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Trace Minerals or Trace Elements
Trace minerals are vital for birds' health and well being. However, they are only necessary
in extremely minute quantities.
Trace Minerals can be found in most foods (particularly certain vegetables since plants
have metal pumps in their roots designed specifically to extract Trace Minerals from soils). Aside from feeding vegetables
(which I recommend) another way to get Trace Minerals into your birds' diet is to supplement with earth based powders.
I use both DE (diatomaceous earth) and 63 trace mineral powder to provide trace elements
for my birds. Both can be purchased from various pigeon supply stores or possibly a feed and grain store.
| Mineral Packed Powders |
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| 63 Trace Mineral Powder (L) and Diatomaceous Earth (R). |
Diatomaceous Earth (DE): This a a fine powder composed
primarily of the silica exoskeletons of diatoms (tiny fossilized microscropic critters). The chemical composition of
DE is as follows:
90.7% Silicon Dioxide
3.8% Alumininum Oxide
1.3 Ferric Oxide (Iron)
0.4% Calcium Oxide
0.3% Magnesium Oxide
0.2% Titanium Oxide
2.5% Potassium Oxide-Sodium Oxide (Soda)
as well as the following trace elements: copper, zinc, iron, selenium, boron, manganese,
chromium, cobalt, tin, nickel, molybdenum, vanadium, germanium, mercury, cadmium, lead, lithium, strontium, barium, gold,
telurium and beryllium.
DE is often sold as a natural wormer but I have yet to read any credible scientific evidence
this is true. It is also supposedly a mitacide and can be used to dust your bird's feathers or put in nest boxes to
kill mites.
WARNING! NEVER GIVE YOUR BIRDS
DE WHICH IS NOT HUMAN GRADE! Pool filter grade DE is not safe! Be sure your DE is human food quality.
NOTE: You don't really want to get a snoot full of
DE. It has sharp edged silica in it which can become lodged in your lungs. Long term and repeated exposure can
result in pulmonary silicosis, which ain't a whole lot better than the more infamous asbestosis.
63 Trace Mineral Powder: This is really just a form
of calcium montmorillonite clay. Trace minerals are important for enzymes cofactors. If these trace minerals are
missing, cellular biochemistry is impaired, and can become impaired to the point of illness. I figure, why take chances?
I purchased a huge 2# bag of this stuff from Global a few years back for next to nothing. I called Global
- they no longer carry it.
Birds2Grow.com (assuming anyone is still alive over there) and LadyGouldianfinch.com still
have it listed, but I find their prices are very high for this particular product . When I find a reasonable price for
the 63 Trace Mineral Powder, I'll be sure to include it here.
So far, I've not had much luck in locating a source of this powder since Global stopped carrying
it. These are the best I've found so far - still quite expensive compared to what I paid just a few years
ago. Most of these sources are from Koi suppliers, so if you have a Koi shop near you, go there and see what they charge
for their Montmorillonite Clay, AKA Bentonite Clay, AKA Smectite. I have not purchased from any of these sources....
http://www.bentonite.com/bpm_feed.asp (no price listed and PDF files don't work for me - smallest quantity is 13 lbs which
is a LOT) (Also if you don't mind doing business with Halliburton - I wouldn't have anything to do with this company for my
own political reasons)
Chemical Composition of 63 Trace Mineral Powder
Feeding Trace Mineral Powders
You may either add some to egg food or put DE and Trace Mineral Powder in a separate side
cup. I prefer to add it to egg food once a week.
Spirulina
Also a source of trace elements, the exact trace elements present will depend upon the water in which this
alga was cultured and supplements fed to the alga. Spirulina is discussed in more detail in the Carotenoids section.
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