My Budgies won't eat their cuttle bone or mineral block :( !

[SbudgiesM]

Hey my budgies won't eat their cuttle bone or mineral block.... is it really necessary? A friend of mine said that they SHOULD have it but since their both males i guess they can lived with out. since they don't lay eggs.. but they really should have some source of calcium.

 

[TexDot33]

I have been told by my vet that cuddle bones DO NOT have enough digestible calcium in them, the best source of calcium is in green, leafy veggies ... if you can get your birdies to eat veggies this is the best route to go!

 

[rockinseattle]

Cuddle bones are not really needed.

Like TexDot said, dark leafy greens are a good source of calcium, also you can make a birdie bread/muffin mix with eggs AND the eggs shell for extra calcium.

 

[nzchickadee]

I have removed cuttlebone from Petes cage, she demolishes it within a week, but it gets all over the cage floor, lounge floor, water cup etc Instead she gets brockili, which still ends up everywhere, but has more nutritional value. Grit is all over the floor of both of my birds cages as well

 

[birdcrazy]

If they play with it it's fine but a great source of calcium is boiled eggs with the shells crushed in or baked egg shell. My obsessive egg laying teil uses hers so it really depends on the bird.

 

[Keupi]

Best source is like Tex said...fresh, green veggies. But, cuttlebones/cuddlebones (depending upon the fid) are kind of a no harm/no foul based on my experience. I always looked at them as a beak groomer not as a source of calcium - same for mineral blocks.

ALTHOUGH... some of those flavored mineral blocks (veggie ones) came in quite handy with budgie fids reluctant to delve into delectable fresh veggies. If I found a flavored variety one liked (eg, carrot) I would shave a few slices of carrot on top of the treat dish, for example. So they're not without merit for finicky fids.