Dietary clay

So I found what I've been looking for after a long search, Bentonite clay, which parrots in the wild eat daily as a mineral supplement, as as a detoxifying agent that neutralizes toxins found in their diet. It's made by living world, called "clay-cal". It's made in the same proportions as the clay cliffs in Peru, and if you've ever seen parrot documentaries than you know what it is. I'm going to do the "clay milk" regimen for all of them for a few days. It looks almost like budgie gravel, but it's nothing like that at all, it melts in your mouth. Well, they may not eat THIS clay in the wild, because it was mined here and purified, but they do eat clay. It's very high in calcium. My budgies love to eat the dirt out of potted plants, so I will use this as the top layer instead of the garden clay I've been using for years.

The only bentonite I'm aware of is an aluminum silicate, mined in Wyoming, not the clay licks of Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, or any of those known in Africa or the Middle East.....

Where did you find information that this stuff uses the same formula as what's found in the South America? I have a rather large database on clay licks & jungle medicine, but have never come across this information.....I understand that the Hagen pet food company is owned by an avian vet, I also understand that the Hagen umbrella is a business and while it caters to the pet owners industry, it is a business first, hence, I'm a little skeptical of a pet food company that gets into the supplement business.....

Well of course YOU'RE skeptical. I never said it was mined in Peru.
Livign World Website

Here you go Grey.....

There’s a couple of videos on youtube about Pesquet’s parrots eating soil…..have seen the video, but never kept a title or link, because they don't always stay around.....

There’s at least one video on the net about greys in Camaroon drinking from a mud hole & eating the soil…..have seen the video, but never kept a title or link, because they don't always stay around.....

Current Ornithology - Volume 17 - Page 49


You can do your own research, but instead of ‘clay lick’ your research needs to be on ‘geophagy’ or ‘parrots & geophagy’…..the following link should give you enough reading material for a while…..

related:OjGDOWbbtp9oTM:scholar.google.com/ - Google Scholar

Kalidasa said:

Well of course YOU'RE skeptical. I never said it was mined in Peru.
Livign World Website

Click to expand...

Grey's post reminded me that I had seen the manu clay advertised before, but never paid much attention after I'd read the advertising blurbs, because it is peddled for all birds & all birds do not visit these sites, hence, these products are misrepresented when they claim they're for all birds.....

The pet supplement industry fails to mention that while various of the supplements they are marketing are not available in a particular species wild diet, virtually everything in their products is available as natural foods, available at most well stocked super markets that cater international foods or via the internet, rather than from chemically compounded supplements.....

Some people may be looking for chemical solutions to what they think their birds might be lacking, believing that a company's chemists have developed exactly what their feathered friends need, but instead of having to go to the store or order the real thing online, they prefer that chemist's concoction.....nah, I'll feed mine real food instead.....


Thanks Kalidasa, for giving me the impetus to go back & read some old data.....

@grey, well, I have the product in front of me, this is natural clay w/a little charcoal I believe. I found something on YouTube about Australian birds. And of course, all hookbills eat clay and dirt.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EfTeAweUOY]Scientific Discovery! Parrots eating clay in Australia - geophagy - YouTube[/ame]

And it wasn't "created" in a lab, it's only been sanitized and made safe for domestic birds. And that's all else ill say on it, and let the gloomy-doomy naysayers say what they will.

Kalidasa said:

@grey, well, I have the product in front of me, this is natural clay w/a little charcoal I believe. I found something on YouTube about Australian birds. And of course, all hookbills eat clay and dirt.

Scientific Discovery! Parrots eating clay in Australia - geophagy - YouTube

Click to expand...

Not disputing that parrots eat dirt/clay, however, I do question that what a sulfur-crested cockatoo might be digging for & eating in Australia is the same thing that Amazons & macaws might be eating on the banks of the Manu river or what African greys are eating at mud holes in Cameroon.....the vegetation that dies & changes back into soil is far from the same in any of those particular sites, thus my question of the efficacy of these vendor's inference that one-size-fits-all and that an aluminum silicate mined in Wyoming is the 'missing link' that our companion parrots cannot get except by their owners purchasing a jar of this wonder formula.....been around too many years to believe that if those are as fantastic as they're purported to be their companies would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, yet it's almost like the concoctions peddled on late night TV & some of the cable channels.....you know that stuff that will never be approved by the FDA.....



Kalidasa, write to those people and ask for the scientific data that supports their claims.....if they provide you with verifiable data, I will post an apology to you, on this forum, every day for the next six months.....and yes I am a nay sayer, when something is sold to naive bird owners that is a waste of $$$ and in some cases.....TOXIC.....look at the ingredients of the mite repellents sold in most pet stores.....

Well, my vet gave it the thumbs up when I called her and asked her about it. I will most certainly take the advice of a caring professional over some random dude who likes to argue and attack on parrot forums. I have better things to do, the period at the end of this sentence will be the last communication you get from me.

I'm sorry if you feel that you were attacked, I don't think anything I've posted, on these forums, has ever attacked anyone, however, I did offer to publicly apologize on the forums if any of these vendors could provide you with verifiable data to support their claims.....

As for being a random dude, I'd be happy to show you two degrees in engineering and one I hold in computer science.....I do hope that one day you find that just because someone says something is good for you or your bird(s), it does not make it true.....

here is the link Kalidasa was referring to:

Living World® Clay-Cal Calcium Enriched Supplement for Birds - Health Care - Bird - PetSmart

Hi all,

I was following this post yesterday because I was really interested in this topic. I was reading it because while I do not use clay supplements for Boomer, I do have a mineral block hanging in is cage all the times. He uses it on occasion. Isn’t that considered clay as well (correct me if I am wrong of course)?

I am sorry the discussion took the wrong turn somewhere and ended in hurt feelings. Kali, I do believe that Weco’s intentions were to be nice judging from his initial posts. He tends to be critical of information and that may come off as negative at times. I think this is a great thing though!!! Especially in a forum, we would like to hear as many counter arguments as possible in order to question facts and dispel myths . It can only benefit us and our birds in the end.

Kali and Weco are both awesome posters, I learn a lot from you. You both clearly care about our parrot overlords so I hope you don’t stop sharing information!!!

Merlin doesn't have any clay licks or anything like that. We just have him on harrissons with fresh fruit and veggies and a little of what we're eating. So a mini mini portion of our dinners for variation and bonding.

So far he's all good and healthy. I think if your bird, or type of bird is more prone to be lacking in minerals then clay lick, lab formed or not, are a good idea but I have the approach of "if it aint broke, don't fix it".

The Tambopata clay lick has been proven to supply SALT.

What eats parrots?