Big Bird Visits Girlfriend's Aviaries - Part 2

Debbie has several hanging baskets and containers of a trailing vine called water spinach which grows well in soil and make an excellent bird greens! It also comes in as a red stemmed variety called red water spinach. It is sold in nurseries or grocers that specialize in Asian plants.

Debbie shared that when a hen does not want to feed she picks a leaf of the water spinach for her and she begins feeding it immediately.

Calcium gluconate is an excellent source of calcium and critical for hens. The expense of calcium just seems to go higher but here is an inexpensive solution. It is available from Foys Pigeon Supply for only $5.95 for a 16 oz bottle. Debbie uses 17 cc of the product to a gallon of water. The vitamin D3, important in calcium absorption, can come from the Vi-Tal poultry vitamin she uses.


Although Debbie would rather not hand feed chicks, if the need arises, she makes a baby formula by mixing Exact and Lafeber's 50/50. If any problem emptying the crop occurs, she adds applesauce to her regime.

Great storage container for her basic canary mix which is Higgins Vita Seed.


This quart milk bottle is an easy way to dispense mineral grit.

Debbie also has a collection of old canary memorabilia including books back to the 1800's and old cages clear back to actual miner cages. She is planning a future blog post to address "Canary Keeping in Days Gone Bye" for us.

Thank you so much Debbie for sharing your tips with us!! Besides our love of birds, sharing and friendship make this hobby so fulfilling!