From My E-Mail Bag Laurie UK

Laurie writes: Hi Linda,

Hope you had a good christmas and new year. I saw your blog about Boost and thought I'd send you an email.

I've been using Boost for 4 years now, I use it at 1ml in 2 litres of water all year round. They get it whenever I'm not giving other in water supplements like KD, vitamin B, calcium etc as their normal water. They seem so used to the taste of it they probably wouldn't drink plain water!

I get Boost from Sunrise Aviculture, they sell most things for canary breeders. Its £6.95 for a 50ml bottle. From the picture it looks like you've got the new style bottle, the old one had a parakeet and pigeon on it and the vitamin composition, if you're interested it contains vit A, vit D3, vit E, vit K, nicotinamide, pantothenic acid, folic acid, Biotin, vits B1, B2, B6 and B12, high concentration and fully water soluble.

You can see some Boost in the small drinker on the back of the show cage in one of the photos I've sent you. That was at East of England border show, the other guy is Belgian champion Joel Geldof, you probably know him. My birds originate from his bloodline, via Alan Harper.

Linda, I bought some antibiotics last week whilst looking for a new tub of Optibreed, from a spanish store called Wilder Store. They sell a large range of supplements and treatments for cage birds and pigeons. We can't buy antibiotics here in England without a vets prescription and you don't get charged import tax from Spain soI bought some Doxibrom doxicilin and some Enrofloxine 10% and some microserine tiny pills for canaries.

Do you know if any of these are suitable as a precautionary pre-breeding treatment? and do they have any fertility issues or side affects?

Also Linda I got 2 of those double ended aluminium hand feeding tools to send you, I got them last year. I think you'll find them very useful, the small ends good for newly hatched chicks and the big end for mixing and feeding big hungry feathered border chicks!

I'll post them if you send me your address and let me know if you want any Boost as well.

Check out the sunrise aviculture site and also a new Border site Mason and O'callaghan borders.

Recently had a border cock in a soft molt, he is responding well to the vitamin B and high carb diet! Thanks for all your advice and good luck for the coming season,

Kind regards - Laurie.

SUNRISE AVICULTURE

95D MAIN STREET,

BRAMLEY,

ROTHERHAM,

SOUTH YORKSHIRE

S66 0SE

TEL. 01709 545619

I think they have an online order form on their website.

Have you tried any of the AVIFORM supplements? I've got 2, VITACEL- vitamins, minerals, amino acids and prebiotics, PROLYTE-C probiotic,enzymes and electrolytes.

They're powders with plastic scoop that you can add to any birdy recipe! I'll let you know how they fair.

Congratulations!! I just placed an order with Sunrise and was able to order Boost and Ferti-vit and omni-vit too. Seems no one in the US has any of these products.