Grit

[gnasher16 31,603]

Dosey as it may sound.......do you chaps with aviaries actually put grit out for your birds or not ?........Ive always got some out but it occured to me the other day all the time i sit watching these birds i dont think ive ever seen them even sit on the bowl let alone actually put some in their mouth.....im always slinging it away and putting fresh stuff in........but is it definately necessary ?

[fireman 11,578]

I don't put down grit as such but my birds do have acess to sand and soil and i have seen many times canaries picking at the brick work on one of my flights,if it's in a dry place then it shouldn't need replacing unless it's getting soiled and the thing is if it's there the birds have a choice to use it .I took young Spartan to a bird sale today and looked in on his set up(a cracking set up as well ) when dropping him off and he has a grit tray and his birds were picking at it so his use it and and there only little so wouldn't be "getting through it" as it were,Come breeding time when they need a bit of extra calcium in their diets for egg producion then you may find they use it more.

[Hot Meat 3,109]

yeah they need it to deal with seeds, some birds deffo have a taste for certain grits tho

[gnasher16 31,603]

yeah spose it dont hurt leaving it out...........better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it.....if they want it its there........cheers

[Hot Meat 3,109]

have they got sand or walls to pick at gnasher? but by powers of deduction, you aint lost any so your doing summat right, keep doing what your doing

[gnasher16 31,603]

no sand but theres a brick wall......cant say as ive seen them pecking at it though..............maybe they do have a bit of a grit and i just havent noticed.......the bloke at my bird place said they dont really need it but i always like to get a few opinions first

[Hot Meat 3,109]

when i kept canaries and pigeons and even the budgie we got now i offer them all sorts of stuff, they smaller birds in cages always had sand in bottom then cuttlefish and grit and iv seen them all use it, i once had glosters and a hen would only take the sand and small bits of oyster shell mixed through it but her cock and a few others only ever took the grit, and some took both and more. cant say iv ever kept any bird without so couldnt say if they get by without. i also crushed eggshells with a pestle an mortar i think they called lol they all ate that aswell. was old timers i learnt about birds off tho so lots have probs changed or been found its not needed now.