Salt?

[Peckedhen]

Do pigeons get sufficient salt from a pigeon mix or should they be given any?  If so, what sort of salt should I give? :-/

[Guest Doostalker]

Dr Wim Peters says that rock salt can be fed especially when feeding youngsters. However it can lead to problems in excess. Alternatively fine grain salt can be fed to them in small amounts once per week.

 

He quotes Vogel?? who says that 1-3 grams of salt daily for one month caused increased water uptake but no other side effects. There is a debate as to whether it is beneficial to the birds or not.

 

I never feed salt separately and think they get enough throi=ough the trace salt in the pick pots, mutivits and mineral additives. You can buy these from most pigeon feed suppliers.

 

He does advise against giving salt in the water as it can be particularly dangerous if the quantity is too much.

[snowy]

i always put a pinch in their bath water with the garlic

[jimmy white]

hi rose, thats what we call up here a coo lick, i used to put a lump in the garden , they could pick at it when and if they wanted to. i did notice they picked at it more whilst feeding young,

[Guest]

Strange how things have very different meanings in different parts of the same country - even Scotland.  ;D

 

When you mentioned Coo's lick previously, Jimmy, I thought you meant a quantity - I've always taken it to mean 'a small amount of something'.

 

Also heard it being applied to a  men's hair style in the early 60's, for the bit that fell over the brow and eye, much like early Elvis Presley.  Of course by the late 60's everything fell over everywhere, usually down to the middle of the back. Luckily the face had a pair of eyes that told you whether 'it' was coming or going.  Even when those eyes were hidden by a pair of shades.   8)   8)

[snowy]

i thought a cows lick was a hairstyle

[jimmy white]

yes your right it used to be the nickname of the hairstyle ive got every one, giving their age away  ;D ;D ;D but in scotland its a slang name for horses salt block.

by the way i was too young for a coos lick hairstyle, but i tell fibs too, ;D ;D ;D

[Guest]

Well being a lot younger than JW         had to have a look at this Coo's lick. If I tripped over one, or one bounced off the back of my head, I'd like to know what it was.

 

Sorry I bothered.  

 

Interesting short article on salt, adds to the debate.  

 

 

http://www.sweetlix.com/user_files/File/articles/Horse_SaltBlocksandYourHorse.pdf

 

 

"pitt yer sweetlix alickil closaar tae raa fone"......     ;D

[jimmy white]

i like the younger bit  ;D ;D ;D that got me back for the paw broon bit ;D ;D ;D

i deserved that bruno ;D ;D ;D, but on to the coos lick , really its just rock salt, as i said before i would leave one out in the garden , if they picked at it so be it , if they left it so be it , ,  they did seem to pick a lot at it whilst feeding young, that used to worry me a bit as though they were lacking in something, yet they had grit, minerals, pickstones etc in front of them .all the time. and like doostalker said in an ealier post, i would take it away for a while, but then they picked at the ground where i had taken it away, all most to the extent of picking a hole in the ground, this was only when they were feeding young, and really to be honest never found out why. any body had this?

[speedbird]

natral see salt is good for the birds

[Guest]

I use the "Natural Pick" pots and I feel there is suffient salt in those for the birds needs

[Guest Silverwings]

a light sprinkle of sal costa on finely chopped cabbage ! they hammer it , see the scottish contingent are still into coolicks ? see why the call themselves 'Braveheart ' rather them than me ? i much prefer good old english hoarlicks ...did i spell that right ? or should it be horlicks

[carl]

i like the younger bit  ;D ;D ;D that got me back for the paw broon bit ;D ;D ;D

i deserved that bruno ;D ;D ;D, but on to the coos lick , really its just rock salt, as i said before i would leave one out in the garden , if they picked at it so be it , if they left it so be it , ,  they did seem to pick a lot at it whilst feeding young, that used to worry me a bit as though they were lacking in something, yet they had grit, minerals, pickstones etc in front of them .all the time. and like doostalker said in an ealier post, i would take it away for a while, but then they picked at the ground where i had taken it away, all most to the extent of picking a hole in the ground, this was only when they were feeding young, and really to be honest never found out why. any body had this?

 

Jimmy my birds are all feeding youngbirds at the moments,they have grit/clayblock/redstone in front of the 24/7 but as soon as i open the loft doors into the garden they go picking in the soil and eating some sort of small round plant in my garden,might be called chip wead os something like that.

 

 

[Guest shadow]

No need to give extra salt if provided with grit minerals and pickstones.

[Guest]

Actually got a look at the horsey coo's lick at t'mill a while back. Lot more than 'salt' its a mineral & vitamin combination.

 

Maybe a timely warning that you need to take good notice of the content of your overall feeding regime. For example, since starting hormform which contains minerals & vitamins, I don't feed these seperately anymore, only granite grit & pickstone.

[southbankhs]

i was told to give natural sea salt on return for youngsters from races this proved to be good advice as it replenishes and flushes birds system?

[jimmy white]

hi carl , i missed your post a bit back, sorry,,,but your right ,when their feeding young they allways seem to be looking for something , i think your right theve been in the chick weed, picking at that, off course they could be eating other things in the chick weed,? i feel sorry for mine having to keep them in , but do give them everything i can think of, even a big tuffet,with the earth still on,,, the funny thing is though, theyll eat what they want to eat ,,,and know when to eat it

[Peckedhen]

Mine have a red coloured pickstone in a clay pot which they pretty much ignore. Someone told me to give Kirkpatrick's  minerals and they have gone berserk for them!!  Trouble is, the minerals are black and my white birds look as if they have had a bath in them!! ;D

 

I put some conifer cuttings in with them the other day - I thought they might like them for their nests - they didn't but, they must have been eating them because I had some bright green droppings - thought I'd poisoned them! :o

[Guest]

Sue

 

The Kirkpatricks black minerals are good for the birds as I beleive some of the content is from the beaches around the North East so therefore must contain some salt.

 

I always have to laught when my pieds and mealeys have been in the pot

[Peckedhen]

I always have to laught when my pieds and mealeys have been in the pot

 

Looks like I have mealies too  Linda! ;D