't eat that grass he's sowing.
Actually not even his own sheep, but a friends'.
I'm not an expert in sheep, but I would be very surprised if sheep would actually reject grass and herbs because it has bad taste of bird droppings.
But as we have discussed before, my grandpa even tells me I'm stupid and I'll kill the birds giving them fruit and greens, because he has never seen birds being fed greens and fruits in petshops, or getting sprayed etc...
Anyway, I gave up already, this could be the story of the donkey that worked all his life but never became a horse.
Quote:
So why not try a small patch..see what happens?
I did. My grandpa had a 4-5m x 3m patch with nothing planted on it, I spreaded aviary sweepings and stuff. 2 months later it was full of herbs from the seed, which were sowed and given to sheep.
I was using those herbs to feed to the birds until he sowed the whole patch.
Quote:
Watching the economic news ...Spain is not looking very good.
u always know what is the right swtich... here we go...
RANT:
Spain is bankrupt. 20% unemployment, public debt on fire, European Union is ready for intervention, and political corruption reaching unseen records.
Unions have called for a country-wide strike for the 29th of September, yes... 3 months to organize a strike.
Proud to be a Spaniard. _________________ AD ASTRA PER ASPERA
We had similar situation back in early 80s...
Basically unemployment shot up top around 15%, cuts in Gov spending big time, health hospital, and sold off the railways, air lines, forestry etc etc.
Hell it boils down to the old saying..a country deserves the Gov it gets...
If they vote in a gov that spend heaps, way beyond its means in the name of prosperty, borrows as a bribe for votes...eventually the roof will fall in.
Yeah we had the big protests, which boils down to everyone expects everyone else to 'pay' for the situation.....They need to have a far more pragmatic approach rather than a selfish one.
Bottom line it means everyone in the country has to take a chop in health, education, wages, super etc....or in other words take a step back a couple generations....Once that happens then things pull out right over the next 7 to 12 yrs for the next generation to be spoiled and screw up again. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
IMHO our problem here is that we are taking way too long to go out on the street and hang up by the gallows a bunch of politicians in the central square of the towns.
Mind you, if we get eliminated from the World Cup too soon, then people will go to the airport to protest on the arrival of the national team. But... people is way too lazy to the same for everyday real problems.
But I have a very good friend that once told me something like either become a politician/unionist or don't worry about it, venting won't change anything
Quote:
a country deserves the Gov it gets...
now the problem is... the alternatives look as grim as the actual Gov
getting back to kakariki, we want of the new aviary in the center of the garden once built _________________ AD ASTRA PER ASPERA
We have NIL waste.
Like looby above plastic seed tray 35cm x 25cm x 15cm deep
And throw between 2 and 3 cm deep seed
Depth depends on how many birds in the flight, but at a pinch will see them 14 days....replenhish every 7 to 10 days
A good friend who put me onto this concept yrs ago old small glass fish tanks about 10/12" deep 10 " sq.
They use a windrow.
I played with wind rows to sort seed/husk..they work but very time consuming.
I shake/virate the tray and the husks float to the top....skim most off and put in a bucket, .....some seed they dont eat, reduce this down in another bucket and then top up the tray
Do this in every flight.
The bucket with the skimed husks, put in a 2nd seed tray in the community flight...they will dig thru this over the next 7 to 10 days and finish it off...I dont even bother shaking this anymore...1/4 handfull of seed is not worth the effort.
Since they is stuff all seed left, it gets dug into the garden...between the rows of veggies where one walks....because the next row will go down that strip., as does the nesting box muck...
havnt fertized the garden in yrs
The floor sweepings go around the trees in the main gardens.
In winter we have a big trim up and that nearly supplies the wood for the winter fire to heat the house.
Since the parrots go thru about 5 to 6 times by weight of veggies fruit and meat... we have between 40 and 80 parrots at anyone time....about 120kg of cockeil mix a yr.
Basically the 120 kg of seed pays for most our veggies and the birds, and our winter heating.
No we are not bloody greenies....but I had never thought it thru like that before
Well just bought my first two kaks and am impressed at what nice birds they are. I have joined the tray feeding clup and it works great. Thanks!
I have been given advice to feed only budgie seed as, they are getting vegies & sprouted seed every day. The reason is they hunt out the sunflower and, safflower to the waste of the other seed and the high fat content of these seeds.
ABY THOUGHTS?
Get them on a good veggie fruit meat diet
There is a big sticky thread on the subject and how to get birds not used to non seed onto good diet...
And search block to the left.
Not budgie..thats for grass parrots...get a cockteil mix
Deep seed boxes to stop kicking most out, yes they eat the sunflower eyv in the 1st couple days..then the rest of the week they only have what is left.
This stops excessive sunfloer fats and oils and forces them to eat a balanced seed part of the diet _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
..just an idea of interest, if u have any old kebab skewers with loops on the end or 'Kabobs' for birds, try hanging corn on the cob, slices of pepper and carrot etc from them. Kakariki's are particularly nosey at anything new and food related..also make a cheap toy to work for their food
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