Jumpingtadpoles
New member
- Oct 22, 2013
- 304
- 0
- Parrots
- We are looking for a bird for our family. It's very much like we are pregnant and waiting for the day the new addition comes to the family!
I had originally put this in the macaw section but then thought it pertained to more then just them, as I began to question minerals in general to many species. 
I know in the wild macaws flock to clay bars and mow down. I know the theory is that it's to neutralize the toxins that they may be eating. But I'm also very aware that clay has tons of minerals and I can't help but wonder if they actually eat it because the minerals in the clay are easy to digest and that maybe in captivity we are not providing them with something they need.
I am very passionate about diet. I follow a diet myself that utilizes easily used nutrients, and an constantly coming back to the idea that clay for myself can clean my own gut of toxins because it absorbs thing I am building up in my liver. It also provides iron, silicate, and a ton of other things for my body.
Why wouldn't the idea be the same for birds. Now I can understand having too much. It can create a build up. Especially if your not getting enough fluid. But used with hydrated chia seeds, flax seeds, and proper amounts of fiber (veggies) and not a whole lots of clay, I can't see why it wouldn't benefit the birds, just as it doesn't for us. Particularly since they actually source it out naturally for themselves.
It would probably need to be hydrated itself, like it is in the wild, so it wouldn't gum up inside as well. And it's not something a novice should maybe do, do to the risks. But for somebody acutely aware of what they are doing?
On a side note I have wondered about mineral blocks. Are they something many owners provide for large birds?
I know bunny owners provide them, but my boy never touches his? Maybe he gets enough in his food from everything I offer?
Who here offers mineral blocks to their large parrots?
I know in the wild macaws flock to clay bars and mow down. I know the theory is that it's to neutralize the toxins that they may be eating. But I'm also very aware that clay has tons of minerals and I can't help but wonder if they actually eat it because the minerals in the clay are easy to digest and that maybe in captivity we are not providing them with something they need.
I am very passionate about diet. I follow a diet myself that utilizes easily used nutrients, and an constantly coming back to the idea that clay for myself can clean my own gut of toxins because it absorbs thing I am building up in my liver. It also provides iron, silicate, and a ton of other things for my body.
Why wouldn't the idea be the same for birds. Now I can understand having too much. It can create a build up. Especially if your not getting enough fluid. But used with hydrated chia seeds, flax seeds, and proper amounts of fiber (veggies) and not a whole lots of clay, I can't see why it wouldn't benefit the birds, just as it doesn't for us. Particularly since they actually source it out naturally for themselves.
It would probably need to be hydrated itself, like it is in the wild, so it wouldn't gum up inside as well. And it's not something a novice should maybe do, do to the risks. But for somebody acutely aware of what they are doing?
On a side note I have wondered about mineral blocks. Are they something many owners provide for large birds?
I know bunny owners provide them, but my boy never touches his? Maybe he gets enough in his food from everything I offer?
Who here offers mineral blocks to their large parrots?
