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Grit or No Grit?

Posted: 28 Jul 2015, 02:45
by DragonCleopatra
Is grit necessary for Zebra Finches?

Re: Grit or No Grit?

Posted: 31 Jul 2015, 11:25
by vettepilot_6
DragonCleopatra wrote:Is grit necessary for Zebra Finches?
Grit is necessary for all finches...

Re: Grit or No Grit?

Posted: 05 Apr 2016, 12:38
by paul1966
Hi, I use turbo grit from vetafarm,my gouldians love it. When I ran out,about one week went and bought some more and they were in it as fast as putting sprouted seed. Amazing....

Re: Grit or No Grit?

Posted: 05 Apr 2016, 19:18
by Tiaris
Grit is absolutely essential for all seed-eating birds. If they don't have access to grit & are expected to live on a largely dry seed based diet they will eventually develop significant health problems.

Re: Grit or No Grit?

Posted: 05 Apr 2016, 20:15
by finchbreeder
Nice clean gritty beach sand is good. We mostly have sand beaches in Australia. Don;t know what you have over there. Some countries I know have very little in the way of sand beaches.
LML

Re: Grit or No Grit?

Posted: 05 Apr 2016, 20:26
by E Orix
The only finches that don't need grit are the ones with a full set of teeth.
Maybe 30 years ago one of your country men stated that birds didn't need grit and it took years to finally convince
many that what he said was wrong.
Sand used in bricklaying even washed soil it all works

Re: Grit or No Grit?

Posted: 07 Apr 2016, 18:07
by D0NKEY
I use the pollys grit for my goulds. Always gave goulds grit.

Re: Grit or No Grit?

Posted: 14 Apr 2016, 10:31
by Dutchlindsay
I cant remember where it was but I recently read that the only birds that need grit are bigger birds who eat big seeds that need grit to digest the seeds and that grit can be harmful to smaller birds like finches.
I am a member of the parrot society and they have a section Ask the Vet ( or something like that)
I will ask them to see what they say

Re: Grit or No Grit?

Posted: 14 Apr 2016, 15:31
by Craig52
Dutchlindsay wrote:I cant remember where it was but I recently read that the only birds that need grit are bigger birds who eat big seeds that need grit to digest the seeds and that grit can be harmful to smaller birds like finches.
I am a member of the parrot society and they have a section Ask the Vet ( or something like that)
I will ask them to see what they say
Finches need grit (granitic sand, beach sand) in moderation and will pick it up from the aviary floor when needed. It needs to be supplied in small amounts to finches in cabinets but not in excess.
I have purchased finches that have never seen grit and when placed in my holding aviary with granitic sand on the floor just gorged themselves on it, the problem you get is compacted crop and the bird will eventually die. The problem is that there is a big difference between grit and soluble grit with bird breeders thinking that cuttlebone and the like is grit,it's not as breaks down to a powder and is absorbed into the body usually as calcium and other trace minerals.
True grit ;-) is a sand grain at a certain size that is used by the bird and then expelled in the normal way pretty much the same size as it started when picked up. I'm not sure whether it is used to help crush seed in the gut/gizzard or whether it just helps the digestive system in some other way. Craig

Re: Grit or No Grit?

Posted: 14 Apr 2016, 18:59
by Dutchlindsay
Thanks for your reply Craig, I don't doubt for a moment what you are saying mate, I am relatively new to finches so no arguments here.
I ll post the response from the vet once I got the reply, I am sure she ll confirm what you say; still learning :thumbup: