Breeding birds is a combination of skill, hard work, art and science. Our breeder nutrition products are designed to put both you and your birds in control of their diet. Getting it right means you will have good breeding results when others have bad years and excellent results when the others have a good year. This e-mail from leading British Yorkshire canary breeder Brian Keenan says it all:

Dear Malcolm,

I have now used Birdcare products for 7 years, and in that time have reared over 600 young Yorkshire canaries to maturity. Based on my previous feeding methods, I would have achieved around the 240-300 mark over the same period, at most. This year has been another 'poor year' for many canary breeders, but I have reared 80 young birds, ending the season one month earlier than normal.
Obviously, my improved results are not solely down to Birdcare products, but I am convinced they have been, and continue to be the catalyst for my on-going successes. People regularly ask me if and how I use your products, and whether I find them expensive. The additional stock I am producing more than pays for itself, compared to the price of the Birdcare products I am using – so to me, they remain on my 'essential shopping' list - as for advice, if people cannot find help from your revised web pages, then that help probably doesn't exist!

Brian Keenan
Liverpool

Wild birds experience different nutritional conditions during different seasons. Our supplements can be used to mimic this wild diet so assisting your birds' breeding cycles. The chart below gives an indication of how we try to change our breeding birds' diets to mimic these natural changes in the wild.

High Nutrition

When your birds are not breeding (we call this maintenance) they birds will benefit from extra vitamins and minerals. These can be supplied by adding  Alternatively add Daily Essentials3 to softfood (Feast) or fruit. Breeders with large collections will find the more concentrated version (BirdPark Essentials) more economical. Daily Essentials3 all the vitamins and minerals that your basic diet may be short of plus the added benefit of extra limiting amino acids. These amino acids boost usable protein levels significantly which prevents obesity and enables birds to moult very easily with no stress. Once a week Calcivet (CalciBoost) will ensure that bones are well stocked with this important mineral.

There are a few circumstances when on-food supplementationis not practical. So we have Daily Essentials1 (or Daily Essentials2) to add to the drinking water. However the technical superiority and lower applied cost of the in-food products makes in-water supplementation a definite second choice. This link will take you to an article discussing this issue. Feel free to talk to us about this by e-mail or phone (Int + 44 (0)1453 835330).

In the wild birds are brought into breeding condition by changes in day length and improvements in food quality (protein, vitamin and mineral improvements in newly growing plants). We call this the lead-up period. So we steadily increase these items in the diet by feeding more Feast. To this softfood we add the high protein supplement ProBoost SuperMax, Calcivet (CalciBoost) (only once or twice a week) and Daily Essentials3. Potent Brew will ensure the adults digestive system is functioning brilliantly so helping them into full breeding condition. You can estimate the quantities and timing of each of these products with our computerised supplements plans.

This may all sound complicated but actually the routine becomes very simple and the results are well worth it. Remember lots of breeders double their chick production and dramatically reduce both chick and adult deaths using our full system.

During the breeding season we maintain this high level of nutrition and increase Calcivet (CalciBoost) to five times a week (after egg laying has started) to replenish the hens' bone calcium reserves and provide the calcium required for chick bone formation, nerve and muscle function. Potent Brew gives the chicks a brilliant start by ensuring that their digestive system operates very quickly. On this system you may need to close ring birds days earlier than normal. Check on day three or day four for budgies and finches!

Just five products, properly applied, could revolutionise your breeding. If you have a large collection why not try the system on just 10 pairs and see for yourself the difference it can make. We are confident that you will be delighted. And, for the tiny number of people who don't get success or continue to suffer bird health problems our free advice service is available to help you discover just what is going wrong.

This article has given you the details of the products used for breeding. If you want to know more about the philosophy behind their design and how they compare and contrast with wild bird diets here is a very important article.