Parrots
Diamonds Aren’t Forever
By Louise Bauck, DVM

As a bird veterinarian, I receive many inquiries about the medical aspects of grit or gravel, and the role of these substances in parrot nutrition. The gizzard – ventriculus -- of a pet bird is a strange and wonderful thing. In this muscular section of the gastrointestinal tract, the grit is stored; then rolled around during digestion to help pulverize the foods and seeds the bird has ingested. The bird may employ almost any hard substance in this function - and every once in a while veterinarians encounter odd objects that a bird will gulp down as gritty digestive aids.

One memorable case I saw involved an adorable pet cockatiel that caused mayhem in his quest for appealing grit. It started with a frantic phone call from a hysterical young woman, who advised us that her cockatiel had just eaten something. Eating not necessarily being hazardous to the health, we questioned her further and found that the little bird had just extracted a large and valuable diamond from her fiance's earring and swallowed it. The pony-tailed prospective groom arrived at the clinic shortly afterwards, and seemed a bit overwrought himself. The future bride was concerned that the bird could "choke" and the man was worried that he would never see his diamond again. Fortunately, both turned out to be wrong.

Choking -- a foreign body caught in the windpipe -- was not an issue here: the diamond had caused no signs of respiratory distress and was undoubtedly sitting in the crop or on its way to the gizzard. Another problem, obstruction, was worth worrying about. A foreign object lodged in the gizzard can cause problems if it blocks the passage of food. We immediately examined the cockatiel but the crop felt completely empty, so an X-ray was deemed in order. It turned out that the diamond had already made it into the gizzard, and it seemed likely that the stone would be passed eventually. Unfortunately, the time that a hard piece of gravel or grit (or diamond) spends in the gizzard can be quite variable: sometimes a few days, sometimes a few months. All of which meant that there was only one way to find the diamond: a daily search through the droppings of the cockatiel until the stone was excreted. The stone appeared after about three weeks, but the nuptials weren't so lucky -- the wedding was called off.

If you own a parrot that suddenly swallows a portion of jewelry or a toy, be advised that this is a true emergency. The faster you can get your parrot to the clinic, the better the chance that the veterinarian can still find the object in the crop – throat -- of the bird. As long as it stays in the crop, it is easily recoverable. However, once it leaves the crop and goes into the stomach or gizzard, it can become a dangerous problem. If the object is made of metal and contains harmful substances like lead or zinc, it will slowly release these metals resulting in a toxicity situation. If it is made of plastic or wood, it will be very difficult to detect on an X-ray, but can be deadly if an obstruction or blockage is caused. We have seen a great variety of weird objects in gizzards -- watch parts, buttons, pushpins, feeding tubes -- some of which did not do very much harm, and some that did. Play it safe -- keep small loose objects away from your parrot, and transport your parrot immediately when you suspect it has swallowed something he shouldn't have.

What about giving safe and healthy grit to your pet parrot? In my opinion this is a good idea, if only to keep him from looking for more dangerous objects to consume. Remember that parrot-type birds shell their food, and there is no doubt that they can digest their food very well without any grit at all. Having said this, offering very small amounts of mineralized health grit (containing calcium and trace minerals in substances like oyster shell) seems like a safe and healthy way of pleasing your parrot. Use only a reputable brand, as certain types of bulk oyster shell have been criticized for containing contaminants. Do not offer grit to a pet bird that is ill, as in some cases the sick bird will consume too much grit.

I received in my e-mail a question on this very issue and my answer follows.

Q: I am confused about the issue of grit. I have cockatiel gravel, but I see that some experts don't recommend it for tiels. My tiel, Buddy, had seeds in his droppings. I called the vet who said to start by giving gravel a try. I gave Buddy some cockatiel gravel, and it corrected the problem in hours. My question is that the Internet sources say that a bird should not need grit, that it might cause stomach and other problems. Also I'm concerned that the oyster shells may contain lead from their natural surroundings. My Internet bird message board has been bombarding me with articles on why gravel is bad. I have had others say it is not bad, and they give it to their birds. I am bewildered although gravel corrected the problem for him. Any help would be appreciated.

A: I would look again at your bird's original problem -- seeds in his droppings. Talk to a bird veterinarian once more about this symptom, and watch your bird very carefully for signs of weight loss. Continue to monitor the droppings. This sign may signal several serious infectious diseases. Gravel should not have solved this problem, as cockatiels without gravel can digest hulled seeds with no difficulty. However, gravel is certainly not harmful to a healthy bird. I assure you that national brands of grit and oyster shell do not contain lead or anything else harmful. On the other hand, gravel or grit can cause impactions in a sick bird. Yours may very well be sick and so I would have to recommend you not give gravel until you are sure your bird does not have some kind of problem.

Louise Bauck, B. Sc., Dvm, M.V.Sc., is director of veterinary services for Hagen Avicultural Research Institute. She coordinates preventative medicine programs and pathology at Hagen’s parrot breeding farm and research institute.