# Help with Calciboost



## rascal66 (May 13, 2011)

So I finally got my 100ml calciboost in the mail. But the directions for feeding my birds are really.. well complicated. I usually have a small container with 4 ounces of water. the directions only state: Mix 10 - 20mls of calciboost to one litre of drinking water. ( 0.5 -1 fl. oz. calciboost to 2 pints of water) and that's as broad as it gets. 

Should I treat this as if it were a vitamin supplement and only put 1 drop per ounce? I mean I could get a separate bottle and place a certain amount of calciboost in it, but I'm not the best at math either and I don't want to mess anything up x_x Any advice?


Also, is it okay to mix liquid vitamins to the calciboost water?


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Probably easiest way, using an average dose, would be mix three teaspoons Calciboost in two pints water, and use what you need from that.

That works out at 15ml per litre (litre = near enough 2 US pints).


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## rascal66 (May 13, 2011)

John_D said:


> Probably easiest way, using an average dose, would be mix three teaspoons Calciboost in two pints water, and use what you need from that.
> 
> That works out at 15ml per litre (litre = near enough 2 US pints).


I guess that will have to do :s Thanks


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

*Calciboost*

Maybe it's not clear on the bottle but Calciboost, _after_ you mix it with the appropriate amount of water, should be used _in place of _your dove's regular drinking water. The idea being, as the only water source, your bird will drink it.

My understanding is that Calciboost should not be used more than a few (3?) days a week - the other days they should have regular water (with no Calciboost in it). And obviously, egg-laying birds will need more Calciboost than birds not breeding. So if your doves are not laying eggs now, I'd limit the Calciboost to maybe just 1 day a week so you don't overdose them. As for vitamins, I'd use them in the water on the days when you are *not *giving your birds Calciboost (as the minerals in Calciboost might interfere with the vitamin absorption).

You can mix up Calciboost ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. Shake it up before you use it.


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## rascal66 (May 13, 2011)

Lefty07 said:


> Maybe it's not clear on the bottle but Calciboost, _after_ you mix it with the appropriate amount of water, should be used _in place of _your dove's regular drinking water. The idea being, as the only water source, your bird will drink it.
> 
> My understanding is that Calciboost should not be used more than a few (3?) days a week - the other days they should have regular water (with no Calciboost in it). And obviously, egg-laying birds will need more Calciboost than birds not breeding. So if your doves are not laying eggs now, I'd limit the Calciboost to maybe just 1 day a week so you don't overdose them. As for vitamins, I'd use them in the water on the days when you are *not *giving your birds Calciboost (as the minerals in Calciboost might interfere with the vitamin absorption).
> 
> You can mix up Calciboost ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. Shake it up before you use it.


Alright thank you for that, I'll make sure to use it like that from now on. Thank you!


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## Doves1111 (Mar 5, 2005)

rascal66 said:


> So I finally got my 100ml calciboost in the mail. But the directions for feeding my birds are really.. well complicated. I usually have a small container with 4 ounces of water. the directions only state: Mix 10 - 20mls of calciboost to one litre of drinking water. ( 0.5 -1 fl. oz. calciboost to 2 pints of water) and that's as broad as it gets.
> 
> Should I treat this as if it were a vitamin supplement and only put 1 drop per ounce? I mean I could get a separate bottle and place a certain amount of calciboost in it, but I'm not the best at math either and I don't want to mess anything up x_x Any advice?
> 
> ...


Use the liquid vitamins and Calciboost separately...do not mix them together.

*Calciboost Application:*
In water 10 mls (*2 teaspoons*) -20 mls (*4 teaspoons*) per litre (*approximately a quart*).
Use the lower doses in hard water areas. 

*So that equals 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons of Calciboost per 4 ounces of water.
*
http://www.allbirdproducts.com/newproductpages/calciboost.html
*Increase the Calcium intake with Calciboost for your breeder birds
*
During non-breeding seasons, Calciboost should be administered 1-2 times per week. How ever during breeding season, it is essential to increase the Calciboost dosage to 3-5 times a week for 4 weeks to provide the extra calcium needed for egg laying and chick growth. Remember a lack of calcium can cause thin shelled eggs, egg binding, smaller clutch size, poor bone formation and splay legs in chicks.

Dawn


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## rascal66 (May 13, 2011)

Doves1111 said:


> Use the liquid vitamins and Calciboost separately...do not mix them together.
> 
> *Calciboost Application:*
> In water 10 mls (*2 teaspoons*) -20 mls (*4 teaspoons*) per litre (*approximately a quart*).
> ...



Thank you so much for that


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## guev7777 (Sep 16, 2011)

Hi I've just received my CalciBoost. 

I've converted how much CalciBoost should be used for a "half a cup of water" i.e., using your average kitchen measuring cup. Find the one that measures "half a cup", which is about as much water that fits into a normal bird water cup. 

Then if you do the math, it is 1.18ml for every half a cup of water on the low and approximately 2.4ml for the high end, the direction say if the bird is drinking tap water, the lower dosages probably adequate. I'm using a small syringe that measures ml so I thought I would post this as it might be useful to somebody.

Since we should only use CalciBoost for 1 or 2 days, I'm wondering if it's okay, to reuse the water instead of throwing it out, put it in the fridge, and use it for the next week? I have 3 different bird cages and it can become expensive to buy CalciBoost. Any suggestions?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

2 Tablespoons equal one oz. so,
1 to 2 Tablespoons to a quart of water
1/2 to 1 Tablespoon to 2 cups of water
1/4 to 1/2 Tablespoons to one cup of water

What the directions say is that if your water is hard water, that the lower dosage would be good if they are drinking the hard tap water. All depends on if you have hard or soft tap water. Hard water has more minerals and calcium in it naturally. My water is hard, so I use the lower dose a couple of times a week.


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## guev7777 (Sep 16, 2011)

I just wanted to make a note, if your bird is injured as mine was paralyzed, we had use a syringe to feed her liquids. When I had called Allbirdproducts.com they recommended I give my dove 15 drops a day which is equivalent to about .03ml (EDIT: SHOULD BE 0.3ml not .03ml, thanks Jay) a day, and do this for five days a week for five week. Then he said, bring her down to 2 day. He said you don't want to give her too much calcium, but she was extremely calcium deficient. We could not tell the difference between her bones and muscles in the x-ray. So, I just wanted to pass that information on.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Actually .03 isn't even one drop. 0.3 would be 6 drops. There are 20 drops in one cc or ml. So 0.7 cc would give you 14 drops.


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## guev7777 (Sep 16, 2011)

I should have mentioned the drop are measured from the CalciBoost droper. I counted 5 drops would equal 0.1ml using the dropper they sent me. If you order your CalciBoost from Allbirdproducts they'll include a free dropper. It would be about .3ml thanks Jay, if measured from that dropper. Does that sound right, If using a syringe to give directly to the bird?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Don't know about their dropper bottle, but on a 1cc syringe, the whole syringe is counted as 20 drops. Every 10th of a cc is 2 drops. There are 10 of those in 1cc or ml syringe.
If their dropper is different, then people have to know that, as most don't buy it that way.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

guev7777 said:


> I should have mentioned the drop are measured from the CalciBoost droper. *I counted 5 drops would equal 0.1ml using the dropper they sent me. *If you order your CalciBoost from Allbirdproducts they'll include a free dropper. It would be about .3ml thanks Jay, if measured from that dropper. Does that sound right, If using a syringe to give directly to the bird?


You had said that 15 drops was .03 before. You are now saying that 5 drops equals 0.1. In that case, 15 drops from your dropper wouldn't be .03, but would be 0.3. Big difference there.

Just saw that you did change it. Thanks.


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