Mary Allen
Green fodder plays an important role in the diet of numerous species. In addition to vitamins, there are proteins, minerals, amino acids, and other ingredients that you provide your birds with by feeding the plants.
Green fodder for our birds can roughly be divided into two types: leafy green fodder, which includes, for example, the leaves of dandelion, chickweed, ragwort, nettle, chicory or kale, and semi-ripe seeds. While the green leaves are more or less readily accepted by practically all grain-eating bird species, half-ripe seeds are usually only consumed by certain groups of birds.
For example, finches love the seeds of grasses, while they like those of the daisy family (Asteraceae or Compositae) less. With some other finch birds, such as our native species or foreign carduelids (including all siskin and serin species), the situation is more the opposite. They prefer the seeds of many daisy plants, but sometimes also eat the various grasses. The canaries, budgerigars, parrots, gallinaceous birds, and many species of pigeons eat almost any type of green fodder once they have become accustomed to them.
Since They Have to Work for the Food, the Birds are Usefully Occupied
In addition to the vital nutrients, offering certain fresh greens forage has other benefits for our feathered fosterlings. They often have to work for their food, which means they have to skillfully fly to the stalks in order to get to half-ripe seeds, for example, so that they can pick the grains out of the ears. This not only keeps the birds occupied in a meaningful way for a longer period of time, but they also look for food in a completely natural way. Furthermore, many female birds like to use the stalks or the empty ears of corn to build their nests.
Green fodder, no matter what kind, should not simply be thrown onto the ground by your birds. Raised on the aviary wire or attached to branches, the animals not only prefer to pick it up, but it is also better protected against dirt from feces. I’ve been using standard clothespins for fastening for many years. In the case of bird species that can climb skillfully – such as serins, siskins, or various types of finches – you can also tie the stalks together to form a bouquet and hang them somewhere in the branches or on the ceiling. Leafy greens that are not so popular whole, such as stinging nettles (Urtica dioica), can also be cut up with a knife and placed in a separate bowl or on a clean spot on the ground.
To keep half-ripe grasses fresh – I usually collect a large supply right away – I simply place the stalks in a bucket filled with a little water, which is stored in a cool place, for example in the basement. You can take the required amount daily for several days and feed it fresh. It is important to ensure that the water is changed every day if possible, otherwise, you will soon only have a foul-smelling broth.
Chickweed and Dandelion are the Classics
Every bird breeder will probably know the green plant’s chickweed and dandelion and offer them to his birds at least occasionally. All parts, leaves, stalks, and semi-ripe or ripe seeds of chickweed (Stellaria media) are consumed by practically all grain-eating bird species. The long leaves of the dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) are particularly rich in nutrients. They also serve as a source of food for many seed eaters. The half-ripe infructescences, on the other hand, are mainly popular with canaries and carduelids. Half-ripe dandelion seeds are a particularly important and natural rearing feed for rearing the young of these species. But flowering dandelion heads are also a treat for some birds. My South American parakeets jump enthusiastically at the yellow flowers when I offer them freshly picked.
Since the half-ripe dandelion seeds are only available in large quantities for a short period of time from April to May, the seed heads should be preserved in the freezer so that this valuable food can also be offered later. It is advisable to only collect the milky, green-yellowish seeds, as the ripe, brown seeds become mushy and stick together after thawing. In this state, they are usually no longer eaten with pleasure. For the same reason, I don’t thaw the seed heads either, but serve them straight out of the freezer while they’re still frozen. The pappus should always be cut off with scissors so that the countless flying hairs of the dandelion heads do not fly all over the bird’s dwelling.
Grasses are Particularly Popular
er, of which there are about 500 different varieties. The most well-known species here are the annual meadow grass (Poa annua), meadow grass (Poa pratensis), and common meadow grass (Poa trivialis). Meadow grasses grow in open, mostly sunny locations, so they can mainly be collected on meadows, fallow land, and at the edges of forests.
Forest millet, also known as millet or millet (Milium effusum), thrives in mixed deciduous and coniferous forests as well as in sparse fir, beech, and spruce forests. This grass, which is up to one meter high and has panicles about 15 to 25 centimeters long, is the absolute favorite food of my finches. Depending on the location, it can be harvested half-ripe from the beginning of May to around the end of June. In deciduous forests, the single-flowered pearl grass (Melica uniflora) delivers half-ripe seeds in the same period. In some areas, it is often found in large areas together with forest millet, so both species represent a very rich source of food.
Sweet grasses that are also very popular with my birds and that I feed regularly in the appropriate season are barnyard grass (Echinochloa crusgalli), blood-red finger millet (Digitaria sanguinalis), and green foxtail (Setaria viridis). Not quite as popular – but they are still eaten – are the orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata), the soft brome (Bromus hordeaceus), and the couch grass (Elymus repens). In addition to these, there are many other types of grass whose half-ripe ears can also be offered to your feathered darlings.
Another type of grass that I have been feeding my exotics for many years is the forest sedge (Carex sylvatica). However, it belongs to the sour grasses or sedge plants (Cyperaceae). They are found with half-ripe seeds – called achenes – mainly in May and June on wet meadows, in swampy areas, near banks, and in damp forest sections. Of course, you can also feed the many other types of sedge with half-ripe fruit. For me, it’s the hanging sedge (Carex pendula). I also planted these two types of sedge in a shady spot in our garden. So I can always put them in small amounts freshly into the aviaries when the young are raised.
The Diversity of Nature Never Ends
From the plantain family (Plantaginaceae), the spikes with the half-ripe seeds of the common broad plantain and pointed plantain are very popular with many bird species. I also pass the leaves from both, although these are not eaten by all my birds. But at least they take the canaries, from which I have been breeding the Spanish singing canary breed «Timbrado Español» for years, cut up with a knife.
The large daisy family offers us, bird lovers, a wealth of excellent forage plants for various bird species – for example, canaries, carduelids, and other finch birds as well as parakeets and quail. Among the daisy family, of which our birds mainly eat the semi-ripe and ripe seeds, we also find a large number with colorful flowers. After the flowers have faded, my goldfinches and the various Zeisigartens look forward to the seeds. In recent years I have offered the following species for consumption, among others: Field sow thistle, safflower, spring ragweed, common mugwort, odorless chamomile, coltsfoot, Canadian cattail, small-headed Pippa, cabbage sow thistle, cornflower, rough sow thistle, cosmos, Scabiosa knapweed, spiny lettuce, chicory, meadow knapweed, meadow yarrow and various species of creeping thistle. From the knotweed family, I occasionally feed the sorrel knotweed, flea knotweed, and bird knotweed.
On my long bike rides, I keep discovering new plants, which I then offer my birds to enrich their diet after studying the relevant identification books. I would like to mention the following as examples: blue viper’s bugloss, field cress, yellow sweet clover, evening primrose, shepherd’s purse, crooked foxtail, sorrel, white goosefoot, and white sweet clover. As a rule, birds are very happy to eat the seeds of all these plant species.
Our garden also supplies half-ripe seeds: those of the garden larkspur, Jerusalem artichoke, daisies, and particularly high-yielding marigolds. The flower heads of the daisy are also popular as a treat with my parakeets mentioned above. All my birds also get chickweed, which is very similar to chickweed, and occasionally a small amount of lemon balm.
Leaf chard (Beta vulgaris) is well suited to vegetables from the garden. In winter you can occasionally feed them some kale or Brussels sprouts (Brassica oleracea). On buyable green fodder