Feeding Those Young Roller Males
Richard May, Lou Abbott Roller Canary Club
When it comes to feeding those young male Rollers it seems there are as many methods as there are breeders. My first goal after caging up the young males in flight cages is to put weight on them and allowing them lots of exercise. To put weight on them I provide them with trays of dry quick cooking oatmeal several times a week. The oatmeal puts weight on them without pushing the song. Along with the oatmeal and a good canary seed mix, they also get chunks of apple, cucumber, and zucchini a couple of times a week. Not only does the fruit and vegetables provide them with nutrition, it also keeps them busy which results in less bickering.
Once the young males start vocalizing on a regular basis it is time to start changing the seed diet to a more basic mix of canary and rape seed. At first I use a mix that is 50% canary and 50% rape seed. As the song advances I will adjust the mix to the point where it is 65 to 70% rape and 30 to 35% canary. I also give them a tray of just rape seed once a week since it lasts a couple of days. They still get the fruit and vegetables since it doesn't tend to push the song. My birds get poultry vitamins in their water every day of their lives. Some breeders are wary of giving vitamins while song training thinking that it will push the song or have an negative impact on certain tours. I personally haven't noticed enough difference to change my methods yet.
Once the young males are placed in song cages the feeding challenge really begins. The diet has to be adjusted for each single bird to advance or hold the song. Birds that need pushing can be given your choice of hemp, sunflower, or eggfood, or even a combination of all the items. Care must be taken when listening to the song to ascertain where each bird's song is in its development. Birds that are approaching contest song need to be fed a plainer diet of canary and rape without the higher protein of sunflower, hemp, or eggfood. The higher protein items are fed in finger treat cups that slide through the bars of the cage. The treat cups allow for more or less treat to be fed depending on the song development.
As I stated earlier there are as many methods as there are breeders. The trick is to find one that works for you and stick with it. When it comes to making mistakes feeding, I have made them all. I tried everything I heard of and ended up with birds that were pushing the song loud and fast. The trick is to find one that works and learn from your mistakes. There are other factors that affect the song such as temperature and light but this article addresses only the feeding portion of song development.
When it comes to feeding those young male Rollers it seems there are as many methods as there are breeders. My first goal after caging up the young males in flight cages is to put weight on them and allowing them lots of exercise. To put weight on them I provide them with trays of dry quick cooking oatmeal several times a week. The oatmeal puts weight on them without pushing the song. Along with the oatmeal and a good canary seed mix, they also get chunks of apple, cucumber, and zucchini a couple of times a week. Not only does the fruit and vegetables provide them with nutrition, it also keeps them busy which results in less bickering.
Once the young males start vocalizing on a regular basis it is time to start changing the seed diet to a more basic mix of canary and rape seed. At first I use a mix that is 50% canary and 50% rape seed. As the song advances I will adjust the mix to the point where it is 65 to 70% rape and 30 to 35% canary. I also give them a tray of just rape seed once a week since it lasts a couple of days. They still get the fruit and vegetables since it doesn't tend to push the song. My birds get poultry vitamins in their water every day of their lives. Some breeders are wary of giving vitamins while song training thinking that it will push the song or have an negative impact on certain tours. I personally haven't noticed enough difference to change my methods yet.
Once the young males are placed in song cages the feeding challenge really begins. The diet has to be adjusted for each single bird to advance or hold the song. Birds that need pushing can be given your choice of hemp, sunflower, or eggfood, or even a combination of all the items. Care must be taken when listening to the song to ascertain where each bird's song is in its development. Birds that are approaching contest song need to be fed a plainer diet of canary and rape without the higher protein of sunflower, hemp, or eggfood. The higher protein items are fed in finger treat cups that slide through the bars of the cage. The treat cups allow for more or less treat to be fed depending on the song development.
As I stated earlier there are as many methods as there are breeders. The trick is to find one that works for you and stick with it. When it comes to making mistakes feeding, I have made them all. I tried everything I heard of and ended up with birds that were pushing the song loud and fast. The trick is to find one that works and learn from your mistakes. There are other factors that affect the song such as temperature and light but this article addresses only the feeding portion of song development.
