SPROUTS ARE GOOD FOR YOU

Sprouting beans are high in protein and very beneficical for your birds diet.
Here is a simple method to sprout lentils and mung beans.
Place beans in a glass jar filled with water for a day.
Drain into a colander and leave in a cool dark spot in your kitchen.
Rinse the beans 4 times a day under water. Let drain in colander.
Shake colander to bring the beans from the bottom up to the top.

Note: Spouts will sour if not rinsed. Drying the sprouts in between watering prevents souring and bacteria growth.

enjoy.....Candace

Chris Goodall Champion Breeder, Exhibitor and International Judge

  The Moult and Colour Feeding

by Chris Goodall

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After my youngsters are weaned off, they remain in the breeding cages until they are six weeks old. During this time they are fed on the food they were reared on, namely egg food and soak seed. At this time they will drink copious amounts of water and care should be taken to ensure fresh supplies are always available.

At six weeks of age they are transferred to a large aviary, where they will remain until the moult is nearly completed. At this stage the youngsters are introduced to dry food. Crushed hemp, rape and pinhead oatmeal are given in addition to the egg food and soaked seed. Canary seed is added to the diet a weak later.

It is vital during the moult to provide a diet that will assist your canaries to produce the quality of feather desired. The selective pairing of the parents will determine 3/4 of the feather quality. A balanced diet, rich in protein, to supply essential amino acids is necessary to produce the finish article. Sprouted seed, hard boiled egg and sunflower hearts are high in amino acids. Canary seed, the stable diet is more valuable at this time of the year than any other as it contains silicon in the brown coating of the seed, and enters the blood stream in small amounts to help in feather making.

Extra vitamins can be added either, as I do, by, using commercial products at the recommended dose or by giving a natural source such as dandelions or spinach. Oily seeds such as nyger, hemp, maw and linseed can be added to the diet in small quantities. These will provide the extra oil that is necessary for feather luster.

First round youngsters will start to moult at 8 to 10 weeks old, second round youngsters at a slightly younger age. The new feathers replace the old in a definite pattern, beginning along the breast and back, finishing with the neck and head.

The moulting process with the breeding birds is controlled by hormones. Because of their different hormones the cock bird will lose his sex drive and song, and generally start moulting before the hen. A few tips that will aid a successful moult are, give a bath or spray on warm days, this is most beneficial in assisting the growth and condition of new feathers. Keep birds in draught free quarters. This is a requirement throughout the year, but more so during the moult as this can stop the moulting process altogether. We say they are stuck in the moult and will be extremely unwell. If this happens try to keep the bird warm, add a pinch of Flowers of Sulphur to the soft food, and as a tonic Syrup of Buckthorn administered at the rate of one drop to the ounce (30mls) of drinking water. This should get the moult started again. Finally although the birds need plenty of fresh air and good light it is advisable to moult the birds out of direct sun. The object is to moult the birds with good even colour and we all know what the bleaching effect the sun could cause. Which brings us on to colour feeding. Norwich Canaries have been colour fed for showing since the 1880’s. At first the hot Natal pepper was used, and then it became the custom to used prepared cayenne pepper from the Capsicum plant. This method, which in my case, involved mixing four parts egg food to one part pepper with a little olive oil to infuse the pepper into the egg food. I used this until Canthaxantin took over in the early 1960’s.

I can remember the first time I saw a Norwich at a show fed with this new product. It was at Kings Lynn C.B.S., approximately in 1963 and the bird belonged to Dr. Smither of Peterborough. The birds were very patchy and a burnt rusty colour, because the colouring agent had been giving to strong and not at regular feeds. This is still seen at shows today as fanciers try to colour feed for the first time. It usually takes a couple of years to get the quantities right.

The old method of cayenne pepper can still be used today, but most breeders will be using a product sold under the brand name Carophyll Red. This is a water soluble product and can either be used in food or water. I use both methods and I will endeaver to describe the way I colour feed my birds.

Throughout the moulting season, which usually starts with the first cock bird dropping feathers about the third week in June, till the end of December for are colour fed on a three day rotating sequence. The first day they receive the Carophyll in the water. The reason I stated in the last paragraph. “I will endeavor to describe” is because it is difficult to give exact quantities as most people have a different measuring utensil. I use a 2 2-ml. spoon that comes with Vydex Products, and a level spoonful of Carophyll Red is mixed with 1.5 litres of hot, not boiling water. Most people will advise boiling water, but I find this makes the Carophyll separate and within hours sinks to the bottom.

On day two I colour feed in the food. My mixture is prepared as follows. 10 grams of Carophyll Red is mixed in a coffee grinder with 1 lb. of egg food that is used during the breeding season. The Carophyll must be mixed evenly throughout the 1 lb of egg food till its consistency is of a course powder. One part of this mixture is then added to six parts of egg food, cold water is added to make it crumbly and given at the rate of 1 teaspoonful per bird. When cold water is added to this mixture the egg food will look just the same as it did when giving to rear your youngsters. If you add warm water the egg food will be pink.

On the third day they do not receive any colouring agent at all. On this day they receive a mixture of equal parts of condition seed and pinhead oatmeal that has fish oil added to it the evening before to soak in. Each bird is given 1 heaped teaspoonful. A level teaspoon of fishmeasure of a commercial multi-vitamin and mineral product which will adhere to the oiled seed. This three day sequence continues till the birds just have the head and the neck to moult. They are then removed from the aviary and caged separately. From then until the end of the show season they are fed only colour food starting at the rate of a teaspoonful every other day, and when they have just the face to finish they only have half of a teaspoon every other day. Some breeders only do the colour feeding in the water, this is fine if the birds are moulted out in flights. I would not advise coloured water in the cages as it stains the woodwork. If you have no flights and moult out in cages, I would advise using colour food at the rate of one teaspoonful per day for two days, then miss a day. If the birds dropping are pink to red in colour this will indicate the strength of colour food is correct. This is the worst period of a fancier’s year with feathers everywhere and the birds are not at their best. I however, it is worth it when an ugly duckling turns into a prized Norwich Canary.

Happy moulting

Chris

HOW TO HAND FEED

                                                                           By Candace Pezzuti                                                                              

Hand Feeding Schedule

                                               Feed Every 3 Hours                                                      

      From one day to 6 days old

9:00   am 

12:00 pm

3:00   pm

6:00   pm

9:00   pm *              From 7 days old to 21 days, Drop the 9:00 pm feeding.

 FEEDING FORMULA

1- Kaytee Exact hand feeding formula.

2- To that I add protein powder or baby food, Gerbers, chicken or ham.

 Appx. 1c Scoop of Kaytee Extact hand feeding formula, then add 1 tsp. of protein powder or baby food.

The protein powder or baby food increases the protein that the chicks need, especially for the first 10 days. Discontinue after 10 days if you choose.

3- Add distilled water to the above mixture until the formula is the consistency of being smooth and creamy. The first 5 days it should be more liquidly increasing the consistency to a creamy cream of wheat cereal after that. 

4- Temp of the formula should always be checked before feeding the chicks; test on your wrist, the food should be warm but not hot. Stir down the formula especially in the middle were hot spots tend to accumulate.

  

From 21 days to being totally weaned.

1- Hand Fed chicks will take longer to wean than if being reared by their parents, so be PATIENT.           

2- Keep a few old cocks in the same cage as the chicks. They may help feed them and also will teach them how to eat and drink on their own.

3- I use a breeding cage appx. 24”W x 16”Dx 17” H, when the chicks are 10 days old. I then place the nest of chicks in the cage with the cocks and take them out to feed per the above schedule. Check the chick’s crop to see if the cocks are feeding in between your feeding. If you leave egg food with peas in the cage it will be easy to see if they are helping out. Cocks will have a natural instinct to feed. I do not use hens because they will want to make a nest and if no nesting material is available; will pluck the chicks for their feathers.

4- I, leave the chicks from one day old to 10 days old in the parents nest if the parents are feeding a little. If the parents show no sign of any kind of rearing the chicks...I remove them (because they may kill the chicks) and put them in a clean nest, placed in a small reptile plastic cage. I then use a heating pad under the cage to keep them warm. The temperature should be around 100-101 degrees F.

If, your birdroom is warm then you do not need the heating pad during the day.

(Note: chicks that are too cold will be unresponsive; you need to add more heat.

However, chicks that are getting to much heat will look dehydrated.) If you hold the chick in your hand it should feel warm but not hot.

5- Important: Do not take for granted that your chicks are eating enough on their own. Always check the crop to see how much food is in the chick at each feeding.

Some will wean faster than others BUT always check to see if they have food in their crop.

6- Do not flight them until they are really ready and then flight them along with one or two of the cocks which was in the cage with them.

You can put several nest of chicks in one cage at the same time, just make sure they have, their bands on.

PROBLEMS THAT MAY ARISE WITH HAND FEEDING.

1- Burn in the Crop

If, the formula was too hot you may burn the chick’s crop.

It will look red and feel hot to the touch. The chick will always let you know by

Shaking its head. Place a cold piece of toweling on the spot. Neosporin applied to the area will help prevent infection. By, the next feeding it should be alright.

2- AIR BUBBLE IN THE CROP

Remove the air by aspiring it out with a syringe (small diabetic needle).

Place the needle in the middle of the crop and pull the plunger until the air comes out.

Then administer an, antibiotic to the chick. The gas in the crop will prevent you from feeding the chick unless you let the air out.

Formula that is not heated enough may develop bacteria thereby causing the crop to fill with air or gas.

If you do not have a small syringe then prick the crop with a fine needle.  

Once on the antibiotic it should resolve itself within the next few feedings.

I have reared Gloster, Fife and Norwich and Border chicks all with great results.

The chicks I lost were those that the hen knew were genetically ill and would not live even if being fed.

Note:  Hand feeding chicks does not make them bad feeders to their own when breeding; actually I have found that they are better feeders than those raised by their own parents.

And The Winner is......

Congratulations to NPC Member John Kotsoros for winning the Type Three Division at the National Cage Bird Show held 11/18/11 in Kansas City, MO.

John won the Division with his Yorkie and also won Best Norwich.

Check out John's website at www.johnkotsoros.com for additional information on his wins.

What a gorgeous example of what a Norwich should look like.

                                      2011 Best Norwich at the NCBS Kansas City, MO.

Pre-Breeding Season Rx Suggestion

Prior to breeding season its a good idea to treat your birds and prevent any problems once breeding season starts. Your birds should be off medication (Rx) at least a month prior to breeding.

GIARDIA

By Candace Pezzuti

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Giardia is a single celled, intestinal protozoan parasite. Giardi have been found to cause disease in birds, cats, dogs and even humans. One sure way for humans is eating sushi.

This parasite can be transmitted via the water supply. So be careful when traveling to a bird mart or a show out of town. You should always use bottled water for your birds.

Your own domestic drinking water may carry this parasite. It's always best to use bottled water when traveling, to drink, and for cleaning drinkers and feeders. The safest way to protect your birds is to boil their drinking water or use a reverse osmosis system in your home that filters the drinking water. This is not only good advice for your birds but for your own health as well.

Not only drinking water but any water that is used to clean out feeders, drinkers, etc can be contaminated, if the parasite exist in your water supply.

This parasite can exist in two forms in the blood. One is, trophozoite and the other is cysts traphozoite. The first form is the active form that moves by means of flagella. These parasites attach themselves to the small intestines. The second form are dormant cysts that can shed in the feces from an infected bird. These cyst can survive outside the host and infect other hosts (birds) without showing any symptoms.

All birds are susceptible to Giardia, but FLEDGINGS are the most susceptible. Here is where you will lose your fledgings, for no apparent reason. At about 8 weeks old they will SUDDENLY become sick, they will ruffle up, look sleepy and usually die within a 24-48 hour period. At this stage you will not be able to do anything to save them.

Diagnosis is hard to show through means of necropsy, tissue samples, blood work even electron microscopy will not reveal these parasites. But you can prevent this from happening during your next breeding season.

The treatment of choice is Metronidozole also called Flagyl. Pigeon breeders also use this anti-protozoa treatment for canker.

The Treatment consists of the following:

Use (6) 250 mg tablets crushed (use coffee grinder) to a gallon of distilled water. Always use distilled water when administering medication. Treat for 5 days. Then go off the treatment for a week ( 7 days). Then REPEAT the same process 2 times. So your birds are medicated for a total of 15 days with intervals between treatment times.

The reason for this is that the parasites and protozoa reproductive cycle varies at different stages so this way you are sure to get all of them. An antibiotic such as amoxicillin can be used together with the Metronidazole.

Whenever medicating your birds with medication in their drinking water MAKE SURE THEY ARE DRINKING THE WATER. Some birds can taste the difference in their water and will not drink. You will lose your birds because they stop drinking the water. Make sure you see ALL YOUR BIRDS DRINKING. This is good advice for any type of medication you give your birds. I prefer to add my medication in the egg food. I know they will eat it in the egg food especially if I add peas to it, they don't notice the taste of the medication.

If you did not experience any problems with the mortality of your fledgings then you do not have to use the treatment in the water but can add it to your egg food accordingly. Make sure the amount is not too strong depending on the amount of egg food each bird is given.

Prophylacticly, I use 6 tablets and 4 amoxicillin pills in my egg food ( appx 16 cups of egg food mixture) for 3 days; off a week then on again for another week, one month prior to breeding. This cleans out their system if they do have anything going on. PREVENTION IS THE KEY. ONCE A BIRD HAS AN ACTIVE INFECTION THE TREATMENT DOES NOT WORK IN MY EXPERIENCE.

As I mentioned in my opening paragraph this type of infection is more prominent then you may realize. People do have this condition and won't know unless they have an endoscopy performed. The treatment by the way is exactly the same except the dosage of course is larger.

This article is for information purposes only. I recommend you do your own reading and research on the subject. The author will not be held responsible for anything relating to this article.

This information is from my own experience and research. If you have any problems you should consult your veteranian.

Metronidazole can be obtained by different sources. Most pigeon suppliers carry it such as Siegel's, Jedd's and Global. Thomas Laboratories also has it. For your convenience call 800-359-8387 or visit their website. I do not recommend any particular supplier but offer this information for your convenience.

Remember the full name is Metronidazole also called Flagyl or Fish Zole.

Respectfully submitted by Candace Pezzuti.

 

Happy Halloween

Try feeding this corn bread to your birds. Birds need vitamin A in their diet and this is a good way of providing it. Its easy and simple to make.


Pumpkin Corn Bread

2C           Flour
2C           Yellow Corn Meal
1C           Sugar
1C           Canned Pumpkin
1C           Buttermilk
2C           Water
1/2C        Vegetable Oil
1T            Sea Salt
2T            Baking Powder


Mix together. Bake in Oblong Cake Pan. 350 oven for 45mins-1hr.

Pumpkin was added to this recipe to increase Vitamin A in our birds diet.

To all my NPC Members ........ Happy Halloween.

Candy

Show Time in Belgium

Alain Notett a Champion Breeder, Exhibitor and International Judge is shown here with his latest trophy for winning Best in Show at the Antwerp show in Belgium.

Alain, has been a member of NPC for many years and judged our National three years ago in Lansing, Michigan.  Check out his web site at http://norwich.be

Promoting the Norwich Breed here and in Europe our Club strives to inform the public of the joys and accomplishments that come with the hobby.

                         Show season is here and I hope all our members have a wonderful time.