Female Parrots?

[ParrotsForLife]

Do Female Parrots need more calcium than Males? Reason I ask is because Loki and Tiko both have a head twitching thing going on like anytime I talk to Loki her head twitches and so is Tiko and Tiko does have a calcium deficiency and her beak is chipped because of it so we are getting calcium and vitamin D supplements for her.I read head twitching means they have low calcium is this true? or is there another reason for it like why Loki does it when u talk to her.Loki has done this since we got her and I never thought anything of it I thought it meant she didn't like what i was saying.And I never buy cuttlebones anymore because they never get used and if I do grate them I always forget about it.Also if breeding season has anything to do with calcium African greys breeding season was in Winter and they moult now and Tiko is also moulting.

[Wolf]

Female birds generally need additional calcium as they approach breeding condition as they need it for egg production and if they don't get enough their body will get it from their bones. African Greys require additional calcium all year long as they just have a higher dietary requirement for this mineral, some species of parrots need more calcium others require more protein some require more fat in their diet. Due to the fact that too high of a level of calcium can cause as many serious problems as too low of a level, I would suggest that the diagnosis of the low calcium level by the birds owner be confirmed by blood test at the vet. Also high or low calcium levels may be caused by too much of another mineral Which is also a good reason to have the condition check out by your vet.

[ParrotsForLife]

Tiko doesn't get much sun so the calcium we give her she wouldn't absorb most of it so thats why she would be low on calcium right?

[Wolf]

Not as far as I am aware of. Calcium is supplied through diet and not through sunlight. The sunlight helps the bird to turn certain substances in its body into vitamin D -3 which in turn helps with calcium absorption along with the proper balance of a couple of other minerals. I really don't like supplementing with vitamin/ mineral formulas as some of them are easy to provide to much of, although sometimes that is the best way to proceed, your vet is the best source of information as to what you may need to provide a specific supplement for. Generally speaking the best way to ensure that your bird receives the right amount of vitamins and minerals is to provide foods that are rich in the vitamins and minerals that our birds require and allow their body to extract the proper amounts. Broccoli is one of the foods that is good for birds such as Greys that require more calcium than other species of parrots.

[ParrotsForLife]

Oh i think Tiko eats too much broccoli lol she loves it.So what is the best way to get her beak back to normal as its chipping.

[Wolf]

Actually a certain amount of this is normal, if you and I are speaking of the same thing, please show me what this looks like so I can be sure that we are speaking of the same thing.

[ParrotsForLife]

Actually a certain amount of this is normal, if you and I are speaking of the same thing, please show me what this looks like so I can be sure that we are speaking of the same thing.

Its just when you know little bits peel off like the layer over our nails.She is now on her shower perch looking out the window.Can any sunlight get through the window at all?

[Wolf]

Plenty of sunlight, just not enough of the UV light that allows the bird to produce the vitamin D-3.

She is not wiping her beak on a surface that is capable of cleaning off the scale. This scale is natural and is usually knocked off as the bird cleans its beak. Perhaps hanging a perch designed for trimming their nail attached vertically instead of horizontally near her food dish would help with this.

[liz]

My cockatiels would not use the cuddle bone. Wolf suggested putting some on their gloop. I crush mine with a mortar and pestel into a powder then sprinkle a pinch on the gloop every morning. I don't know if it is enough or too much but I am trying.

Chick Chick would not eat oyster shells and started laying thin shelled eggs. I bought a dozen hard shelled eggs. Washed the empty shells then crushed them into small pieces. When dry I toasted them in olive oil. She ate those and had a good recovery.

[Wolf]

Due to the fact that too much calcium is as bad for a bird as too little, I generally only provide a pinch of it once a week on my birds food, unless they actually eat the cuttlebone. Kiki Senegal doesn't eat hers, she simply destroys it, so I set a collection dish under the grate below her cuttlebone and collect the powder that she turns it into. She reduces her cuttlebone to powder in about 4 to 5 hours, if I let her remain in the cage that long, and although I keep watching her while she does this, I have never seen her eat any of it. At least I don't have to grind it myself as she is quite happy to do that for me. She is so-o-o-o helpful.