Sand V Grit?

[Cazie 0]

Sorry not been here for ages......(have my own site to run )

 

Anyway, I was just wondering why a budgie would prefer sand over grit? Our last 2 budgies, it was definately grit, but with Bobby, he just loves sand. Is that a problem? or should we just leave him to it?

[armchairangel 0]

Actually, budgies don't need to eat grit or sand because they hull their seeds before they swallow them. However, as long as the stuff he's eating is clean, I would imagine it wouldn't hurt him.

[Guest Thirtyfive Black]

I have sand on the bottom of the aviary, and when we change it out, they go nuts bitting it up. Your bird should be fine, just dont let him eat too much

[**KAZ** 0]

The "Grit debate" is an interesting one.....some for it, some against. However, most current opinions seem to indicate that grit is NOT a necessary part of a budgies diet as they hull their own seeds. Grit is a part of any birds diet that doesnt hull their own seeds. Its a choice you have to make. Some birds get crop impaction from over indulging on grit.

[hath 0]

my opinion is that non breeding birds dont need it breeding hens do to get the right consistency of feed for the chicks

[Zebra 0]

I have hen, who has eaten too much of sand and had to go to the vet. So I only give my budgies sand sometimes and not much.

Edited March 12, 2007 by Bubbles

[Guest strnecka]

My budgie tend to eat sand quite often. Should I take it out of the cage? I thought it is calcium supplement....

[Elly 0]

to give them a calcium supplement you would give them a cuttlebone, sand doesn't have calcium in it unless it is mixed with something such as a cuttlebone or substance with calcium

[VippiN 0]

I've never heard of giving Budgie's 'sand' before. Can someone elaborate?

[Guest Thirtyfive Black]

here is mine have a nibble after it was changed!

 

[Chrysocome 0]

The grit debate is very interesting, I have yet to make up my mind. I think the birds eating sand/grit is an instinct from when they needed it to break down tougher food they might have eaten. They might not need it anymore on the diet we feed them.

 

I've spoken to two of my lecturers, one of which was an avian specialist. The specialist argued with me for a long time, my friends were annoyed that I was "hogging the bird man" XD. He was set on pet psittacines requiring grit (the definition being bits of shells). His argument was that, even though they hull the seeds, all this does is remove the outer covering. What's inside is still a 'chunk of stuff' and hard particles will help break it down for more efficient breakdown and absorption. It's like, you could remove the outer covering of small grapes and then swallow it whole… but you might like to chew on it first to help digestion. Since birds don't have teeth, they'd have to do this in the muscular stomach. He also said they need it (grit, not sand) for instant, soluble calcium. (When I was at Phillip Island I learnt that the penguins pick up seashells which they would keep in their stomach during the egg-laying season. You could find piles of it outside their burrows).

 

The other person said, seeds are quite digestible so the stomach enzymes should be efficient. As others have mentioned, overindulgence of grit leads to impaction, as opposed to what appears to be no side effects when you don't feed it. (Bird man's argument was that overindulgence happens when you introduce it suddenly, as birds understand when they require a certain nutrient). There’s no need for soluble calcium since it’s commonly supplied by cuttle bones and supplements.

 

Anyway, it's debatable and entirely up to the individual. I am not sure which side I stand on. I offer grit, a tiny bit mixed with the seeds, not enough for engorgement.

 

Having read this topic and written all of that, I think I'm going to investigate some more on this.

Edited March 23, 2007 by Chrysocome

[Paulh29 0]

Grit.......I have always thought that because birds have no teeth they have a limited means in crushing their food. However if they swallow small pieces of grit when pecking around on the floor it mixes the seed in the gizzard and the strong muscles together with the grit, churn the seed into a pasty mulch that then can be more easily digested.

 

Just a thought.

[Feathers 0]

my opinion is that non breeding birds dont need it breeding hens do to get the right consistency of feed for the chicks

 

I have read some fairly new reports that show that it is good for breeding hens for the reason you mentioned, Hath.

 

Feathers

[Daz 0]

Speaking to breeders, some won't get into the debate but will have mineral grit for the birds.... Like crushed cuttlefish bone and oyster shell and clean beach sand.. When asked why they say it's for the minerals not for the grit itself.

[Guest AAEBudgie]

Interesting debate... We've always been told that birds need grit, for digestion and vitamin supplements... I shall bring this up at my budgie club meeting on Tuesday and see what everyone else has to say

[Elly 0]

I always thought they needed it but when reading and learning read that budgies do hull their seeds unlike tiels and other bigger birds and so they do not require grit because of this.

 

Again a personal decision I believe such as wing clipping.

 

I don't give mine grit because of the things I have read about it causing impaction of the crop. Plus I don't breed.

[Rainbow 0]

Elly, tiels and bigger parrots do hull their seeds too. It is passerine birds such as pigeons, doves, quail, and finches that do not. Parrots have small ridges on their upper mandible that aid in crushing the seeds after they are hulled, presumably as a precursor to digestion, much like happens when we chew. (check this out on your own bird if you have never seen it) This puts the seed into a more easily digestible form to start with, before it even hits the digestive system. I also read an article that said that parrots that hull their seeds have a little different physiology as far as the makeup of the ventriculus (gizzard) than birds that do not hull their seeds.

 

My current budgies have never had grit. The oldest one (5) has also raised two clutches of babies with no problems. She did have access to cuttlebone and a calcium perch, which could have provided her with initial grains, but as those are water-soluble the 'graininess' would not have lasted in the crop.

Edited June 10, 2007 by Rainbow

[**KAZ** 0]

I dont feed my birds grit at all. I have in all breeder cages a small "finger drawer" container of minerals but that is remotely removed from the semblance of grit. Some birds use the minerals, some dont.

[Guest lonebudgie]

i was always a grit user but have since changed my ways mainly because i have realized that budgerigars all feed differently and all eat different things . i now alternate between grit and sand with the birds in the avairy, but be careful that your grit and sand is always dry because when wet will breed harmful bacteria so replace when it becomes moist, better still remove when wet weather sets in and replace after the rain stops.

another point to remember is that grit is deficient in iodine, iron and most trace elements, this is why i now also use sand which i get from the beach just below the high tide mark, i then dry it out in the sun and once dry give it to the birds i believe it contains minerals and salts, which is the reason why i alternate to allow the birds to eat what they choose and what they need.

in my breeding cages i dont give sand or grit , i feed a product called f-vite which is a sterile mineral, trace element and mineral salt supplement, i feed this because breeding birds demand high amounts of quaility minerals to keep up with the demands of feeding and it also helps in avoiding bacteria in the nest especially in the wet nest .

happy birds.