Question: Should I give my cockatiel a mineral block?
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Answer #1:
I don't think you should... I just give my own cockateils a regular diet.
Answer #2:
Yes give your bird a mineral block and better still give it a natural diet of Seed, Fruit and veg.
Pellets are NOT natural and contain elements which are Not what a bird would eat ,
There is quite a long list and waste animal unfit for human cosumption contents in pellets.
Answer #3:
Yes it will be okay to give him a mineral block along with a cuttlebone. It will do no harm. I have both mineral block and cuttlebone for my cockatiels as well, and they're also on a pellet diet.
In Response To Wacky:
It doesn't matter if they're eating "unnatural" foods. Even if the bird was eating a diet of fruits and vegetables, they're still eating something that they wouldn't be eating in the wild. You are misinformed to why pellets were invented in the first place.
A lot of people say birds shouldn't eat "processed" and "unnatural" foods. They say birds in the wild eat seeds all day and they're perfectly healthy. Well, yes, WILD birds are perfectly healthy. But birds in captivity aren't. I'll explain why.
The seeds that birds eat only contain a tiny minuscule amount of nutrition in each one. The rest of it is all fat or contains no nutrition. Well see, in the wild, this is okay. Because birds in the wild are exercising all day by flying and foraging for more food. And when they do that, they're burning off all that excess food their bodies don't need. And the more they burn it off, the more hungry they get to so they go eat more, thus building up the amount of nutrition they're getting in all from all the seeds they've eaten that day. By the time they've had enough, they've gotten enough nutrition for the day.
In captivity, birds aren't getting nearly that much exercise every day. So they eat less because they're not burning off all that excess food that their bodies don't need. Thus, making them fat, unhealthy, and malnourished since the amount of seeds their eating isn't giving them enough nutrition for the day.
That's why pellets were invented. They're made with the amount of vitamins and minerals that your bird should be eating on an average daily basis. It doesn't matter if it's "processed" or "unnatural", as long as your bird is getting the nutrition it needs.
And if pellets contain stuff in them that birds shouldn't eat, then why are avian specialists, avian behavioral specialists, bird breeders, and lots of other bird experts saying it's best to feed them pellets over seeds? Can you explain that to me?
And do you have a dog or cat? Do you feed them a "natural" diet? I bet you don't. You probably buy them "processed" foods from the store.
Answer #4:
I read somewhere that mineral blocks may be given to birds, but ideally, they're for female birds who produce calcium eggs. When a female bird starts producing these unfertilized eggs, she's slowly losing calcium in her body (hence the reason why they're "calcium eggs"). The mineral block and cuttle bone provide female birds with the additional calcium they need when they lose the calcium to make the eggs.
It's up to you whether you want to give your bird the extra calcium and minerals, but I don't think it's absolutely needed. Make sure you're feeding him a balanced diet of pellets, fruits, and vegetables. Occasional treats are fine, too :)
Answer #5:
It can't hurt, and it could help. Mineral blocks contain calcium as well as a lot of other nutrients birds need, so since they can be finicky eaters and it's hard enough to get them to chew on one supplement, iIt's always good to have extra insurance against vitamin and mineral deficiencies available to them.
Re: wacky: Parrots *don't eat* seeds in the wild. They mostly eat fruits and bugs. I'm really tired of you feeding this bullpucky to everybody who comes here with a question about their bird's diet. Seeds are high-fat and low in the nutrients birds need. They should have a little seed to help prevent boredom, but it's not actually good to give it to them as a dietary staple.
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