Mineral Block

[ParrotletsRock]

I have had my bird for about 6 months now. He was 4 months old when I got him. He has always had a cuttle bone and a mineral block in his cage as well as a treat bowl made out of mineral block. He has taken a few chews off of the cuttle bone but never touched the mineral blocks until the last week or 2. Now he is chewing the mineral blocks and the cuttle bone like crazy every day. Is this normal? Is he just needing a lot of minerals these last few days?
I don't know how much he is actually eating as he really chews and shreds a lot of it ( what a mess...yellow and green mineral powder everywhere...lol) does anyone elses bird eat /chew a lot of mineral or cuttle bone? Thanks everyone.

[Lola B.]

Delphi only has a Manu mineral block and he occassionally gets into it. Maybe I should add a cuttle bone...? I wouldn't be worried about it, maybe he needs a beak manicure?

[ElliesMom]

Ellie eats her cuttlebone to bits. the first little while we had her, she didn't really mess with it...then she decided it was a fun toy. in two weeks, she'd eaten enough off of it that the holder wouldn't hold it anymore. we got her a new one that has mineral on the outside, cuttle bone on the inside, and she hasn't seemed to touch it. for Ellie, at least, i think it is more of a game.

[ParrotletsRock]

Well I made the mistake of getting the colored mineral block...the one is green and shaped like a bowl and came with 3 little blocks of seed treat...and the other is a yellow one shaped like a pineapple. His face is turning light green and his feet are green...lol.his rope perch is VERY green.

[Lola B.]

That's pretty funny. Sounds like fun!

[raiven]

Personally, I would not buy them colored or flavored cuttle bones or mineral blocks. Both of my birds will chomp on their cuttle bone from time to time. I think they are good to condition their beak as well as a source of calcium. I do not use the mineral block my self.

[Lola B.]

Think the colored ones have sugar?

[raiven]

No but they have artificial colors and flavours.

[chapala]

I also wouldn't recommend flavored mineral blocks. You don't want your bird eating it - they would consume too much of the minerals. They are just for nibbling on occasion. If you feed a varied, nutritious diet including some natural pellets with Vit. D supplementation, they won't really need the minerals (already get them through diet). I think for many birds, it's more of a shredding toy than anything else.

[twotweets]

I have never used either but may try the cuttle bones. Midge likes to clean her beak on the sandpaper sleeves that fit on perches after she eats or bathes. Soliel does not care one way or the other.

[Lola B.]

You might want to watch the sandpaper perch covers. They can cause bumblefoot.

Here's a link on that:

http://www.thepawblog.com/birds-and-bumblefoot/

I like the pedi perch, personally. I also use natural perches in my bird's cages.