Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Time To Tackle Loose Flank Feathers

Extra Carrots Have Been Added to the Nesting Food! (The orange color is all from carrots, there is no artificial coloring agent in the regular nestling food!)



Regular Oatmeal Has Been Added to the Seed Mix!


Kicking Up the Carb's Even More!!


As I examined my birds early this morning, about 80% are tight feathered and ready for the shows but that means 20% are lagging a little and exhibit some loose feathers in the flanks and vent areas. Even though this is easy to correct, a number of unfinished birds are typically seen at the early bird shows in October. Simply upping carb's periodically has encouraged my birds to finish their molt. I am proud that 80% are ready for showing and it is still a few weeks away!

I have responded to the loose flank and vent feathering challenge by again upping the percentage of carb's in the diet, this time I increased the amount of carrot in the nestling food and added a generous amount of regular oatmeal to the regular seed mix. Carrots are very high in carb's and my birds love them. When I filled the young birds dishes with nestling food this morning, they immediately jump down and started munching it with renewed interest!

After an hour or two, I will fill the seed dishes with the oatmeal containing mix and I know they will get just as excited about the oatmeal addition! I always put new foods or changed foods that I am anxious for them to clean up, as the first fed food of the day. Being a bit hungry, they are most receptive to anything new at that time!

Once I am about a month out from my first opportunity to show my birds, I will use the Bird of Paradise from Wall Seed coated straight canary on my show Borders.

No comments: