by Jan Harris, Ohio
A while ago I jumped into Dr. Marshall's products. You told me that it might take a little time to notice a lot of difference in the birds. It didn't - and my bird population absolutely exploded - suddenly it tripled. My Zebras and Societies are laying 15 & 16 eggs (sometimes more! - and they are paired individually in cages). Most of the eggs were fertile but the little birds looked pretty ridiculous perched on top of those mountains of eggs, so I scooped half of the eggs into an incubator (admittedly hoping that most wouldn't hatch). I have nestboxes full of Zebras and Societies - and the babies that are hatching in the incubator get scooped underneath (very surprised) Societies who show any signs of brooding. Yesterday I took down all the Zebra & Society nestboxes that didn't have babies in them - both the birds (and I) need a break.
Two pair of my Gouldians has already raised their own clutches and I have SIX pairs now incubating their own eggs. Even those pairs that I had to foster eggs out before are sitting tight on their clutches of 6 - 8 fertile eggs. One 5 1/2-year-old yellow female who laid only infertile clutches last year is now incubating 6 fertile eggs - and with a male that has never had a fertile egg in the 3 years that I've had him.
I had a variety of finches and was doing "so-so" and "not so hot" with them until I started using Dr. Marshall's products - and I jumped in, using all of the products. Now I have all of the birds for sale except the prettiest of my Gouldians. They are doing so well raising their own that I won't even be keeping one Society pair. The explosion of birds is kind of wearing me out, though. I have 79 cages of birds - all individual pairs. I have a few of the cages holding juveniles. It was fairly easy for one person to take care of them all when they weren't producing....but when all the pairs started laying fertile eggs and hatching out babies.....wow....you should see all the little babies I have here! I feel very strongly about his products....and I've used a lot of other products...but nothing was making the birds produce the way I felt they should. Boy - did THAT change...lolololol. From August to almost mid-November......and the Owls, Stars, and Gouldians are producing - the Zebras and Societies are "over producing". After cleaning cages this morning, I noticed that even without the nestboxes those little turkeys are still laying eggs. I'm going to have to stop their soft food for a while, I think.
I did change some of the amounts to suit the birds and the schedule I have them on - probably not giving the full amount as the instructions specified. A little goes a long way with Dr. Marshall's products - you can halve the amount (or even less) and still see miraculous results. I find that the benefits I received from the products, and the fact that they are so potent (so a little goes a long way) - far outweighs the cost. The products are very simple to use - thanks to the instructions on your site and also the instructions in his book. I have to admit, it sounded complicated the first time I read his book, I thought "No way will I ever be able to figure that out" - but once you sit down, study the products and what they do - and what they should, and should not be combined with, it's easy to make up a schedule for their use.
The only product I didn't care for was the TurboBooster because it seemed to have an oil base. I put it in the refrigerator, but it thickened up so badly I couldn't even pour it. The cold changed something chemically, because even after I took the bottle from the refrigerator and kept it in the cupboard - it stayed thick and unpourable. So I didn't keep it.
If I had to use only 2 of Dr. Marshall's products - it would be the water cleansers - Megamix and KD; I feel that they are just about indispensable. I had not used water cleansers before, and when I ran out of Megamix, I did order "Sweet Water" from someplace. Smells exactly like vinegar - and I have a hunch that is all it is. I can't wait to get back to Megamix. I also noticed that even though I continued with the KD and Sweet Water (without the Megamix), their droppings are not nearly as good.
The noise level in the house is incredible. Dr. Marshall was right that the activity and noise level would go up. Most of the finches are in their own room, but their little voices are so loud that anyone coming into the house has to talk pretty loudly. There are other products out there that say they do the same thing - but they don't; they can't even BEGIN to compare with Dr. Marshall's products.
I'm new to finches....new to birds, actually. I've only had birds for 4 years and only concentrated on several finch varieties for about a year. Now, thanks to Dr. Marshall, I shall be able to narrow my birds down to just the prettiest of the finch kingdom - Gouldians. Less work, better birds, more babies of exactly the colors I want. What finch breeder could ask for more?
I can't believe I was complaining about the dead in shell and infertility only 4 months ago! Thanks so much for offering them, Laraine, and for all your support and advice.
Jan Harris, Ohio
