Charcoal ~ shelf life?

[cindy]

Thank you...the bag shall last a while. Are you selling kelp or bee pollen?

[nixity]

Yes I'm still selling everything just not Orlux

[cindy]

Thanks Tiffany...I am going to see what I need and get in touch with you!

[kenny66]

Activated charcoal is charcoal infused with oxygen which increases its absorption properties. I used it extensively when I bred tropical cichlids (fish). Charcoal is very selective in removing materials such as toxins. Activated charcoal removes a wide range of impurities and contaminants like chlorine and odors (hence the use by finches in nests). Sodium nitrates and fluorides are not attracted to carbon and are not filtered out. So the belief is that it only takes out the bad stuff.
As I previously said Australian finches access it in our bush where it is continually formed during the fire season. That supply is endless. Most of the specialist finch breeders I know consider it an essential, however I cannot speak for Australia wide, or for other than the people I associate with. From my personal experience it has been just as important as adding a calcium source such as cuttlebone. None of my finches overdose on it and any change in the color of droppings, if any, has been insignificant. As always, one can only speak about ones personal experience and like most things, everyone has a different and legitimate view.

[nixity]

Kenny - would you mind posting a photo of the charcoal you use? I'm curious as to the size.. the stuff I have access to is a fine ground but I know I can also get course, I just had no idea they might use it for anything other than consuming it so I never bothered since I figured the course would be much too large to be useful.

I'm just wondering how large the largest piece is that you offer that they use in nest construction?

[ac12]

A I remember, "activated" charcoal is made by cooking the charcoal in an oven at HIGH temp. That is supposed to open up more pores in the charcoal to absorb stuff. So in theory activated charcoal will either last longer or absorb more than non-activated charcoal.

[kathmcm]

I've no wish to prolong the agony here, but ...

Charcoal is a natural substance that birds would have available to them, but activated charcoal is made from charcoal by a variety of processes that include high temps in the presence or absence of oxygen, or treatment with strong acids or bases. The objective is to make the natural charcoal more absorbant, by increasing its porosity, thereby increasing its surface area. Naturally occuring charcoal, or man-made activated charcoal (activated carbon), is useful because certain types of molecules stick to its surface. The larger the surface area, the more these types of molecules can be removed by a given amount of charcoal/activated charcoal.

Water will essentially pass through the pores of charcoal. We know this because we use it for water filtration. Small inorganic ions that are well hydrated pass through the charcoal with the water. Nitrates and fluorides in Kenny's post, for example. However, nonpolar molecules have a greater tendency to adhere to the charcoal surface and to be removed from the water. This includes iodine and chlorine, again as Kenny said.

However, charcoal also filters out larger organic molecules, including the toxins produced by bacteria. Any relatively hydrophobic organic molecule will adhere to charcoal. So, if a toxin like a pesticide or herbicide or bacterial toxin has limited water solubility, then when it passes through the charcoal it will stick to the charcoal surface and stay there, while the water passes through.

This is a good thing, obviously. But there are lots of good chemicals that are not highly soluble in water, including many vitamins, micronutrients, and fats.

As an example, in the attached link fairly simple experiment was done where activated charcoal was added to apple juice. While it made the juice look nice and clear, it also took out the vitamins.

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15905560

If you look up activated charcoal on line you get jillions of sites that are mostly commercial and are hawking the product for removal of "impurities". This can be true but it is also incomplete, since the substance does not discriminate based on what is good for us (or birds) but by chemical properties.

If a bird ingests charcoal, or artificially-made activated charcoal, at least that charcoal gets eliminated as it passes out of the gut, so that any nutrient absorption is limited in time, unless of course the bird is constantly eating the stuff.

[cindy]

Charcoal, according to my father will last for a very long time. He said the bag I have could last 10 or more years since it deteriorates very slowly...store it sealed and at room temperature.

I have a question in regards to the charcoal found out in a natural environment. Our county park does controlled burns every year during dry season (right before the summer rains and storms). We have mostly pines, today I noticed (since we have been on the topic of charcoal) the bark of the pines in the burn areas are coated in black....Kenny is this how you collect the charcoal off the tree bases, burnt branches and set these in your aviary/cages for your birds? would the charred pine bark be safe to use?

[Chichireeo]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to answer my question about activated charcoal. I know to limit the amount to 5% of the mineral blend, and I do want to give it because I know birds use it in the wild. But I am concerned about the bird not knowing the dosage because he doesn't know this charcoal is activated and "extra strength". I also worry the bird can pick out every bit of those 5%. Maybe instead of mixing it, I only give a few pieces a day?

Am very interested in Cindy's question about using natural burnt wood.

[cindy]

The trail is 6 1/2 miles to the end, the sections are burnt in intervals and the areas are vast...It would be charcoal heaven out there. Interesting if this can be used...I am just concerned with the bar being pine bark.

I have a fire bit and oaks....I could burn some, minus the starter log and lighter fluid.

If you mix the charcoal in other sources like oyster shell and powdered cuttleboone it decreases the chance of them gorging. In the very begining I got a sample of charcoal and set it out in a dish for my owls, they all went to it and downed it...after seeing this I mixed it in with the other ingredients and that slowed down that gorging effect some.

[CandoAviary]

As an ex hippie that has lived in a tent...in the woods for several years, I have witnessed birds visiting the cooled campfire in the morning to sample the burnt coals left behind from the wood. Sometimes there would be a whole flock outside my tent I have seen them take a piece to a nearby hard surface and peck it into smaller pieces. Swallowing some and then carrying back some. Whether they were stashing this in their "medicine cabinet " for later use or sweetening their nest I don't know. But I do know animals of all kinds (even cows) seek out burnt wood to gnaw on.
With the recovery of the Gouldians in Australia... maybe it is due to the save the gouldian fund stepping in to build nesting facilities, good rainy seasons following the wildfires making seed and water holes plentiful... but just maybe with all that good charcoal left behind from those wildfires offered a cleansing and their health rebounded better than ever
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=192804

I know that it is totally normal for animals to eat charcoal. (watch the video of the monkeys in my earlier post) Now what you offer a bird in captivity is usually not in any way close to the balance that nature will provide.... but in my opinion what is good for birds in nature is good for my birds in captivity

[Vertdemer]

And for how much birds can eat it, I think they know how much quantity they can eat... I think they are better than humans when it's time to limit themself...!

[cindy]

I can just see me now...parking my road bike off the trail and gathering up charred bark, filling a bag and riding back down the trail!!!!

The pine bark is my concern...I assume it is safe as long as there is no sap.

[nixity]

Just FYI the charcoal I use and sell is not activated charcoal. Activated charcoal is much more expensive. I just use/sell regular ol charcoal.

[cindy]

the birds like it....