Menu

  • Home
  • Garden
    • Big Gardens
    • Small Gardens
    • Vegetables and Herbs
    • Yard and Backyard
    • Gardening Tips
    • Ornamental Plants
    • Indoor Plants
  • Home Design
    • Living Room
    • Kids Room
    • Bedroom
    • Home Office
    • Kitchen
    • Bathroom
    • Home Decor
    • Architecture and Design
    • All About Home
  • Interesting
    • Positive Stories
    • Interesting News
    • Stories Behind the Photographs
    • Odd News
  • Health & Beauty
    • Hairstyles
    • Makeup
    • Diet
    • Lifestyle & Mental Health
    • Fitness & Weight Loss
    • Beauty Tips
    • Health Tips
  • Recipes
    • Meals
    • Healthy Recipes
    • Desserts and Cakes
    • Cookies and Snacks
    • Keto Recipes
    • Video Recipes
  • DIY
    • DIY Ideas
    • DIY Tutorials
  • Pets
    • Cats
    • Dogs
    • Rodents
    • Aquatic Pets
    • Birds
    • Funny Animal Videos
  • Home
  • Garden
    • Big Gardens
    • Small Gardens
    • Vegetables and Herbs
    • Yard and Backyard
    • Gardening Tips
    • Ornamental Plants
    • Indoor Plants
  • Home Design
    • Living Room
    • Kids Room
    • Bedroom
    • Home Office
    • Kitchen
    • Bathroom
    • Home Decor
    • Architecture and Design
    • All About Home
  • Interesting
    • Positive Stories
    • Interesting News
    • Stories Behind the Photographs
    • Odd News
  • Health & Beauty
    • Hairstyles
    • Makeup
    • Diet
    • Lifestyle & Mental Health
    • Fitness & Weight Loss
    • Beauty Tips
    • Health Tips
  • Recipes
    • Meals
    • Healthy Recipes
    • Desserts and Cakes
    • Cookies and Snacks
    • Keto Recipes
    • Video Recipes
  • DIY
    • DIY Ideas
    • DIY Tutorials
  • Pets
    • Cats
    • Dogs
    • Rodents
    • Aquatic Pets
    • Birds
    • Funny Animal Videos

Do birds need grit?

10
May
Do birds need grit?
By Nightlight
/ in Birds,Pets
/ tags Birds Care, Pets Birds
0 Comments

Do birds need grit? This is not only a common question of concern to bird owners, but a source of disagreement as well. Understanding what grit is, its purpose, and the possible problems which may result from its use, can help us in deciding whether or not to offer it to our birds. Most of the information presented here has been gathered and summarized from the well respected book Avian Medicine: Principles and Application by Ritchie, Harrison and Harrison.The Purpose of Grit
Grit is used by birds to aid in the digestion of whole, intact seeds. Birds’ digestive enzymes work well in digesting the inner portion of seeds, but have difficulty with their fibrous coating. The fibrous hulls of whole seeds, such as sunflower seeds, act like a barrier, preventing digestive enzymes from reaching the nutritious seed within.




Grit, in the ventriculus, aids in grinding and wearing away the outer shells of the seeds, enabling the digestive enzymes to reach the valuable inner portion. If there is any other purpose for the use of grit by birds, it is not yet known.

What Is Grit?

The term ”grit” is applied to two different groups of substances – insoluble grit and soluble grit.

Insoluble grit, the type being discussed here, is composed of minute stones such as silicates and sandstones and is used in digesting unhulled seeds. Birds, such as pigeons and doves, which swallow the entire seed, require such grit. Insoluble grit cannot be digested and will remain in the body until expelled.

Do birds need grit?

Soluble grit is organic and includes crushed shells (such as oyster shells) or cuttlebone. Soluble grit is mostly limestone (calcium carbonate). Since it is easily digested by acids found in the proventriculus, there is little danger of it accumulating in the digestive system. However, while soluble grit is a source of calcium, it does little in aiding the digestion of whole seeds. Further, instances of heavy metal toxicity have been reported with the feeding of soluble grit which has come from areas with polluted waters.

Which Birds Require Grit

Since the purpose of grit is to remove the outer coatings of whole seeds, it would seem that only birds which consume intact seeds, such as doves, require grit in their diet.
Grit is not required in normal, healthy, psittacine (parrots) or passerine (canaries, finches, starlings, mynahs) birds. Since these birds remove the fibrous hulls from the seeds in the act of eating them, the digestive enzymes have no barriers to prevent them from acting upon the seed.

In fact some species of parrots have ridges on the inside portion of their upper beak which are believed to aid in the shelling of seeds. The seed is held in place by the ridges, while the lower beak is used to crack and remove the hull. Birds on a formulated (pelleted) diet also should not require grit.

Do birds need grit?

Avian Medicine: Principles and Application reports that there have been many examples of healthy birds which have not had grit for periods of 15 to 20 years and show no signs of poor digestion.

On the other hand, it is believed that birds with pancreatic or physical digestion problems, may benefit from it. However, in such cases an avian vet should be consulted.

In the US, the use of grit is usually discouraged, especially if offered freely (ad libitum) which may lead to obstructive gastritis. In Australia, where it is frequently given to pet birds, few problems have been reported. At the moment there is no explanation for these geographical differences.

If an owner does feel that grit should be given, Avian Medicine: Principles and Application recommends that it not be offered freely, but as a compromise, cockatiel size birds can be given 5 grains of grit biannually (every 2 years) and cockatoo sized birds may be given 1/2 teaspoon biannually.



Potential Problems

If given free access to grit, some birds may over-consume it, leading to crop, proventricular or ventricular impactions. According to Avian Medicine: Principles and Application “This problem is reported commonly in North America but appears uncommon in Australia. The cause for a regional variation in the occurrence of this condition is unknown. Birds showing compulsive consumption should be evaluated for hepatopathy, pancreatitis, renal dysfunction and general malnutrition.”

It is also important to check the contents of any mixtures purchased for the presence of charcoal. Charcoal can affect the absorption of viatmins A, B2 and K, resulting in deficiencies.

Regarding birds on formulated diets, Avian Medicine: Principles and Application also states: “Studies in poultry indicate that the addition of grit increases the digestibility by as much as 10%, but similar studies have not been performed in companion birds. Given that obesity is more of a problem than maldigestion in companion birds, increasing the digestibility of a formulated diet that exceeds suggested nutritional requirements is probably unnecessary.”

In conclusion, the benefit of grit for parrots and softbills has not been demonstrated, but potential risks have been observed. If it is offered at all, it should be given in moderation.

Source: birdsnways.com
Thanks for sharing this!
Lovely Sun Conure Parrot 4 years ago
How to Have Happy Parrot 4 years ago
Australian Lorikeets - Informations
Australian Lorikeets – Informations 6 years ago
← How To Build a Planter Bench
5 Minute Salmon Sauce →

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Quiet Corner

Tags

All About Home Architecture and Design Beauty Tips Cats cooking design diet DIY DIY Tutorial DIY Tutorials dogs Do It Yourself easy to make fitness food garden garden ideas Gardening Gardening Tips health Health and Beauty health tips healthy food Healthy Recipes home Home Interior Houseplants ideas Indoor Plants interesting Interesting Facts Interesting News Interesting Things Keto Keto Recipes meals Nutrition Ornamental Plants pet pets plant recipe recipes tips Yard and Backyard
WHO WE ARE

Quiet Corner is your place for relaxation! Quiet Corner will help keep you informed and it’s the definitive resource for weight loss, smart nutrition, health and beauty, home and gardening and all little things that make life happy, filled with tips, tricks and recipes to get you the body—and the life—you want…

LATEST COMMENTS
  • Great plans for the perfect greenhouse design my wife loves!!! I
    KEN KOPP
  • Thank you for sharing this very knowledgeable information.
    Diana
  • Beautiful
    Christina Mary Wolstenholme
POPULAR ARTICLES
  • How To Grow Banana Trees In Pots 431 people like this
  • Small Garden Design – Tips and Tricks 380 people like this
  • Keto Peanut Butter Blondie 370 people like this
  • Homemade Keto Chocolate Chips 333 people like this
OUR PAGES
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
    This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled

    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

    Non-necessary

    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.