Calcium

Hi David...

It is hard to find liquid calcium here in my place... yesterday I bought calcium tablets meant for human consumption: the tablet size is just like normal Panadol Tablet... I administered  the tablet(a quarter) to my young shama which readily takes everything from my hand...  but I found it difficult with other shamas - in my possession specially a pair of shamas which I am trying to breed... suggestion from u is much needed, btw:

1. any risk of calcium over dosage?..is 1//4 of the tablet considered enough or less?, is twice a week enough for my breeding shama?
2. is it safe to mix calcium tablet with multivitamin tablet (crushed) and dilute it into  bird's drinking water?

Thanks...

Best Regards,
Yusran 






Hi Yusran,

Before supplementing the food that we feed to our shamas, we first need to consider if there is even a need for it.  Only after we have concluded that there is likely to be something lacking in the diet and we have identified what is likely to be lacking, should we go on to consider how much to feed and how to do it.

I would suggest that it is preferable to feed vertebrates such as fish and froglets to the shamas rather than supplement directly with calcium.  I have not found the need to supplement with calcium even when my birds are molting or breeding when vertebrates included in the diet of my birds .

Assuming that calcium supplementation is necessary, I would think that feeding a quarter tablet to the shama at one time is probably too much.  The tablet is intended for the daily intake of an adult human whereas a shama only weighs about 1 once.  I would only give about 1/16 of the tablet to the shama and even then I would not be sure if this is too much.

To feed the calcium, break of the amount that you want to feed the bird.  Then remove the head of a small cricket and, using a toothpick or something similar, gently insert the piece of calcium inside.  A large cricket should not be used as the bird will then try to break it into smaller pieces and the calcium might drop out.

The frequency of feeding should be about 3 to 4 times a week.

It is safe to mix the calcium powder with other water soluble vitamins.  However, I do not put vitamins in water.  The bird may not like the taste and may not drink.  Also,  the water may be spoiled by bacteria if the water is not changed for the whole day.

Best regards,

David