What do wild birds eat?
Grit or small Rocks?
2007-03-28 15:03:57 · 6 answers · asked by Christopher Y 2 in Pets ➔ Birds
Grit is a substance, normally fine sand or ground up shells, which is fed to birds to help them digest their food. Wild birds would ingest all sorts of grit (sand, small rocks etc) in their normal foraging.
Only birds who eat their seed whole (such as pigeons and chickens) need grit. Parrots do not need grit as they shell their seeds before they eat it. Providing grit to parrots can have bad consequences, such as impacted crops.
Some people provide shell grit as a source of added calcium to their birds, however a cuttle bone or a calcium block has the same properties and also helps to keep the bird's beak trim.
2007-03-29 22:00:25 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi there. Not all birds need grit to grind their food. It is fine gravel. Some have oyster shell for calcium. Birds in the parrot family including parakeets do not need grit they do need minerals, because they are hook bills and de-hull their seeds. Wild birds do well with suet, seed mixes, and oiled black sunflower seeds. They can scratch for their own grit. If you put out a feeder in the winter, try to be consistent. They will depend on you. Some argue that they can lose their survival skills and be more prone to starvation should a bird feeder abruptly stop. You can find all you need at feed stores or even Walmart. Have a nice day every day.http://www.ozbird.com/roleofgrit.htm This is a short discussion on grit.
2007-03-28 15:26:29 · answer #2 · answered by firestarter 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Our pet birds DO NOT NEED grit!! The only pet birds that need grit are doves and pigeons. Finches, parakeets, etc, don't need it because they don't eat the shells of their seeds. For added calcium and minerals, use a cuttlebone. Grit can be downright dangerous, and can cause serious impactions. Most grit from the pet store has ground shells AND rock fragments. Even seashells don't dissolve the way they should... try eating a seashell and see what happens. They simply do not need any grit at all and it is very risky.
2007-03-29 05:33:25 · answer #3 · answered by Wondering 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
shellgrit is pulverised seashells . Its a good source of calcium and helps the birds handle seed in thir crop.
You can put some in a small disk for budgies and other parrots. If they dont want it they just wont eat any.
Dont use sand or gravel. Get shellgrit from the pet store.
2007-03-28 16:57:43 · answer #4 · answered by mark 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
grit is shell
they eat this for calcium
buy your birds shell grit
sorry i dont know much about rocks
some mamals eat them to grind food up in
their stomach
2007-03-28 15:09:36 · answer #5 · answered by puddoms 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
grit is what they eat
it is made of sand which comes from rock and usually has small pieces of calcium mixed in also
2007-03-28 15:13:33 · answer #6 · answered by barry r 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋