Aussie Finch Forum

Greetings, I have been looking for the old topic where I was carrying on about activated charcoal, to no avail. I wanted to add an explanation:

Where I am originally from, an area that does not and is not close to an area that has bush fires. As is common place here down under. Where in the aftermath of said fire, people grab buckets and go scraping anything aligatored/burnt for their birds etc.

It was easier for me, to run to the store, buy a box of activated charcoal. I would then rinse the charcoal until the water ran clear, then put in blender and pulverize it. Pour back into strainer, rinse, pour onto paper towels to dry. Then mix with oyster shell grit for the birds.

From the research that my sister and had done then: the primary fuction of charcoal, activated or not, when ingested is to absorb impurities, and/or block them from being absorbed in the gut.

Or is my understanding misplaced? Please advise.

BluJay wrote:Greetings, I have been looking for the old topic where I was carrying on about activated charcoal, to no avail. I wanted to add an explanation:

Where I am originally from, an area that does not and is not close to an area that has bush fires. As is common place here down under. Where in the aftermath of said fire, people grab buckets and go scraping anything aligatored/burnt for their birds etc.

It was easier for me, to run to the store, buy a box of activated charcoal. I would then rinse the charcoal until the water ran clear, then put in blender and pulverize it. Pour back into strainer, rinse, pour onto paper towels to dry. Then mix with oyster shell grit for the birds.

From the research that my sister and had done then: the primary fuction of charcoal, activated or not, when ingested is to absorb impurities, and/or block them from being absorbed in the gut.

Or is my understanding misplaced? Please advise.

Hi BluJay,your sister is correct.Some finches use charcoal in their nests which is believed to absorb excess moisture and therefore reduce bacterial odours.I also believe that putting a large lump of charcoal in your aviary is a waste of time in the long run as it goes stale very quick so small ground up pieces small enough to be eaten and large enough for the birds to carry to their nest and supplied weekly is the best way to go.
Imo,it would be unnecessary to wash your purchased or bush fire charcoal before you use it as it could upset the purifying properties of it and i don't know of anybody else that does this. Craig