Question About Objects in Cage

[UserAZ]

There are things in the cage I never seen them use.

> Those beak scratching rocks and them collard bone things (been in cage since day on).

> Anything I try using as a bath (one will drink from it instead). I have to spray them with water.

*** Side question. Since Tweety came from a previous owner, no idea if that person bathed him. So no idea if he has natural instincts to clean himself in water. Little Lemon came from Per Smart, so with that no idea if he knows what a bath is. Am not sure what natural instincts birds have with baths if they never used one.

Do I just still leave things in the cage I never seen them use, or just assume they do it when I sleep 4h a day? Should I remove them and add them back in in a month?

I noticed they stopped playing with the hanging thing that has a little bell. However one of them has been using a swing more lately than he has ever.

I know people change things around in the cage to keep them entertained. I do not have the luxury of buying things all the time so I try to just move stuff around every few months when I want to clean the perching wood, or make something new if I can.

What do you all do with things they do not use that maybe they should be (like beak scratching stuff and a bath)?

 

[Mizzely]

I do not use beak conditioning rocks, mineral blocks, or cuttlebone. Mine do bathe in their cage, but as long as they have other opportunities (like spraying) then it's not strictly necessary to have a special place for them to do that available.

I tend to rotate things around too; if they truly don't use something after several rotations, then I take it out and try again later so I can put something else in its place they may enjoy later.

 

[WillowQ]

I would leave the cuttlebone or beak scratching rock. They might not use it much but it’s a good source of calcium and you don’t want a too long beak.

 

[Emma&pico]

I would leave the cuttlebone or beak scratching rock. They might not use it much but it’s a good source of calcium and you don’t want a too long beak.

I might be wrong correct me if I am @Mizzely please but I am sure you shouldn’t use mineral blocks if birds are fed pellets ?
and aren’t cuttlebones useless for calcium

 

[WillowQ]

I can’t tell which item (cuttlebone or mineral rock) the bird has, nor do I know if they are feeding pellets or seeds. If they’re feeding seeds and not a pelleted diet, it’s definitely worthwhile to have some extra vitamins.

Cuttlebones aren’t useless for calcium and are useful in keeping beak worn down.
Most extra vitamins can be excreted. Based on this persons newness, do you really think their bird is on the perfect diet?

 

[Mizzely]

Chewing toys also helps keep beaks trimmed Ripley has a scissor beak and without toys he would need his beak trimmed regularly; I only have to get it done usually once a year or less.

Cuttlebone isn't useless, but the bioavailability of the calcium type is dubious. There are lots of places to get calcium - some nuts, seeds, green veggies, pellets, etc. They are also the byproduct of harvesting cuttlefish, which are an extremely intelligent animal, and I have moral objections to it.

Mineral blocks usually are made from plaster of Paris and have a few random vitamins added to them, if any.

You CAN overdose on calcium. It is hard on the kidneys.

File: https://nilesanimalhospital.com/files/2012/05/Calcium-Phosphorus-and-Vitamin-D3-Imbalances.pdf

Source:

Avian Articles

A listing of the various articles pertaining to avian health authored by Dr. Peter S. Sakas.

nilesanimalhospital.com

 

[WillowQ]

There’s nothing like trimming an overgrown beak to upset your bird. I think they usually ignore these blocks, but when they don’t, it’s great to have some way in the restricted cage environment to wear down the beak.

I think usually (with female birds) the concern is with too little calcium. Do you believe birds naturally restrict their gnawing on cuttlebone to what’s needed? I would be surprised if a calcium excess occurred just from presence of cuttlebone in the cage.

Yes, cuttlefish are very smart, and if a bird is on a pelleted diet they probably don’t need cuttlebone. But if you have a female bird, I’d be tempted to make it available. Egg related problems are sad and mostly avoidable.

 

[WillowQ]

From that article, it looks like hypercalcemia and vitamin D toxicosis generally go together as an oversupplementation problem. Seems if the bird doesn’t have excess vit D then it will excrete excess calcium.
I’ve seen so many animals suffering from low calcium and not many suffering from hypercalcemia. But yes, it can occur.

 

[UserAZ]

I can’t tell which item (cuttlebone or mineral rock) the bird has, nor do I know if they are feeding pellets or seeds. If they’re feeding seeds and not a pelleted diet, it’s definitely worthwhile to have some extra vitamins.

Cuttlebones aren’t useless for calcium and are useful in keeping beak worn down.
Most extra vitamins can be excreted. Based on this persons newness, do you really think their bird is on the perfect diet?

They have a dish for pellets and some tropical mixed blend in another bowl, both inside cage. Outside cage on top is the egg carton of a mixed seed blend with crumbled paper for them to move around (from another post).

Not home to get you fresh images of what I got in cage, but for examples:

The mineral rock looks like this:

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www.mybirdstore.com

and two are these

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images.acenda-static.com

The cuttles look like this: https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/fe...peg?odnWidth=1000&odnHeight=1000&odnBg=ffffff

 

[UserAZ]

Chewing toys also helps keep beaks trimmed

They not really chew on anything other than food all day. Little Lemon was at one point always knowing at the swing he sits on, but no longer does. He also chewed on the hair ties I used on a swinging perch, but stopped that too. Tweety never chewed on anything I recall. I tried other things to toss in there but they do not chew on anything I have seen. Unless it is millets, then they go downtown.

 

[WillowQ]

If their diet is mostly pellets, they probably get enough calcium and vitamins in their pellets. Since they have a mixed diet, I’m not sure.

Have you tried small wooden bead toys, palm leaf toys, shredder toys? They might play with those.

I don’t think the cuttlebone or mineral block are HURTING anything staying in the cage, and they may allow your birds to keep their beak at a better length. And if your female budgie began to lay eggs she may suddenly really devour that cuttlebone, in order to replace the calcium pulled from her bones to make eggshell.

Other toys budgies may like are the lattice balls that cats play with. Or I have given mine colorful plastic lids to throw around. You can string and hang the lids, too. Or TP or paper towel rolls can be fun to throw around or chew up. Measuring spoons jingle and plastic baby key toys are fun to rattle. You can find lots of toys that you don’t have to pay for.

 

[UserAZ]

I actually do not know if their beaks are too long, or if they sharpen them when I am not watching. I always wondered if they use the items I question, but they always look very untouched.

As far as shredding, I not bought anything from stores (which have limited items, so may have to go online). Paper, toilet paper, hanging pieces of cloth, they ignore.

I have not tried buying any of those wooden hanging toys, or anything wood overall other than their perches. I should just get it over with and buy one and try.

Guess I can just remove them for a month, but add some new item they never had before. Then add them back in. See if they notice.

I know no harm leaving them in, but just been curious if they even useful for them. True if I get other birds, they may use them.

 

[Xoetix]

None of mine use any bathing things. Actually only my too likes baths at all. I did find my tiel wet one morning, so I guess if he feels grungy enough he'll bathe

I'm with @Mizzely in that I have a bit of a moral issue with cuttlebone harvesting. If there were an ethical way to get them, I'd be down for it, but otherwise it seems wrong.

My budgies constantly chew on their toys (wood), Tteok (the tiel) chews on literally anything he can find UNLESS it's something in his cage, and Isadora (the too) is a beaver and reduces all wood to mulch within days - so everyone stays pretty decent as far as beaks go.

I know how you feel though, Tteok drives me nuts because he won't use a single thing in his cage other than perches (and food/water, of course). I've stopped adding additional toys because he won't do anyth with them, no matter what - Ive played with things, and the budgies love to invade his cage for stuff, so he's seen what he's supposed to do but still just ignores it all.

 

[AussieBird]

You can buy other things for beak trimming, but if you have enough toys and perches to chew and your bird doesn't have any health issues they'll keep their beaks in check. My budgies haven't had a cuttlebone or mineral block for years and their beaks are fine. If your having trouble finding toys your birds like, mine enjoy things like seagrass, balsa, mahogany pods, palm leaf. Perches with bark on will always be appreciated by them.

Extra Small Beak Conditioner - All Natural Bird Beak Buffer

www.seriouslynutz.com

I also had this thread where we talked a bit about calcium. Calcium carbonate (cuttlebone) is harder for them to absorb they'll have a much easier time absorbing calcium from their pellets.

Can We Please Discuss Cuttlebone/Calcium

I've seen it generally said cuttlebone cant provide a much if any calcium to birds, because it's calcium carbonate? So can birds absorb calcium carbonate, and if yes how much? Reason for this discussion is that I was talking to someone about cuttlebone, and this person went and discovered that...

forums.avianavenue.com

Thing that don't get used I remove, generally I replace them with something else. It's also worth moving something to a different spot to peak interest sometimes.

 

[UserAZ]

This has been a bird of a year for me learning about birds and stuff since this first started in January.

 

[WillowQ]

I bought some big coconut slices for my Meyers parrot to chew and I think a budgie could perch inside that slice and chew.
You can get bird toy parts like pine blocks or beads, mahogany pods, balsa, Sola wood, etc. i have also soaked and washed pine cones and then baked them because my birds enjoy throwing around and chewing pine cones.

 

[UserAZ]

I bought some big coconut slices for my Meyers parrot to chew and I think a budgie could perch inside that slice and chew.
You can get bird toy parts like pine blocks or beads, mahogany pods, balsa, Sola wood, etc. i have also soaked and washed pine cones and then baked them because my birds enjoy throwing around and chewing pine cones.

Baked them, as in in the oven?

 

[WillowQ]

Yes. Baked at 200 F for a couple hours after washing and rinsing, to kill any bugs and most germs from being outdoors with wild birds.