what food to buy for rosy bourkes?

[meam35]

hi there

thanks for the replies.

im a bit confused over the grit debate. i havent offered them grit as a lot of people said rosy bourke's dont need grit as it causes impaction in their crop. they do love their cuttlebone and are nibbling on it several times a day. im not sure what to do for the best now...

however, i have discovered my pair love peppers, peas,raw carrot and sweetcorn. apparantly savoy cabbage is really threatening to look at as i clipped a small leaf to the cage and they both had a fit!! evenyually they calmed down but never went near it all day.

regards

am x

[The Boy With The Birds]

As pretty penguin stated. There is difference with Aus and the UK countries.
Krazy karen and i are in Aus and we feed grit, but this point isnt always correct, if you did a poll i think more people would offer grit. As it suplements the calcium (that is totally supplied by the cuttlebone), iron, and other important system supplements. If you are breeding your bourkes, grit makes the egg shells, and empreyo stronger as well.

in my opinion grit is a must

[amanda143]

I tried offering grit and my bourke wouldn't go near it. She prefers a parakeet/budgie style food but I supplement with egg food (w/shell), bird corn bread, and other veggies. She loves mashed sweet potatos. She doesn't get sunflower seeds as I think they are too big for her. They end up in the bottom of the cage. lol

[Lori~D]

GRit is not all the same. There is Grit for gizzard function (small rocks) then there is grit for calcium and gizzard function (oyster shell grit) then there is calcium supplements (cuttle bone, mineral block, added calcium powder. All birds need calcium with hens needing more during egg laying. They will take what they need as long as it is readily available. Cuttle bone being the easiest and safest. Mineral powder added to food can cause them to get too much and Oyster shell can cause them not to get any if they dont like it (some birds dont). GRIT on the other hand for gizzard function is NOT for hookbills and is no benefit and sits in the digestive system like a pile of sand. GRIT is needed in birds who do not hull the seeds they eat like pigeons, and chickens and some softbills. Most of our pet birds hull the seeds first, even the canaries and finches do. Even though the boxes of grit display our little budgies on the front does not mean its a good thing. If its Oyster shell grit its for calcium but allot of birds wont eat enough of that to care. I always put in a Cuttle bone (bone from the cuttle fish) and some sort of flavored mineral block to give my birds a choice and when I was breeding I bought Cuttle bones in bulk and they would go thru them. My bourkes like the bones best. You can even find cuttle bones with a "shell" or backing of man made mineral block attached that is flavored and colored for small birds.
This is all information I have gathered from years of research, advise of vetrinarians and several bird breeders and avian specialists.

[amanda143]

Originally Posted by huntress

GRit is not all the same. There is Grit for gizzard function (small rocks) then there is grit for calcium and gizzard function (oyster shell grit) then there is calcium supplements (cuttle bone, mineral block, added calcium powder. All birds need calcium with hens needing more during egg laying. They will take what they need as long as it is readily available. Cuttle bone being the easiest and safest. Mineral powder added to food can cause them to get too much and Oyster shell can cause them not to get any if they dont like it (some birds dont). GRIT on the other hand for gizzard function is NOT for hookbills and is no benefit and sits in the digestive system like a pile of sand. GRIT is needed in birds who do not hull the seeds they eat like pigeons, and chickens and some softbills. Most of our pet birds hull the seeds first, even the canaries and finches do. Even though the boxes of grit display our little budgies on the front does not mean its a good thing. If its Oyster shell grit its for calcium but allot of birds wont eat enough of that to care. I always put in a Cuttle bone (bone from the cuttle fish) and some sort of flavored mineral block to give my birds a choice and when I was breeding I bought Cuttle bones in bulk and they would go thru them. My bourkes like the bones best. You can even find cuttle bones with a "shell" or backing of man made mineral block attached that is flavored and colored for small birds.
This is all information I have gathered from years of research, advise of vetrinarians and several bird breeders and avian specialists.

Thank you so much huntress for clearing that up, I felt like a bad bird mommy.

[Lori~D]

No bad Birdie mommy comes on here asking for advise. No question is a stupid question.