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New Cage & Questions...

3babpeaches

Moving in
Joined
7/19/14
Messages
10
Just moved Capone to his new cage. He is SO happy!
Just a few questions about GCCs....
1. Does my bird need vitamin drops for his water?
2. Does he need calcium?

I had a friend tell me that cockatiels need this but wasn't sure it's the same for green cheeks...
 

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pinkyisblue

Strolling the yard
Avenue Veteran
Joined
4/11/14
Messages
115
No, to the vitamins in the water. Its a scam, they aren't in high enough concentrations to matter. A varied diet is 1000× better all around.
They will need calcium though. A cuttle bone or mineral block works well :)
 

Solayan

Sprinting down the street
Avenue Veteran
Joined
10/31/13
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406
Location
Toronto, ON, Canada
Real Name
Sarah
I'd only use supplements if my vet recommended them, or if my bird was showing signs of a deficiency in diet. What's your little guy eating?

I agree that a source of calcium is a good idea. We keep a cuttlebone in Frodo's cage for him to nibble on when he wants to. He doesn't go after it that much, but he does chew it occasionally. Calcium can be more of a concern for female birds as egg laying is very dangerous if they're calcium deficient.
 

Tarnation

Meeting neighbors
Joined
5/19/14
Messages
60
Congrats on the new cage! I have the same one for my GCC and the space is amazing.
I can't comment much on the vitamins because I haven't done a lot of research into them. Though the general concensus is no, not required unless prescribed by a vet.
As for calcium/cuttlebones, as far as I was aware, they do not need it, though they can have them. I read a few places that cuttlebones were highly recommended back before it was widely known that a seed diet is not a sufficient diet for a bird. I also remember reading about birds like budgies & cockatiels, who tend to be fed more seed than other species (both because they're stubborn and won't eat pellets, or the owners don't know to feed pellets) need the calcium to aid in the digestion of seeds. Though I also recall this was to help break down unhusked seeds. I don't have any references for you because I ccan't remember where I read it, sorry.
But in any case, I don't think the cuttlebones are a necessity but I don't believe they will hurt. I know I've offered them to my baby in the past and she chewed the heck of it - mostly I believe to destroy it for fun (she flung it and chased it), but it's not there constantly. I keep up her calcium in other ways :)

*edit- please don't take what I said as gospel. I could be completely wrong, I'm no avian diet specialist ;) . More experienced people may come along and say I'm completely wrong, and that's Okay! Haha :)
 
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