So, I'm going to go pick up a baby budgie on the weekend, and I'm currently purchasing supplies. Everything going fine, just have a question:

 

Do budgies need grit? I've looked around and I've heard some people say it's crucial while others say it is lethal. The food I have contains a small bit of oyster shell too. If they require grit, is a small amount in food enough for them?

 

And would it be alright if they are to feet from the window? Not facing the window, but would that be too much sunlight?

Edited April 6, 201114 yr by Goldman

Also, would here be any negative effects of leaving a parakeet's cage close to the ground? Around a foot or so off the ground? I understand that too high makes the bird feel dominant, but will he feel insecure if he is close to the floor?

I use grit, my birds go crazy over but I have heard negatives about it too. Is your cage in a room or out side. if in a room it would be okay as long as cats can't get to it but if out side , I would say NO.

You need to be careful of drafts also.

So, I'm going to go pick up a baby budgie on the weekend, and I'm currently purchasing supplies. Everything going fine, just have a question:

 

Do budgies need grit? I've looked around and I've heard some people say it's crucial while others say it is lethal. The food I have contains a small bit of oyster shell too. If they require grit, is a small amount in food enough for them?

 

And would it be alright if they are to feet from the window? Not facing the window, but would that be too much sunlight?

Budgerigars do need grit,anyone that tells you otherwise is an idiot.

So, I'm going to go pick up a baby budgie on the weekend, and I'm currently purchasing supplies. Everything going fine, just have a question:

 

Do budgies need grit? I've looked around and I've heard some people say it's crucial while others say it is lethal. The food I have contains a small bit of oyster shell too. If they require grit, is a small amount in food enough for them?

 

And would it be alright if they are to feet from the window? Not facing the window, but would that be too much sunlight?

Budgerigars do need grit,anyone that tells you otherwise is an idiot.

 

 

That's pretty strong, PJI. Could you elaborate a little more? I always understood that ground oyster shell is a good source of calcium for them, but that budgies don't require grit for their digestion, like some other birds do.

So if I were to provide grit, it would go in a feeder bowl? How much and how often do I need to change it?

Edited April 6, 201114 yr by Goldman

I remember reading up on the grit thing when I first got my budgie. There was a lot of conflicting information on it.

 

I don't provide extra grit for mine. In the seed I buy, there's ground oyster grit in there, as well as a number of vitamins and minerals, like calcium and iodine and so on. Have a look on the ingredient list on your seed pack.

 

People here can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think many keep large numbers of budgies and get bulk seed made up, so they need to add in the extras that don't come in the big wholesale seed lots. Am I right?

 

As well as natural perches, I got him a calcium perch to chew on. One was a fancy schmancy one 'embedded with special minerals from the cliffs of the Manu River in the Amazon". (Gee I'm a sucker). I'll find you a link later. If you've only got one budgie, you can afford to me a little extravagant, I reckon.

 

As to where to put him. He'll be comfortable in conditions that you are comfortable. Don't put him in a cold draughty spot, or where he's stifled by the heat. When he's not flying free, I have mine sitting at around about eye level next to me when I'm sitting on the couch most of the time. They like the company. I wouldn't put him low down. He'll probably feel anxious. In his mind, low down means he's open to predators.

 

Sunlight is good for their Vit D production. Just like us. But like us, it needs to be direct, not through glass. Though he'll enjoy sitting getting sun through the window, I take mine out onto my balcony in the mornings where I have my breakfast. He loves it.

So, I'm going to go pick up a baby budgie on the weekend, and I'm currently purchasing supplies. Everything going fine, just have a question:

 

Do budgies need grit? I've looked around and I've heard some people say it's crucial while others say it is lethal. The food I have contains a small bit of oyster shell too. If they require grit, is a small amount in food enough for them?

 

And would it be alright if they are to feet from the window? Not facing the window, but would that be too much sunlight?

Budgerigars do need grit,anyone that tells you otherwise is an idiot.

 

 

That's pretty strong, PJI. Could you elaborate a little more? I always understood that ground oyster shell is a good source of calcium for them, but that budgies don't require grit for their digestion, like some other birds do.

It's common knowledge Finnie that budgerigars need grit,they have no teeth & they need grit to assist in there digestion & the more variation in grits the better "my vets interpretation by the way."mine get three types,> a medium chicken grit ,abgrit which is, well 98% calcium carbonate sand grade,also selgrit which is 98% calcium carbonate aprox 3ml in size.With all this variation in grits,i am still thinking of adding another perhaps cardona which is a fine grit that comes from Adelaide i think,i also have oyster shells hanging in my aviary & cuttle bone.The abgrit i use is food grade, i put it on the floor of my aviary and they love it,i prefer it to using sand cheers Phill

Edited April 7, 201114 yr by PJI

Goldman, here's a link to a US bird product site. I've recently bought stuff from them online all the way down here in Sydney. There's so much stuff on there, it's a bit of a chore ploughing through everything. But everything arrived by US Post on my front door about one week later, no problem. Here's that mineral perch.

 

 

http://www.strictlypetsupplies.com/_753323503733-Pollys-Pet-Manu-Mineral-Cactus-Perch

 

PS for you Aussie birds. It's good value for us at the moment with our dollar so high against the US dollar. Even with the postage cost.

Goldman, here's a link to a US bird product site. I've recently bought stuff from them online all the way down here in Sydney. There's so much stuff on there, it's a bit of a chore ploughing through everything. But everything arrived by US Post on my front door about one week later, no problem. Here's that mineral perch.

 

 

http://www.strictlyp...al-Cactus-Perch

 

PS for you Aussie birds. It's good value for us at the moment with our dollar so high against the US dollar. Even with the postage cost.

 

Thanks again stace.

 

6 Inch diameter seems a bit big. Does it have to be big for him to be able to gnaw on it? Will he be able to stand on it?

Edited April 7, 201114 yr by Goldman

No worries!

 

Goldman, here's a link to a US bird product site. I've recently bought stuff from them online all the way down here in Sydney. There's so much stuff on there, it's a bit of a chore ploughing through everything. But everything arrived by US Post on my front door about one week later, no problem. Here's that mineral perch.

 

 

http://www.strictlyp...al-Cactus-Perch

 

PS for you Aussie birds. It's good value for us at the moment with our dollar so high against the US dollar. Even with the postage cost.

 

Thanks again stace.

 

6 Inch diameter seems a bit big. Does it have to be big for him to be able to gnaw on it? Will he be able to stand on it?

 

Hmmm. The small one is about 6 inches long. They must have labelled in incorrectly. 6" diameter would be like a log! You could use it for those cold foggy San Francisco winters.

 

 

 

 

 

No worries!

Hmm. The small one is about 6 inches long. They must have labelled in incorrectly. 6" diameter would be like a log! You could use it for those cold foggy San Francisco winters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hah, Right?

 

Well, I guess I'll add this to the list of things I feel I need to buy to spoil my budgie. I do want to make him feel like he's a wild bird in Peru. X]

 

Thanks again!

Edited April 7, 201114 yr by Goldman

Budgies do not need grit! Waste of money.

im all for grit im a grit gal my birds get and love it

it is needed in my opinion and i dont believe that its a waste of money

its only 6 dollars a kilo for small grit anyhow

many people believe its not needed and it will always be that way but any hook beak parrot needs grit along with canary's finch and pigeons

Budgies do not need grit! Waste of money.

I know i am going to get hammered for this,so be it.Honestly Maesie you are a global moderator on a budgerigar forum & you state that budgerigars don't need grit ,that statement amazes me,especially when there are people that read this forum who are after the correct advise when it comes to there birds.If you don't give your birds grit that tells me the difference between your birds and mine is this > your birds gulp there food & mine chew there food cheers Phill

I may be a global moderator, but I am still entitled to my own opinion.

 

... and just to clarify before anyone else feels the need to attack me and my 'OPINION'

 

I have owned budgies for as long as I can remember. I have never supplemented with grit, although my seed mix does have some added. They get all the nutrients etc... from their diet, which is very varied and some supplements.. They are all happy and healthy and I can't remember the last time one of my budgies died. I have also breed most of the budgies I own now and they are also healthy. I PERSONALLY don't believe they need extra grit and therefor don't see the need to spend extra money on it. If anyone reading this feels the need to buy and give it to their budgies, go for it, the choice is yours.

Edited April 7, 201114 yr by maesie
Added more.

The great grit debate has been had many many times. There's no need to get personal here.... and whether or not someone who has an opinion is a staff member or not still entitles them to an opinion.

I deliberately kept out of this topic as there is so much for and against in this grit topic. Many times in the past in this forum it has been debated and discussed.

Whilst some may feel it goes without saying that grit is essential, some also feel quite the reverse.

In my experience its the "old school" breeders who seem to advocate grit on the whole and then those they teach, mentor and assist also follow the grit ideals. Maybe they are right and others wrong but its a real "grey area ".

I have been taught ...right or wrong....that grit isnt needed due to the fact budgies shell/husk their seeds. My budgies havent had grit as such due to this and they are healthy happy budgies.

Sometimes they get Murphys minerals but I see that as an additive not grit. Correct me if I am wrong and please present your cases one way or the other with educated knowledge and evidence so we can all learn.

I have also heard of autopsied budgies having sharp crystalline quartz like grains in the proventriculus that seem to have caused their demise.

Whose to say who is right or wrong here, but if you have something to say, try less of the emotive personal attacks and more of the factual stuff that helps us learn and discuss.

I, personally would not advocate someone buying their first budgie to buy it grit either.

Edited April 7, 201114 yr by **KAZ**

I may be a global moderator, but I am still entitled to my own opinion.

 

... and just to clarify before anyone else feels the need to attack me and my 'OPINION'

 

I have owned budgies for as long as I can remember. I have never supplemented with grit, although my seed mix does have some added. They get all the nutrients etc... from their diet, which is very varied and some supplements.. They are all happy and healthy and I can't remember the last time one of my budgies died. I have also breed most of the budgies I own now and they are also healthy. I PERSONALLY don't believe they need extra grit and therefor don't see the need to spend extra money on it. If anyone reading this feels the need to buy and give it to their budgies, go for it, the choice is yours.

Maesie,you have 6 budgies,you probly feed trill & you have said yourself,grit is in the mix

& you say you don't feed it,you do.I could say I don't feed grit.ButI have cuttle bone,in the pens.

You say you have had budgies all your life,what 2 in a cage. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Interesting debate.......

 

Birds don't have teeth and therefore cannot grind up their food in any other way than their gizzard. If you've ever cut up a gizzard you'll see that it is very muscular and heavily ridged. This organ is used to grind up hard seeds BUT grit in a birds diet assists with the grinding. It was found that in captive ostriches fed grain based diets, that the birds could not maintain weight without the addition of grit to the diet (not soluble grits like cuttlebone or shell grit but in this case crushed bricks were used). The differences between grits are that grit like cuttle bone and some limestones/shell grits will dissolve in the gizzard (providing mineral nutrition) and not assist with the job of grinding seeds.

 

The issue that some people have seen with grits is gizzard impaction although the actual causitive agent has not really been determined i.e. was it the grit itself? or was it the bird gorging the grit (maybe because they needed it in the first place)? or was it a gizzard condition that was quite unrelated?

 

The general understanding however is that insoluble grits, although not nutritionally required (in a vitamin & mineral sense), are helpful and very much assist birds in grinding their foods and in fact most birds have evolved to require this.

Edited April 8, 201114 yr by nubbly5

I may be a global moderator, but I am still entitled to my own opinion.

 

... and just to clarify before anyone else feels the need to attack me and my 'OPINION'

 

I have owned budgies for as long as I can remember. I have never supplemented with grit, although my seed mix does have some added. They get all the nutrients etc... from their diet, which is very varied and some supplements.. They are all happy and healthy and I can't remember the last time one of my budgies died. I have also breed most of the budgies I own now and they are also healthy. I PERSONALLY don't believe they need extra grit and therefor don't see the need to spend extra money on it. If anyone reading this feels the need to buy and give it to their budgies, go for it, the choice is yours.

Maesie,you have 6 budgies,you probly feed trill & you have said yourself,grit is in the mix

& you say you don't feed it,you do.I could say I don't feed grit.ButI have cuttle bone,in the pens.

You say you have had budgies all your life,what 2 in a cage. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

Macka... just because I own 6 budgies does not mean I feel them trill. Do not make assumptions. If you read my post properly I said...

 

I may be a global moderator, but I am still entitled to my own opinion.

 

... and just to clarify before anyone else feels the need to attack me and my 'OPINION'

 

I have owned budgies for as long as I can remember. I have never supplemented with grit, although my seed mix does have some added. They get all the nutrients etc... from their diet, which is very varied and some supplements.. They are all happy and healthy and I can't remember the last time one of my budgies died. I have also breed most of the budgies I own now and they are also healthy. I PERSONALLY don't believe they need extra grit and therefor don't see the need to spend extra money on it. If anyone reading this feels the need to buy and give it to their budgies, go for it, the choice is yours.

 

I'm talking about adding grit and using it as well as their current seed mix. If you didn't understand my post that's not my problem. As to me saying I've had budgies all my life, again enough with the assumptions.

 

Really not sure why I'm being personally attacked... !?!?

But if I were to use it, does it go in a separate food bowl or is it mixed into the food?

You've started Grit War 111 here, G.

 

Check your seed pack. It's probably got a small amount of grit in there already, so you won't need to worry about it. Mine does. It's called Trill. Don't know if you get it there, but you're bound to have a gazzilion products, being in the land of the free.

 

Okay. Beginner's guide.Keep it simple. Just your seed bowl, a water bowl, and a vege bowl. All changed daily. I progressed on to a kabob thing to hang small rounds of veges on as well. Once he'd got used to the little minced budgie salad mix. A bunch of fresh seeding grasses as well, if you can get hold of some. (washed under tap, and not from dirty main roads).

 

I just put around one tablespoon of seeds in, and just biff 'em out and add fresh every day. Some people blow out the husks instead. Too messy for me. (They husk the seed and it looks like they've got a full bowl. But they don't. It's just empty husks.)

 

Seven pages of newspaper on bottom of cage. I put them on the top, not under. Means no poop on the cage bottom. Fold up and discard every day or other day. One budgie doesn't make that much mess.

 

Veges. Provide a mix of colours. Means they get different vits and mins. Red, green, yellow, orange. Check the bad food list on the FAQs here. I even give mine a teeny weeny bit of mashed garlic and chilli pepper once a week.

 

Get a string of millet and use it for hand taming only.

 

LIke I said, just keep it simple. And concentrate on getting him socialised and finger tame. Put him in a spot where he gets maximum attention from you. Leave the radio on when you're out for company. (Silence makes them anxious. In the wild it means a predator is near). Put him to bed when the sun goes down, with a cover over his cage to keep the lights out.

 

I think there's an FAQ on taming on here too. Best advice I can give here is always be gentle, never do anything that will betray their trust, and above all, be patient. Sometimes it takes a while.

 

PS. Get a boy budgie. They're easier to tame and less bossy. If you're getting him from a pet shop, try to watch the birds and look for one that's calm, happy, preening and feeding. Avoid the ones that look scared stiff or go mental when come near the cage. Avoid ones that look lethargic or sick. You want a baby. A baby will still have the stripe bars on its head, with big baby eyes without those grey bits around the outside.

 

Good luck.

 

If you have a problem. Just ask on here. Someone will know what to do, or where to direct you.

 

 

 

 

n the cage.

Avoid nervy birds that go mental when you come to the cage, avoid lethargic birds fluffy and sick looking, with a bobbing tail. These are not what you want to be taking home with you.

You've started Grit War 111 here, G.

 

Check your seed pack. It's probably got a small amount of grit in there already, so you won't need to worry about it. Mine does. It's called Trill. Don't know if you get it there, but you're bound to have a gazzilion products, being in the land of the free.

 

Okay. Beginner's guide.Keep it simple. Just your seed bowl, a water bowl, and a vege bowl. All changed daily. I progressed on to a kabob thing to hang small rounds of veges on as well. Once he'd got used to the little minced budgie salad mix. A bunch of fresh seeding grasses as well, if you can get hold of some. (washed under tap, and not from dirty main roads).

 

I just put around one tablespoon of seeds in, and just biff 'em out and add fresh every day. Some people blow out the husks instead. Too messy for me. (They husk the seed and it looks like they've got a full bowl. But they don't. It's just empty husks.)

 

Seven pages of newspaper on bottom of cage. I put them on the top, not under. Means no poop on the cage bottom. Fold up and discard every day or other day. One budgie doesn't make that much mess.

 

Veges. Provide a mix of colours. Means they get different vits and mins. Red, green, yellow, orange. Check the bad food list on the FAQs here. I even give mine a teeny weeny bit of mashed garlic and chilli pepper once a week.

 

Get a string of millet and use it for hand taming only.

 

LIke I said, just keep it simple. And concentrate on getting him socialised and finger tame. Put him in a spot where he gets maximum attention from you. Leave the radio on when you're out for company. (Silence makes them anxious. In the wild it means a predator is near). Put him to bed when the sun goes down, with a cover over his cage to keep the lights out.

 

I think there's an FAQ on taming on here too. Best advice I can give here is always be gentle, never do anything that will betray their trust, and above all, be patient. Sometimes it takes a while.

 

PS. Get a boy budgie. They're easier to tame and less bossy. If you're getting him from a pet shop, try to watch the birds and look for one that's calm, happy, preening and feeding. Avoid the ones that look scared stiff or go mental when come near the cage. Avoid ones that look lethargic or sick. You want a baby. A baby will still have the stripe bars on its head, with big baby eyes without those grey bits around the outside.

 

Good luck.

 

If you have a problem. Just ask on here. Someone will know what to do, or where to direct you.

 

 

 

 

n the cage.

Avoid nervy birds that go mental when you come to the cage, avoid lethargic birds fluffy and sick looking, with a bobbing tail. These are not what you want to be taking home with you.

 

Thanks. Keep it simple. I shall.

Why not leave it to the birds? I have a bowl of fine shellgrit in my aviary and the birds do "eat" it or whatever, some may not indulge but it's there if they decide to have a pick.