birds like to eat dirt.?

Question

2 of my parakeets when let loos. liek to go to my plants and eat the dirt..they doing it for yrs is it healthy? plus the males loves to go on the floor lokign for whatver he can find.

oh i got grit in the cage already...but hes looking for extra...he does have 6 mouthes to feed....mom has babies
i have an over supply of grit

Answer 1

They are following instincts to look for worms..Or they need vitamins and are lacking something in there diet

Answer 2

I won't waste a lot of space here about grit, other then to say GET RID OF IT!!!

Please read the article I posted below on this subject. Grit is dangerous for your birds. It's sad that petstores continue to sell this to people in order to gain a few more dollars in sales.

The reason the bird is eating the dirt is because it's missing nutrition in it's diet. It's so bad it is seeking it in the dirt! Can I bet that all you give your bird is a low cost seed diet? Do you even have a cuttlebone in the cage?

Start by carefully examining the diet. If the parents are raising babies get a vitamin additive immediately.

Studly
Certified Avian Specialist
www.borrowed-rainbow.com

Answer 3

Birds break up the hard food in their stomachs, like hard seeds, by ingesting sand, grit, and small rocks -- then letting their stomach muscles grind it all together to crush the seeds. So yes, they need to eat gravel, dirt, and grit in order to survive and grind the nutrition out of their food. Perfectly normal :)

Answer 4

Birds need grit to grind their food up since they don't have teeth. Buying a small box of grit and mixing it with their food should do the trick.

Answer 5

They are eating it as a digestive aid, and as a supplement.


Birds in the wild eat clay.
These quotes are in reference to the Cliffs of Tambopata Peru, where hundreds of birds flock daily to eat the clay. It's a massive eco-tourism location.

Please see link:

http://www.duke.edu/~djb4/Real%20dirt%20on%20clay%20licks.htm

"Why should hundreds of birds come and eat soil from these special sites? There have been two main theories floating around about why parrots eat soil. The first says that the birds eat the soil to get minerals. Something like an avian daily vitamin pill. The other major theory is that they eat the soil to protect them from toxins in their diet. You may ask why the birds are eating toxic foods in the first place. Is it acid rain? Toxic fallout? Why should parrots eat toxic food? In reality it is totally natural it is just the lot that parrots have in life. It turns out that wild parrots eat mostly tree seeds. Many times they eat young seed before they get ripe. By eating the seed and killing it, they are not helping the plant at all. This is very different from the animals that eat fruit but carry the seed off and drop it unharmed. This is a vital help to the plant. So while fruits are made to be eaten, the seeds are not. A perfect example of this is the common apple. It has a sweet palatable fruit, but its seeds are protected by a sugar that contains toxic cyanide! As a result by eating seeds from hundreds of plants wild parrots are exposing themselves to a dizzying array of highly toxic substances every day (see People Parrots and plant toxins sidebar).

These theories were floating around for nearly a decade without much scientific investigation until a PhD student at the University of California at Davis, James Gilardi (now the director of the World Parrot Trust) came along and set his mind to trying to determine what was really going on. He found that the parrots prefer to eat soils with lots of clay. In particular the soils contain Kaolin clay, the very same ingredient that is found in the human stomach medicine Kaopectate! The very small clay particles have a negative charge and most of the toxic plant chemicals have a positive charge, a perfect match! He found that the soils did a great job of binding to toxic alkaloids (the family of chemicals that includes cocaine, opium and caffeine). These bound toxins then pass through the digestive system and are never absorbed into the blood of the birds. He also found evidence that the clay coats the inside of the digestive system and protects it from being "tanned" by the tannins and other toxic plant chemicals (See Plant toxin side bar).

Dr. Gilardi also tested the mineral concentrations of soils the birds ate and compared them to soils that they didn't eat. In this way he hoped to discover what minerals were important to the birds. Was it calcium the birds needed to make eggshells? Iron for the blood? Zink? No. In each case there were higher concentrations of nutrients in the soils the birds didn't eat. What about sodium? Sodium, the reason we love chips, French fries and all other salty foods, the mineral we all need to maintain the water balance in our bodies and hundreds of other uses? His evidence was not clear. He found that there was slightly higher sodium in the soils the birds ate but it may have been just by chance."

There has been controversy over offering grit to Psittacines and the arguement still rages on.

This is the logic behind witholding grit:

"Most authorities agree that healthy psittacines (e.g.; parrots, budgies, cockatiels) fed a proper diet do not need grit. Some studies have shown that passerines (e.g., canaries and finches) have a behavioral or nutritional need for the ingestion of soluble grit. No evidence suggests that the provision of insoluble grit in the canary diet has any benefit and oversupplementation may lead to health problems. Soluble grit offered to passerines should only be in very small amounts - several grains every few weeks. Birds with pancreatic disease (the pancreas produces most of the digestive enzymes) or certain digestive problems may benefit from the addition of small amounts of grit to their diet. If your bird has a digestive problem, consult your veterinarian regarding your bird's need for grit."

Potential problems with grit:

Some birds, especially psittacines (members of the parrot family) may eat too much grit, if it is available. This can irritate the digestive system or actually cause an impaction (blockage) of the crop, ventriculus, or proventriculus. Pet birds on a poor diet may also eat too much grit in an attempt to fill their nutritional requirements.


See links:
http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/resources/advice/birds/19.htm

http://budgies.ubergoth.net/contents/diet.html

http://www.boaf.com/article_2.htm

http://www.talkbudgies.com/faq.php?faq=health

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=15&cat=1835&articleid=2652

I have 4 finches and I do not offer grit. So far I've had no issues with them.
This grit issue is up to each individual as no scientific study has conclusively answered the grit question yet.

I hope this helps.

Answer 6

Birds need something to help them grind the seeds they eat. Get them some shell grit. I presume you are talking about budgerigars. They are very intelligent curious birds who love to explore. A cuttlefish will help them keep their beaks healthy too.

Answer 7

Birds need "grit" to help in the digestion of their food. If your are not supplying it in the cage, they will find it elsewhere. You can get get the "grit" they need at your local pet supply. They aren't looking for worms!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 8

Yes. You need to get them some "grit" at the pet shop and provide it for them in their cage. They need to eat it to have in their digestion system to help digest their seed. Very important. That's why they're going anywhere to find it.

Answer 9

birds need to eat pebbles to digest their food.ur birds are looking for pebbles on the ground.go to any pet shop .u can buy special,purified pebbles for canaries .lovebirds and parrakeets(budgies) to eat.without these pebbles,birds cant break down their food properly.small,wild sparrows can often be seen eating pebbles off the ground.

Answer 10

just looking for extra minerals,be careful in some composts they have tiny droplets of polystyrene which will block the birs up and kill it.