Should you feed your pet bird Rocks????

Question

Do birds need to eat rocks?? What's the deal?

What are Grits?? sounds like breakfast where I'm from.

Are grits basically Small baby rocks?
or something else?

Answer 1

It all depends on what kind of bird you have.

Chickens, ducks, crows, pigeons, doves, etc need gravel to break down the seed hulls.

Parakeets, finches, lovebirds. cockatiels, etc hull the seed and only eat the kernel., and not not need grit at all.

Grit is usually sand and small gravel.

Grits is made from hominy, and hominy is made from corn.

Answer 2

Most pet birds are actually psittacines (parrots, hookbills) and in the wild, would not eat rocks to aid in digestion. Parrots who are fed grit may suffer crop impaction and die of it because it just funks around with their systems. These birds include anywhere from parrotlets, budgies, lovebirds, cockatiels, caiques, conures, and so on to macaws, cockatoos, etc. Since they don't eat seeds whole, they are already discarding the unneeded food and only eating the seeds within the hull. Everything they are fed is 100% edible, and grit is meant to help digest what wouldn't naturally be edible. Most passerines, like finches and canaries, would not require this either.

In cases of chickens and doves (who consume seeds whole), they do require grit because they have different dietary needs where they don't thrive off of 100% edible vegetation and inner seeds. Their systems are built differently so that their gizzards require the grit to process their difficult-to-digest foods.

Grit is basically soluble or insoluble little pieces of rock that process the indigestible foods that birds eat, such as the doves' seed shells. Insoluble grit is composed of tiny stones such as silicates and sandstones and is used in digesting unhulled seeds. Insoluble grit isn't digested and remains in the body until expelled. Soluble grit is organic and includes crushed shells (such as oyster shells) or cuttlebone. Soluble grit is mostly limestone. Since it is easily digested by acids, there is little danger of it accumulating in the digestive system. However, while soluble grit is a source of calcium, it does little in aiding the digestion of whole seeds. Instances of heavy metal toxicity have been reported with the feeding of soluble grit which has come from areas with polluted waters.

Answer 3

Not rocks.

I could discuss the evolutionary aspects but it's enough for you to know that you purchase special grit for the bird to eat.

It functions to break down the food in the crop (gizzard).
.

Answer 4

Not rocks, just grit. They need it to help with digestion and to keep their beaks healthy

Answer 5

They eat like a teaspoon of grits every week to help with digestion.

Answer 6

no

Answer 7

NO!!! they can choke and die!!!