pigeon pete
259 posts
Apr 01, 2009
3:17 AM
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Hi Paul,
The white stuff is Dari and the red stuff is Milo, (sometimes confusingly called red dari)lol
They are both similar in there constituent parts.
On the face of it they are both similar to wheat in their make up, but wheat is a good all round food and birds will hold condition when fed purely on wheat.
I have found that Dari is a good food for an energy boost. It doesn't have a lot more carbohydrate than wheat, but there is something about it that gives the birds a lift. Maybe the type of carbohydrate is more easily digested and metabolised than other grains, I'm not qualified to say but I know how it affects my birds. When used exclusively for more than a few days I have found it to weaken the birds, so I would not describe it as a conditioner.
The nearest way I can explain the effect that I have often found, is like an athelete taking a glucose or carbo drink. It gives the energy when you need it, but if you tried to live on glucose or sugar you would soon get out of condition, because it is 'empty calories' with little else in the way of nurishment.
Dari is not a pure carbohydrate in that sense, but is more like eating a pudding than a balanced meal,lol
Many flyers use a mix of milo and wheat and it seems to work for them, I guess, or they wouldn't use it.
Like so many factors with our birds it all depends upon the starting point. If your birds are fat and out of condition, then flying them for a week on dari may help to shed the weight and bring them into condition, but it is the weight loss and the activity more than the dari which is conditioning them.
Birds that are in flying condition and are carrying no excessive weight may get a temporary boost from switching to Dari, but I have found that it's use is limited to a few days at most, and I will need to go back to wheat or wheat/peas to maintain condition and body weight.
I have heard it said that in comparison to the milo the Dari (white stuff) is more easily digested and is better for the birds, but I have found little practical difference, and the red is usually cheaper so that's what I use.
regards,
Pete.
Last Edited by on Apr 01, 2009 3:19 AM
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