Do you know that parrots need to clean their beak? They also need calcium in their diets. You no longer have to buy chalk and carry the bird to clean its beak.
Sepia is two in one. Here, and calcium, and the "brush" for the beak of a parrot. What is useful sepia for parrots, find out in the article.
Sepia is what
There is an opinion that this is the shell of cuttlefish. It is almost true. Sepia for parrots includes crushed, pressed pieces of cuttlefish and squid. This is a skeleton, shell, bones.
What kind of bones can squid have? In fact, none. But, cleaning the carcass, we free it from the thin inner plate, or, more correctly, the rod. This chitin rod is part of sepia.
Sepia has a lot of calcium salts. It is rich in minerals, sodium, and phosphorus. The listed items are pretty easily digested by parrots.
Why is she needed
Sepia for budgies (and not only) is necessary for:
Peeling and grinding the beak. The stone prevents its delamination, strengthens the plate.
Sepia also affects the skeleton of a bird. As a result of its regular consumption, feathered bones become stronger.
The feathers of a parrot look shiny.
Sepia for parrots is simply necessary at the moments of egg laying. Calcium is a reliable helper in egg formation.
With the help of such a "toy" the bird relieves stress. No matter how funny it may sound, but in moments of anger the parrot begins to actively bite and hammer the stone. Thus, getting rid of "negative emotions".
Appearance
Which sepia is better for parrots? In pet stores, her choice is rich. There are square, rectangular, and round stones. Would you like to get pink sepia? It is feasible. Only for the feathered is not very useful.
Alas, manufacturers sin by processing sepia. It is treated with a special composition that gives the stone smoothness. And sometimes they tint sepia for parrots.
When choosing a stone, pay attention to its appearance. Do not take too smooth and glossy sepia. Go past tinted. Your goal is to find a white stone. The surface of such a porous, somewhat similar to pumice. And the shape is oval, somewhat elongated.
Hang in a cage
Most sepia for parrots (pictured) is sold with a special metal mount. It attaches quickly to the bars of the cage. But for parrots, especially small species, it is unsafe. A pet may get injured about such a mount.
And what to do? Refuse the stone? Not at all. Drill two small holes in the stone. Insert a flexible wire, fix on cage rods. Everything is simple.
How to teach a parrot?
Keep in mind: sepia for parrots will have to be accustomed to a feathered companion. He takes food from his hands, and boldly sits in the palm of his hand? Fine! Put sepia on the palm, and substitute the bird.
Did the method not work? Nothing wrong. Budgies and lovebirds are very often cowards. Feel free to hang a stone in a cage. At first the bird will ignore him. But there is no escape from curiosity. The feathered one, in the end, will decide to try a new "toy".
Proud ignore
The owner, and so, tried to accustom his pet to a useful treat. And that - not in what. Refuses to get acquainted with sepia for parrots and all. How to be a bird owner? There is no desire at all to leave her without the necessary vitamins.
The stone is too hard. This is the main reason the parrot ignores sepia. At first, give the pet a choice. Buy some mineral stones of different porosity and put in a cage. The bird will definitely choose one of them.
What to do with the rest? Crumble and mix the parrot into the feed. Of course, he will not clean his beak, but he will receive the necessary vitamin supplements.
Mix the parrot treat with crushed sepia. As a treat, you can use seeds, nuts and other goodies.
Birds are jealous of their toys. Take advantage of this. Attach the sepia pieces to the parrot toys. He will not tolerate this. It will immediately begin to clear them of something new and completely incomprehensible. And then it will taste sepia.
Among the parrots there are real intellectuals. They are not interested in just eating food. Be sure to get it from somewhere. Do an experiment: put sepia inside any toy the bird loves. The feathered one will be fond of getting a mineral stone and taste it.
Large birds are able to overlook the innovation that has appeared in the cage. Get the feathered companion's attention to sepia. He will appreciate its taste and cleaning properties of the beak.
Novice owners wonder if a feathered bird can choke on sepia for parrots. This is out of the question, don’t even worry about this.
Some tips
Accustoming the pet to sepia, create a calm atmosphere in the room where the cage is located. Sharp noises and extraneous sounds do not contribute to the bird's interest in a foreign object.
Rub the sepia edge with something tasty. It can be a strawberry, raspberry and a slice of apple. The pet will pay attention to the delicacy and begin to actively get acquainted with it.
When buying sepia, look at the expiration date. Some manufacturers claim that it is unlimited. This is a lie. Sepia is good for five years. If the packaging indicates an unlimited shelf life, put that sepia away. It is likely that it is processed by something.
We bought sepia, brought home, hung in a cage. And after a while they noticed: sepia turned blue. Or dirty dark spots appeared on it. The owner decisively removes top dressing from the rods of the cell, mentally abusing the manufacturer.
Do not rush to conclusions. Everything is not as scary and sad as it seems. Sepia tends to acquire a blue tint with high humidity.
Ok, but where are the dark spots from? They are true witnesses to the naturalness of nutrition. Dark spots occur as a result of a cuttlefish ink bag entering sepia. Therefore, it is not necessary to scold the manufacturer. He, on the contrary, well done. Natural product launches on the market.
What is the difference between sepia and mineral stone
Sepia is a separate part of the mollusk. Mineral stone, in essence, is chalk.
The eternal dispute between parrot owners: which is better and more beneficial for the bird? Someone fiercely advocates the use of sepia. Others shout that there are more vitamins and minerals in the mineral stone.
Both groups are mistaken. Both products are quite valuable and equal in composition. And here phosphorus, calcium, vitamins, minerals. Not only sepia, but also a mineral stone should hang in the cage of a parrot.
Reviews
What are the sepia reviews for parrots? Owners of birds are happy: the pet grinds its beak, uses top dressing as a toy. Other birds even eat sepia in half a day. Owners only make a helpless gesture: you won’t get enough sepia for these gluttons.
Conclusion
Now those who have just become the proud owner of a parrot understand what sepia is. Why is it needed, what benefits does the bird give.
We talked about how to choose the right sepia. And why not throw it away, noticing dark spots or blue.
We found out about the differences between sepia and mineral stone. The article gave full information about sepia.