Grit, Gravel, and Oyster Shell................................................................................

Question

I read up on all the birds I bought prior to purchase. I own 4 parakeets (one passed yesterday,husband left his window open and I think he froze to death while I was away), a love bird that is under 3 months old, 2 paroletts, 2 sun conures, and a cockatoo. I read up on each bird on the internet through numerous sites as well as bought books to go along with each so I knew better how to care and what to expect from each of the little guys. However I read here on yanswers many ppl that claim to be "vets" saying that pet birds do NOT need gravel-grit- or oyster shell in their diets. Everything I read says they do need it that it aids in digestion and in reducing hyperactivity. What is right all the books or the "vets" on here I give all my birds gravel mixed with oyster shell and have been for yrs without problems. Please clear this up for me thanks...

And yes I have asked my vet and she says "cant hurt"

One final thing NONE of my birds are used or will be used for breeding or producing off spring they are purely for my families enjoyment

also all my birds have cuttlebones available to them and they wont touch them Ive even bought them all the cute flavored ones shaped like fruits again they dont touch them but they are in their cages still. Each of them also have calcium perchs which they rub their beaks on Im not sure if they "consume" them but I have seen them rubbing their beaks on them and it is their favorite place to perch

Answer 1

As everyone else has been saying, yes it totally depends on the type of digestion birds have, but they all have the same digestion track. I've seen a many.

None of those things will hurt your bird, unless that is all they want to eat or are eating.

There are also age periods in which they may or may not need the extra calcium. Too much calcium in a bird diet can result in kidney stones. It is not pleasant to watch a bird die from that. I was surprised the first time it happened to me.

The grit and gravel should be of an appropriate size for your bird, especially if their diet is mainly seed. Birds do not have have teeth for grinding that's why they have a gizzard and why they "eat" rocks. Those "rocks" are the teeth macerating those seeds down so the body can utilize them more fully. These should always be offered.

And birds are smart enough to know when they need to "eat" some grit/gravel/calcium. Some, however, like people aren't so bright and may over consume by habit or taste or whatever.

Answer 2

Shell Gravel

Answer 3

Hi I dont agree with some of the answers being a breeder for lots of years some breed of birds ie chickens ..pigeons etc swallow the seeds whole and need grit in gizzerd to crush seeds but canarys shell there seed as do most parrots so need no grit..after saying that grit as ie minereal grit is useful for other reasons as well as the minereals to play in ..cuttle fish is good for calcium and charcoal good for digestion both are needed at certain time of year..allan

Answer 4

I used to keep a very small container of grit in my birds' cages, changing it when need be. Yes it does aid in digestion and it's natural for a bird to consume.

The oyster shell can also provide minerals. Cuttlebones are a good source, too...

Some birds in the wild even eat clay -- macaws do this... and if you notice, wild birds outside, they will hop around in a driveway or the roadside collecting little pieces of stone and grit.

I'm not a vet, but raised and owned birds for 25 years.

take care!

Answer 5

Your are correct to give your birds these supplements. Grit and oyster shell are necessary for your birds digestion and calcium requirements. If these birds were still in the wild they would search out these things naturally. Via, sand and gravel and the eating of egg shells. I also have seen the posting of the opposite by these VETS. I have serious doubts as to their abilities. But never the less. You are correct. The cuddle bone is also a necessity however your birds will only use it if they need to "file" down their beak. The perches you are using, are for the same purpose and they obviously are using those instead of the cuddle bone. So worry not. The obvious sign that you are doing everything right are your healthy birds for many years. Keep it up.

Answer 6

Yeah they can eat it no problem. I used to give our oyster shells for calcium.

Answer 7

Hi. I have also heard that it is not good to feed them this, that it isn't necessary and can actually get caught in their crop. If I was you, I would join the group Feeding Feathers, and ask them. They are very knowledgable in all nutritional matters for the different species of birds. They will be able to give you a more studied answer. Hope this helped! p.s. I used to give my budgie grit but have sinced stopped.

Answer 8

It doesn't hurt - and the grit, etc., is not stored in the crop - it's stored in the gizzard.
You shouldn't have to provide them with this stuff daily - because once they've swallowed the larger pieces (oyster shell, bigger pieces of gravel), they don't usually pass them.
Grit can be passed easily, and is good for the smaller birds.
I've never heard of it reducing hyperactivity but it does aid in digestion - though just because all birds have gizzards does not mean all birds swallow stones.
And macaws eat clay for the minerals in it - not because of the stones, gravel, etc. it contains.
Your birds may not eat the cuttlebone because they've already got plenty of calcium from the oyster shell. Most birds won't eat cuttlebone just for kicks - they eat it (like macaws eat clay) because they're lacking something (in this case calcium) in their diet.
A bird with a healthy diet, regular (outside) calcium source, probably won't use a cuttlebone unless they're about to lay a clutch of eggs.
That's the only time my gouldians touch theirs.

Answer 9

Different birds have different digestive systems.
It is true that your birds need calcium and minerals. It is also true that these things are provided by grit. But grit is also full of non-digestible sand. This is to aid those birds such as canaries and finches, who have a gizzard designed to crush up their food.
Parrots of all types have different digestive systems. They are fully able to reduce their food without grit due to larger stronger stomach muscles. At the same time, they have smaller openings to allow waste to leave their systems. Therefore solid indigestible waste such as grit can block their entire digestive tract and KILL THEM!
For those who are saying ,"It can't hurt" read this article from a professional bird sanctuary!
http://www.the-oasis.org/articles/grit.php

You can decide for yourself whether you want to risk your bird's life by feeding it grit. But a true balanced diet will provide all the minerals that your bird needs.
The proof of this is that our birds are extremely healthy after 14 years!

Its your choice.

Answer 10

Hi Dear !

How are you?

Cockatiels and other parrot type birds don't need grit in their diet. In fact if these birds eat grit on a free choice basis, they can end up with their crop, proventriculus, or ventriculus (digestive system) impacted with it from over consumption. Most cases of over-consuption are in birds that were ill but....if the system won't digest the grit, eventually it will become overloaded/impacted even in a healthy bird.

Studies have shown that this type of impaction is not a problem in areas such as New Zealand and Australia. From what some of my friends from those areas have said, what they refer to as grit is ground up oyster shell. The birds body can digest ground up shells, but....if taken from contaminated water, it could contain high toxin levels. What we in the U.S. refer to as grit is generally a sand/gravel type mixture which sometimes has charcoal in it. (according to Avian Medicine: Principles and Applications, charcoal that is used in some grit mixtures may interfere with the absorption of vitamins A, B2 and K and can contribute to these vitamin deficiencies in some birds). A hookbill (parrot type) bird's digestive system can not process gravel/sand so in over consuming grit, can become blocked.

Other potential sources of problems with impaction from grit/sand could be using sandpaper perch covers, sandpaper cage liners, some of the cheaper cement perches, access to bricks or cement blocks, and using toys made from lava rock (if your bird chews on the rock and ingests any of it).

Generally grit/gravel is eaten in the wild by birds that eat whole seeds (such as pigeons, doves, etc.). Cockatiels (unless they are ill) don't eat whole seeds (they remove the husks, shells). Birds which eat whole seeds needed the gravel to grind the food in the crop. Cockatiels and other parrot type (hookbill) birds don't need grit since their digestive enzymes will work on the foods they eat since they don't eat the shells/hulls.

Reference:
Avian Medicine: Principles and Applications by Ritchie, Harrison and Harrison

As a bird veterinarian, I receive many inquiries about the medical aspects of grit or gravel, and the role of these substances in parrot nutrition. The gizzard – ventriculus -- of a pet bird is a strange and wonderful thing. In this muscular section of the gastrointestinal tract, the grit is stored; then rolled around during digestion to help pulverize the foods and seeds the bird has ingested. The bird may employ almost any hard substance in this function - and every once in a while veterinarians encounter odd objects that a bird will gulp down as gritty digestive aids.

One memorable case I saw involved an adorable pet cockatiel that caused mayhem in his quest for appealing grit. It started with a frantic phone call from a hysterical young woman, who advised us that her cockatiel had just eaten something. Eating not necessarily being hazardous to the health, we questioned her further and found that the little bird had just extracted a large and valuable diamond from her fiance's earring and swallowed it. The pony-tailed prospective groom arrived at the clinic shortly afterwards, and seemed a bit overwrought himself. The future bride was concerned that the bird could "choke" and the man was worried that he would never see his diamond again. Fortunately, both turned out to be wrong.

Choking -- a foreign body caught in the windpipe -- was not an issue here: the diamond had caused no signs of respiratory distress and was undoubtedly sitting in the crop or on its way to the gizzard. Another problem, obstruction, was worth worrying about. A foreign object lodged in the gizzard can cause problems if it blocks the passage of food. We immediately examined the cockatiel but the crop felt completely empty, so an X-ray was deemed in order. It turned out that the diamond had already made it into the gizzard, and it seemed likely that the stone would be passed eventually. Unfortunately, the time that a hard piece of gravel or grit (or diamond) spends in the gizzard can be quite variable: sometimes a few days, sometimes a few months. All of which meant that there was only one way to find the diamond: a daily search through the droppings of the cockatiel until the stone was excreted. The stone appeared after about three weeks, but the nuptials weren't so lucky -- the wedding was called off.

If you own a parrot that suddenly swallows a portion of jewelry or a toy, be advised that this is a true emergency. The faster you can get your parrot to the clinic, the better the chance that the veterinarian can still find the object in the crop – throat -- of the bird. As long as it stays in the crop, it is easily recoverable. However, once it leaves the crop and goes into the stomach or gizzard, it can become a dangerous problem. If the object is made of metal and contains harmful substances like lead or zinc, it will slowly release these metals resulting in a toxicity situation. If it is made of plastic or wood, it will be very difficult to detect on an X-ray, but can be deadly if an obstruction or blockage is caused. We have seen a great variety of weird objects in gizzards -- watch parts, buttons, pushpins, feeding tubes -- some of which did not do very much harm, and some that did. Play it safe -- keep small loose objects away from your parrot, and transport your parrot immediately when you suspect it has swallowed something he shouldn't have.

What about giving safe and healthy grit to your pet parrot? In my opinion this is a good idea, if only to keep him from looking for more dangerous objects to consume. Remember that parrot-type birds shell their food, and there is no doubt that they can digest their food very well without any grit at all. Having said this, offering very small amounts of mineralized health grit (containing calcium and trace minerals in substances like oyster shell) seems like a safe and healthy way of pleasing your parrot. Use only a reputable brand, as certain types of bulk oyster shell have been criticized for containing contaminants. Do not offer grit to a pet bird that is ill, as in some cases the sick bird will consume too much grit.

I received in my e-mail a question on this very issue and my answer follows.

Q: I am confused about the issue of grit. I have cockatiel gravel, but I see that some experts don't recommend it for tiels. My tiel, Buddy, had seeds in his droppings. I called the vet who said to start by giving gravel a try. I gave Buddy some cockatiel gravel, and it corrected the problem in hours. My question is that the Internet sources say that a bird should not need grit, that it might cause stomach and other problems. Also I'm concerned that the oyster shells may contain lead from their natural surroundings. My Internet bird message board has been bombarding me with articles on why gravel is bad. I have had others say it is not bad, and they give it to their birds. I am bewildered although gravel corrected the problem for him. Any help would be appreciated.

A: I would look again at your bird's original problem -- seeds in his droppings. Talk to a bird veterinarian once more about this symptom, and watch your bird very carefully for signs of weight loss. Continue to monitor the droppings. This sign may signal several serious infectious diseases. Gravel should not have solved this problem, as cockatiels without gravel can digest hulled seeds with no difficulty. However, gravel is certainly not harmful to a healthy bird. I assure you that national brands of grit and oyster shell do not contain lead or anything else harmful. On the other hand, gravel or grit can cause impactions in a sick bird. Yours may very well be sick and so I would have to recommend you not give gravel until you are sure your bird does not have some kind of problem.

Louise Bauck, B. Sc., Dvm, M.V.Sc., is director of veterinary services for Hagen Avicultural Research Institute. She coordinates preventative medicine programs and pathology at Hagen’s parrot breeding farm and research institute.

Best Regards,
Shabbir Hazari

(Shabbir Moiz Ali Hazari)