At the Avian Vets the other day ... some man was asking where he could buy a Salt Lick.

 

My ears perked up & so did the vets. A salt lick ? What's a salt lick ?

 

The man said it was a block of salt you hung in the birds cage for birds to eat. He said his birds always had a salt lick when he was younger as a kid. But now he couldn't find one for his new birds.

 

I asked him to describe this salt lick. He told me it was white a quarter inch thick & oblong, sort of 3 inches long. I told him that was a cuttle bone. He said no. That's a salt lick. The vet said no ... that's a cuttle bone from a squid.

 

The guy said no. It's a salt lick. My birds need salt.

 

Both the vet & I said salt was bad for any birds. If they need some potassium they get it in their poops. The vet said that salt could kill his birds.

 

The guy argued & argued. He was right ... the Vet was wrong.

 

Are we wrong ? Has anyone of you ever heard of salt licks for your birds ?

Not for birds...I have heard it used for cattle and horses.

I think that is a cow thing, so that is why he cannot find one for his birds. :budgiedance: And I LOVE cows, I think they are so cool and calm.

yep only heard of it for horses and cattle. he must be thinking salt because the cuttle fish (squid) are from the sea.

Has anyone ever taste tested cuttlefish ?? I would imagine it would be salty ??

Not a salt lick , but a product called Rock salt its sort of pink and red colour , you can buy it for your birds , I have used it for a while and was once told it helped with hens feather plucking , I did notice one thing though the budgies loved putting the carrot on it and then eating the carrot , Strange. I still use it in the avairy about once a week , I just put it on the bottom of the flight and the birds that want it have a lick of it then I take it out at the end of the day . The salt would be about the size of say a tennis ball .

WOW ... interesting there lonebudgie. I have never heard of this.

 

I googled it & had little luck finding much about salt lick for birds. BUT... I did find out

there are some types of birds that visit natural salt licks found in their environments.

 

And these places happen to be ... Peru, the Amazon, Bolivia, Chili, Equador, Patagonia, Costa Rica & more.

 

This seems to point to the idea that the salt is needed for these birds because of the hot environment they exist in.

 

I can't see Ontario Canada as that type of place. We get snow & a rain & all the rest of the seasons of normal types of weather here. So salt licks are not really needed for a smalll bird like a budgie in my environment. I can see why this Avian Vet & I had never heard of this before.

 

By The Way ... the man in the Avian Vets who was adamant about this Salt Lick for birds was from Argentina.

 

Learning all the time !!!!!!!!!

Did you see this ??

http://books.google.com/books?id=9qRwDxtxv...X5_Qu1kxcF6ih8w

I did see that Kaz. But I couldn't find where it mentions the salt lick.

 

Hint ?

Salt in budgies is very harmful they do not need more salt intake then what their regular diet is. In fact the food to avoid are salty ones their body's can't expel the salt the way we can.

I did see that Kaz. But I couldn't find where it mentions the salt lick.

 

Hint ?

Page 33 in that article talking about making a salt lick to attract birds to the garden ....title add a dash of salt

A dash that is very little .

I have read that bread is not good for outside birds because of the salt content is too high and it can blow up their tummies and of course our budgies it is really considered a no no. Like anything moderation is best.

A dash that is very little .

I have read that bread is not good for outside birds because of the salt content is too high and it can blow up their tummies and of course our budgies it is really considered a no no. Like anything moderation is best.

Add a dash is the title but they put a salt block in the garden not a dash.

Edited February 10, 200817 yr by KAZ

:

Sorry Kaz ... I can't view anything after page 30. It tells me there is pages 31-32 & beyond are not part of this book preview.

 

BUT !!!!!!! I will take your word for it.

 

I suppose some ppl do give salt to birds. I was still very surprised by this. I always heard that it was bad. Popcorn or chips could make your budgie very ill because of the salt or sodium. I look forward to everyone else & what they think or have to say about this.

 

Nick

I wont be giving salt as an additive to my birds .....

:budgiedance: If you pour salt on slugs it kills them, do you have slugs in Australia KAZ??? :bluebudgie:

:budgiedance: If you pour salt on slugs it kills them, do you have slugs in Australia KAZ??? :bluebudgie:

YEP

hmmm odd i rember slat lick in the simpsons with the horse! hmm cuttle fish is meat then! my budgie is a meat eater?

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

i thought he was a vegie like me!

 

hmm i think my budgie might have a salt lick, cos half of the cuttle fish is white and half is like a pink but it said on the box that that part was like berri flavour and he loves it!

the cuttle fish we give to them is actually the Bone from the cuttle fish (a type of squid)

If you pour salt on slugs it kills them, do you have slugs in Australia KAZ???

 

I bet he has slugs like we all have .... but no one has slugs like the famous BC Slugs you are suppose to have in your part of the world, Phoebe. I heard the slugs in BC, are as big as dogs ! (Laughing out loud)