Calcium

When I was at the vets today speaking with Evan about Tundra, I took the opportunity to get as much information about the need for calcium for birds.

He explained it this way:

If your bird is on a seed diet, you can supplement them with fresh leafy greens, green vegetables, along with other types of veggies, grains, beans, etc...

supplementing them with a daily liquid vitamin is sufficient providing it contains calcium.
(I was a bit surprised by this)I honestly didn't think it was enough.

If your bird is on a pellet diet, no need to supplement them unless they are laying eggs or in the breeding industry, then added calcium in forms of powdered calcium, or liquid calcium is the best choice, given twice weekly.

I inquired about liquid calcium, which you mix into the water. You only have to mix it once per week, so you only give it one day out of the week....I thought WOW!....that would save me tunds of time rather than sprinkling the powdered calcium on their food ..remember I have 35 birds I have to feed.

I ended up purchasing this liquid calcium now get this price....$150.00!!!!!! my jaw dropped....I just stood there staring at Evan....I even said to him "are you serious?"

But when you have a bird that is laying eggs without the shell, and bleeding, puffy, lethargic, you tend to take what ever you can get your hands on at the time to get them better....

this vet visit cost $400.00, and may have been prevented if she got sufficient calcium intake(which I still think she does, Evan seems to think she may be pre-disposed to this condition) all my other hens are perfectly fine.

I have not opened the jar, once I do I can't return it. I am juggling with whether to return it or not, we sure could use the money

Using this once per week would ensure they are getting the adequate amounts that are needed, especially with me breeding, but more importantly with Tundra.

twice per week with my breeder hens.

Now here is my question: I am POSITIVE there are less expensive but still very good brands out there, that are liquid calcium, for less cost. I would like to know and compare if you know of any.

note: my liquid calcium is PureLeNatural 235 g
2465 mg of calcium(Calcium potassium phosphorous complex & calcium Gluconate lactate)
providing 375 mg of calcium and 500 iu of vitamin D

Check withyour local drug store. I know Walgreens carries it for about 16.00 a bottle. It's not the same brand or strenth but you can adjust the dosage accordingly to get the same strength.

A quick google search brings up tons for cheap

http://well.ca/categories/calcium_239.html This site is in canada and has some that is very close in dosage for about $15.

That's a great idea! As long as it's pure calcium, without any other supplements you can buy the human liquid calcium. Write down the instructions from the bottle you got at the vet, and what percentage is in it per CC, or however you're supposed to measure it. You should be able to compare that with the human liquid calcium and adjust accordingly.

I really hate dolling out that kind of money....seems like a complete rip-off, what they are charging....chances are I'm going to return it.

what ever calcium I choose must be top grade

I buy Calcivet from Vetafarm made in Australia. The 250ml (8.5 Fl.oz) cost $33.21 plus shipping (US dollars). I get it from a US online store called The Bird Cottage.

Calcium (calcium borogluconate): 33g/L
Magnesium sulphate :2g/L
Vitamin D3: 25000 iu/L

Recommended frequency :

once/week for all (except Greys twice/week)
Breeders : 5 times/week

Calcivet has more Vit.D3 for Calcium Absorbtion. Yours has more Calcium but very small Vit.D3.....would your birds be able to absorb all that Caicium with so little Vit.D??? I'm not sure. So you're paying for the high contend of Calcium which your birds might not absorb anyway....I'm no doctor though, but I know that Calcivet is an awesome product.

Captsteve said:

Check withyour local drug store. I know Walgreens carries it for about 16.00 a bottle. It's not the same brand or strenth but you can adjust the dosage accordingly to get the same strength.

A quick google search brings up tons for cheap

Calcium | Well.ca - Canada's online health, beauty, and skin care store Free Shipping This site is in canada and has some that is very close in dosage for about $15.

Click to expand...

You can't get the kind meant for humans as birds need a higher amount of Vit D3 to absorb calcium. Oh and no flavor for the birds either!

what I have is human grade Calcium.
remember, I am supplementing them with liquid vitamins which also contain vitamin D.

too much would be counter productive.

I found this on one of the web sites:

"Calcium supplements are better absorbed when taken in small doses (500 mg or less) several times throughout the day."

I am only dosing 1/4 tsp per100 mls. with water once per week, as per Evan

crimson said:

I found this on one of the web sites:

"Calcium supplements are better absorbed when taken in small doses (500 mg or less) several times throughout the day."

I am only dosing 1/4 tsp per100 mls. with water once per week, as per Evan

Click to expand...

Yes so I give about 10 mls per 4 cups of water (for conure size) 5 times per week for my breeders.

crimson said:

what I have is human grade Calcium.
remember, I am supplementing them with liquid vitamins which also contain vitamin D.

too much would be counter productive.

Click to expand...

Then yes you do need to take that into consideration.

Great thread, thanks for all the info, Crimson. I use calcium powder but has very little Vitamin D3 (100iu, almost non existent). My conure gets a lot of calcium but very little D3 for calcium absorption, especially in the winter.

I am really interested in what Echo is using, due to the D3 content. It's something I'd consider using as a supplement. Have you consulted with a vet about it, Echo? Also, how much is 10 mls? Like 1/4 tsp?

Oh you know what I just realized? The liquid vitamin supplement I use (Ecotrition - Vitasol) actually contains 67,500 IU of vitamin D3! It does not contain calcium, but he gets enough of that.

I think with that in mind, isn't it better than Calcivet which only has 25,000 IU of Vitamin D3. What do you guys think?

BoomBoom said:

Great thread, thanks for all the info, Crimson. I use calcium powder but has very little Vitamin D3 (100iu, almost non existent). My conure gets a lot of calcium but very little D3 for calcium absorption, especially in the winter.

I am really interested in what Echo is using, due to the D3 content. It's something I'd consider using as a supplement. Have you consulted with a vet about it, Echo? Also, how much is 10 mls? Like 1/4 tsp?

Click to expand...

10 mls is 2 teaspoons that I mix in 4 cups of water. Individual bird dose is 0.2ml per 100 body weight. (0.2ml is about 1/2 of a 1/4 teaspoon, I use a 1ml and 5ml syringe which is easier for these dosages)

I have been doing this for so long that I forgot who first recommended Calcivet to be honest. I do have an appointment with my AV next monday so I will bring the bottle with me and ask her thoughts about Calcivet and all other liquid calciums.

I can not remember who told me once about a vet dosing his birds with daily vitamin drops and what kind he was using. I just remember them telling me his birds were beautiful and healthy as he swears by the drops he uses....

here is a conversion that will help:

Milliliters to Teaspoons conversion

Echo said:

BoomBoom said:

Great thread, thanks for all the info, Crimson. I use calcium powder but has very little Vitamin D3 (100iu, almost non existent). My conure gets a lot of calcium but very little D3 for calcium absorption, especially in the winter.

I am really interested in what Echo is using, due to the D3 content. It's something I'd consider using as a supplement. Have you consulted with a vet about it, Echo? Also, how much is 10 mls? Like 1/4 tsp?

Click to expand...

10 mls is 2 teaspoons that I mix in 4 cups of water. Individual bird dose is 0.2ml per 100 body weight. (0.2ml is about 1/2 of a 1/4 teaspoon, I use a 1ml and 5ml syringe which is easier for these dosages)

I have been doing this for so long that I forgot who first recommended Calcivet to be honest. I do have an appointment with my AV next monday so I will bring the bottle with me and ask her thoughts about Calcivet and all other liquid calciums.

Click to expand...

so I would need 8 tsp for 16 cups of water, (or 4 litres of water) for my birds.
how much does your calcivet contain(how large is the jar?)

I went back to the vets to return the Calcium that I purchased there....$150.00 was just too much for me to swallow....ha ha.

I stopped off at our health food store and guess what they had????

they had the SAME calcium powder for $31.99!!!!!!! WOOOO HOOOO!

not only that, they had a larger jar for $41.99 so I bought that....I could have done a little jig in the isle I was sooooo happy!!

where do vets get off charging that kind of dough!!....a little peeved at Links.

crimson said:

I went back to the vets to return the Calcium that I purchased there....$150.00 was just too much for me to swallow....ha ha.

I stopped off at our health food store and guess what they had????

they had the SAME calcium powder for $31.99!!!!!!! WOOOO HOOOO!

not only that, they had a larger jar for $41.99 so I bought that....I could have done a little jig in the isle I was sooooo happy!!

where do vets get off charging that kind of dough!!....a little peeved at Links.

Click to expand...

Well there you go! That's great!