# OTC Calcium for Pigeons



## Scuiry (Jul 11, 2001)

A friend of mine (member here) recommended Citrical for for my egg laying hens (during their laying cycle) to avoid complications (soft shells, egg binding & egg laying paralysis). Does anyone else here have experience using OTC calcium supplements (made for humans)? What have been your results?

Many thanks,

Daniel


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

My vet recommended Tums for my birds. It works well.
You can crush it and add to the food or dissolve in their water.
HiCal grit from the pet store works great too, asuming they eat the grit.

Reti


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## Scuiry (Jul 11, 2001)

Reti said:


> My vet recommended Tums for my birds. It works well.
> You can crush it and add to the food or dissolve in their water.
> HiCal grit from the pet store works great too, asuming they eat the grit.
> 
> Reti


I give them all the same Hi Cal grit but apparently it's not enough for Josette who still has egg laying issues. Most recently she had partial paralysis - some loss of movement in the legs and could not fly. She is almost recovered now.

I checked with my vet about giving Citrical with D3. After giving him the amounts in each tablet he said I'd have to give her 1/40th of a tablet - the concentration is too high to give a whole tablet orally.

Daniel


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

I am not sure about OTC Calcium but i give human grade calcium to my birds, mix with water and give just enough so that they finish it in few hours & i give it few times a week on alternate days.


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## Scuiry (Jul 11, 2001)

OTC = Over The Counter


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## Scuiry (Jul 11, 2001)

Reti said:


> My vet recommended Tums for my birds. It works well.
> You can crush it and add to the food or dissolve in their water.
> HiCal grit from the pet store works great too, asuming they eat the grit.
> 
> Reti


Reti,

What flavor do you give them? Do they like the mint flavors?

Many thanks,

Daniel


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

they dont have a choice, its mixed with water.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Daniel,

I administer a 1/4 of a human grade alfalfa tablet, it is a most natural source of calcium as well as chlorophyll and other good things.

If I suspect any egg related issue, I add a drop of colloidal silver in case of infection, a cod liver oil capsule-to support calcium uptake, garlic cap-of course, and a drop of Neem or olive oil for a bit of extra moisture to lubricate the egg tract.


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## Guest (Nov 15, 2007)

I just want to point out that too much of anything is not a good thing. Too much calcium in a diet can force it out of the blood and crystallize in the soft tissues and that's a very painful condition. The birds need a level of calcium but to overdo it with human level doses is counter productive. Giving flavored calcium is just not safe. Nobody knows what artificial flavoring can do to the birds. The body can't use calcium if there is no sunlight or supplements of Vitamin D given so now there has to be a balance of what goes into their systems. Calcium Carbonate or Calcium Citrate is the same no matter what in what form it's sold as. If you want to give the birds a bit more calcium, use a small piece of Tums. It's just as good as anything else.


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## Scuiry (Jul 11, 2001)

warriec said:


> they dont have a choice, its mixed with water.


My birds thumb their beaks at water treated with anything. They can tell. 

I once tried some vitamins in the water with my elder queen pigeon (common Fantail) and she absolutely refused. Finally, after a day of seeing her looking so forlorn and dejected, I gave in and replaced her dish with fresh tap water. She immediately perked up and drank what seemed to be a whole day's worth right in front of me.

Aside from force feeding them suplements I really don't know how to get them in my birds.

It's a real struggle giving them anything healthy or nutritious. I may just let them go hungry for a day or two until they capitualate.

Daniel


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

pigeonperson said:


> I just want to point out that too much of anything is not a good thing.
> 
> *Too much calcium in a diet can force it out of the blood and crystallize in the soft tissues and that's a very painful condition. The birds need a level of calcium but to overdo it with human level doses is counter productive.
> 
> **The body can't use calcium if there is no sunlight or supplements of Vitamin D given so now there has to be a balance of what goes into their systems.


* Too much man made calcium can cause too many problems, but not in its natural state. The things I list are not just given to them at random and they are dosed by me, they are not let loose with a bunch of alfalfa. 1/4 of a human tablet IS a dose for a bird. 

**This is why I give a capsule of pure cod liver oil from pristine source, BUT only once a month. It works extremely well with alfalfa.


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