grit or no grit? THAT is the question.

Learn what to feed your birds.
Hoji
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true grit?

Post by Hoji » Mon Jun 11, 2007 12:59 pm

Just to open-up the discussion again, I was reading in a Simon Schuster book about many sorts of pet birds that grit is necessary. It was written in England and they were saying that although there is a contraversy(sp?) in the US there is not in the UK. They also stated that they don't understand why any one doubts it. They had a long discussion of gizzards and digestion, and it was pretty convincing. So I don't know, it does sound like providing some and trusting the birds to know how much (if any) they need may be the wisest choice. Has anyone had a real, first hand experience with grit induced illness?

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Post by tammieb » Mon Jun 11, 2007 1:29 pm

I can say the vast majority of budgie keepers on my UK based forum believe that finches and budgies require sand grit. Many of them use loose sand on the bottom of their cages. :shock: That's gotta be a whole lotta fun to clean up.

I am personally of the belief they need soluable grit... oyster shell, cuttlebone, mineral blocks, but SAND is not needed to grind the seed since both finches and budgies hull their seed.

I don't understand why there is still controversary on this topic. I believe part of it is due to old beliefs and people just stick with it even when you present arguments which in my opinion are clear and convincing.

I have been keeping birds for at least 25 years and have never provided any of them with sand grit. I don't believe any have suffered from it.
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Post by Thalia » Mon Jun 11, 2007 1:48 pm

lol yeah those Brits are pretty keen on their grit aren't they Tammie? I don't even bother contributing to the grit threads or the pellet vs seed arguments (my vet recommends pellets only lol). I personally believe that insoluble grit is unnecessary, since as you say, finches (and budgies) hull their seeds. I provide cuttle bone and my finches seemed to do very well and my budgie is doing fine with just cuttlebone too :) The sand being kept in the bottom of the cage, well depending on the sort of cage that might actually work for poop clean-up, since you can just vacuum it up and replace it. I might actually try it in Squeaker's cage since there's a grate that will prevent her from coming into contact with the sand. Of course if the pan in the bottom of the cage isn't deep enough, OR someone decides to have a dust bath I couldn't imagine the sort of mess that would be made lol.

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Post by tammieb » Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:28 pm

Oh definitely... mention grit, wing clipping or keeping a single budgie, and you'll get some heated responses. :wink:
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Use the talents you possess - for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except for the best. ~Henry Van Dyke~

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Post by Thalia » Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:36 pm

lol hence I haven't mentioned that I'm planning on keeping Squeaker clipped (also fully supported by my vet) and alone :lol: I think it depends on what you want from your birds though, most of the people there seem to be breeders and showers, not pet keepers there seem to be very few who have them as tame pets, or maybe they have 1 tame one and a whole bunch of breeders lol.
Sorry not trying to hijack the thread lol!
If you want to be safe, offer soluble grit like oyster shell or cuttlebone, that way you get grit but you also get a calcium source and it's soluble so if someone overeats there's (hopefully) less chance of impacted crop or other such problems. I forgot to ask my vet on her stance on grit, however the hand out she gave me only suggested cuttlebone or oystershell not sand grit.

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Post by Anneka » Mon Jun 11, 2007 11:43 pm

I hope our Zebra won't surffer from eating too much grit. She loves it.
Unfotunately, I cannot remove it from the cage because there is also a diamond dove living with my finches and DD has to have grit. They don't hull the seeds.

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Post by kenny » Tue Jun 12, 2007 6:38 am

hi anneka
dont worry i dont think the birds will over eat the grit,there is a chance that they may just stop eating it but mostly its because there bodies tell them they need something so they have a rummage and if its grit they need then they will eat as much as there bodies need

ken
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Post by EmilyHurd » Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:31 am

I personally don't think grit is necessary

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Post by Anneka » Sat Jun 16, 2007 2:10 am

Thanks Ken.
I too think that thier little bodies tell them when they need a certain thing to eat or not. However, sometimes I do worry that they eat something because they are bored.

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Post by kenny » Sat Jun 16, 2007 9:54 am

hi anneka
dont we all!

ken
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Post by Missi » Tue Jul 03, 2007 10:04 am

I don't use grit either.

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Post by Missi » Thu Jul 05, 2007 12:33 pm

Although, perhaps I should offer grit because the finches keep pecking at their blue sandy perch??

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Post by Hoji » Thu Jul 05, 2007 3:23 pm

Yeah, the dicussions in British books that include anatomy and physiology are pretty convincing that it is good to offer it

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Post by Anneka » Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:28 pm

I had a chance to spoke to a person who not only has been raising birds for over 20 yrs but also has a true passion for it. We talked about grit since I keep it in the cage because of our diamond dove. He did convince me to switch to crushed egg shells or anything that is digestable.
He was strongly against the regular grit. It could harm the soft lining of our fids' stomach, except for the doves.

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Post by Crystal » Fri Jul 13, 2007 12:18 pm

If grit was necessary for digestion, you would find undigested feed and/or emaciated birds for most/any finches who do not receive grit--and this is certainly not the case. Emaciation and undigested seed is present in birds who have certain illnesses--regardless of whether or not they receive grit. I am also beginning to heavily challenge the idea that birds in captivity "instinctively eat what their body needs."

For example: offer a parrot the choice between eating seed (which is basically like french fries and candy bars as far as nutrition is concerned) and pellets (which is far more balanced) and most birds will enduldge on the seed. Not because they need the tons of fat and lack of vitamins/minerals in the seed, but because the seed tastes better and in some cases is more fun to eat.

As far as how much pellets should be fed, many avian vets are now leaning towards feeding 40-70% pellets (as opposed to 100% pellets) because some problems are being seen in certain species fed 100% pelleted diets (e.g. renal disease in cockatiels). The portion of the diet which is not pellets should be made up of fresh foods (veggies, egg, pasta), nuts (for parrots), and limited seed (mostly as treats).

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