Hagen Living World Cuttlebone - For Bird

The Hagen Living World Cuttlebone is the internal shell of a cuttlefish, which is almost pure calcium carbonate and soft enough for a small bird to rasp away at. It is the oldest and simplest calcium supplement in bird keeping, and it is still the standard one.

Key Features

• Natural Calcium: Cuttlebone is calcium carbonate with trace minerals, and a seed diet is genuinely short of calcium
• Taken At Will: The bird uses it when it wants it, so there is nothing to measure or mix
• Something To Do: Gnawing is an occupation in its own right for a caged bird, which is half the value
• Holder Included: Comes with a clip to fix it to the cage bars, soft side facing the bird
• Two Sizes: Small for budgies, canaries and finches; large for bigger birds

Calcium, And The Part Most Guides Leave Out

Cuttlebone and mineral blocks are nearly pure calcium carbonate, and a seed-based diet is genuinely short of calcium. What is less often said is that a bird needs vitamin D3 to absorb calcium at all, and it makes its own D3 from UVB light. Window glass blocks UVB, so a bird kept permanently indoors behind glass can have a cuttlebone in the cage and still run short. A full pellet diet, or a bird lamp that emits UVB, is what closes that gap. A hen laying eggs needs noticeably more calcium than a bird that is not.

About Beak Trimming

Hagen describe cuttlebone as helping to trim and sharpen the beak, and birds do wear the tip down on it. Do not rely on it as beak care. A beak that is visibly overgrown, flaking, scissored to one side or growing unevenly is a sign of liver disease, mites or poor diet, and it needs an avian vet rather than a harder thing to chew.

Who Makes It

Living World is the small animal and bird brand of Rolf C. Hagen, the Montreal company founded in 1955. The range covers cages, hay feeders, houses, dishes and supplements for rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and cage birds.

Out Of Stock Right Now

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Good To Know

• Fit it soft side out. The chalky face is the one a bird can work on; the hard back is not.
• Replace it when it goes yellow, greasy or soiled, and site it where droppings from a perch above cannot land on it.
• A bird that suddenly attacks the cuttlebone after ignoring it for months is often a hen coming into lay. Calcium demand rises sharply then, and a hen laying repeatedly without a male is a reason to talk to an avian vet rather than to buy more cuttlebone.