Cando's mineral mix

[slwatson]

Do you sell this, or do you know of anyone who does?

Thank you!

[Colt]

Hey ladies. Candice is no longer a member of the forum. I do not think she sells the mineral mix as she blended it to fit the birds needs at the time, but you might try contacting her through her store in Florida, Cage Bird Menagerie, to see if she could make some up and sell it? I make a similar mix, just have to get all the ingredients, and I just keep mine in Tupperware containers or jars with a screw top.

[Sally]

As Colt says, Candace is no longer a member of this forum, but this is a great mineral mix which anyone can either copy or change up to suit their own use. All of the ingredients are easy to obtain, and once you have mixed this up, you can store it indefinitely in any airtight container such as mason jars, Tupperware containers, etc. My birds love it. Also, don't worry if you don't have all the ingredients, it doesn't have to be precise, but I would start with the oystershell grit and the Abba mineral mix (I love this Abba mineral mix, and it could be used by itself, I just like to tinker with things, I think Candace likes to do this too).

[Sojourner]

OK so I have

• 1 lb of HATCHED! Eggshell crumbles

• 2 lb of ABBA Mineral

• 1 lb of crushed fine charcoal from Hermann Bros.

• 1 lb of cuttlefish bone pieces - which are actually, each and every one, larger than the "whole" cuttlefish bone I paid $1.29 for at Petco!

Do I need to grind up some cuttlefish bone to add to the rest of this?

How much of each ingredient should I mix up?

I also have regular oyster shell intended for chickens, if needed.

This is my grinder:



It has a metal cup and a thick metal blade.

[Colt]

Honestly I've never put cuttlebone into a blender/chopper. I'd think it would be pulverized completely into a fine powder.

@MiaCarter and Sally have you ladies every done that?

If it does powder, you could always dust their egg food or other soft foods with it.

[Sojourner]

The cuttlebone-grinding idea comes from the original post.

Before picture:



After picture:



So far they seem to be ignoring cuttlefish bone hung in their cage, ditto the mineral block - which is strange, our birds of eons past pretty much ate those down to the nubbins.

The thing is I have NO IDEA of what proportions to use for the ingredients I have.

1 lb of HATCHED! Eggshell crumbles
2 lb of ABBA Mineral
1 lb of crushed fine charcoal from Hermann Bros.
1 lb of cuttlefish bone pieces - which are actually, each and every one, larger than the "whole" cuttlefish bone I paid $1.29 for at Petco!
and 50 lbs of oyster shell - it was $10 for 50 lb or $4 for 5 lbs, LOL! And 5 lbs wasn't going to last my wild birds for long.

Apparently she was grinding the ABBA mineral as well.

I know she is no longer reading these forums - but I'd like to hear what other people are doing for their mineral mixes now, and I would be very glad of any advice for what proportions to use here.

[Sally]

I will be making up a new batch of mineral mix later this week, so I'll measure as I go and post it here. With mineral mixes, you don't have to be exact, but some guidelines will help.

[Sojourner]

Thank you! Any guidelines would be most appreciated!

[Colt]

I always use the Steel Magnolia method...

Clairee: What's that one you were telling me about... a Cuppa, Cuppa, Cuppa?
Truvy: Oh that's easy, you don't need to write that down. It's a cup of flour, a cup of sugar, a cup of fruit cocktail with the juice, and you mix and bake at 360 till gold-n-bubbly.
Clairee: Sounds awful rich!
Truvy: I know, that's why I serve it over ice cream to cut the sweetness.

So basically whatever I've got that I'm mixing it's all equally put in at a cup except the crushed egg shells. Those are two or three cups to the one of everything else.

[Sojourner]

Oh my, the crushed eggshell is the most expensive of all the ingredients, LOL!

But aren't both the eggshell and the cuttlefish bone sources of calcium? Won't the cuttlefish bone serve mostly the same purpose as the eggshell?

[Colt]

Yes. But I save all the eggshells from when I boil eggs for egg food. I peel them and then pulse the dried shells and save them. The last couple of times though I've left the shell on the eggs and just put them into the egg food.

[Sally]

Yes, the Hatched eggshells are a bit pricey. I leave the shell on the eggs that I make up for egg food, but I eat a lot of eggs myself. I save the shells from my meals, rinse them out and then microwave on high for 3 minutes. When I get enough, I pulse them in my Ninja express. Not as pretty as Hatched, but basically free, since I'm going to eat eggs anyway.

[Sojourner]

We rarely eat eggs here. If cuttlefish bone also provide calcium, I'll probably just stick with that in the future, plus the oyster shell - unless there is something else they are getting from the actual egg shells.

[Lucille]

How does one store the extra mix? Just a covered plastic container?

[Sally]

How does one store the extra mix? Just a covered plastic container?

Yes, I found inexpensive clear canisters at Wal-Mart for about $1.50 or $2 each, like clear plastic jugs, and they are perfect. Just keep it in a dry cabinet and this mix will keep for ages.