Mineral Chew String
Something hard enough to wear the beak down.
It does two jobs at once: a permanent calcium source, and something hard enough to keep a bird's beak in shape. Both matter more than they sound, particularly for a laying hen.
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- Alternating soft wood and hard mineral, so there is a choice of texture
- Small 21 cm for budgies, large 31 cm for cockatiels and up
- Hangs from the cage roof or clips to the bars
- Untreated pepper wood
- Wears down rather than breaking apart
Size: Small, 21 cm
Why you'll love it
Made for happy, healthy pets
A beak never stops growing
Like a claw, it wears down through use. A bird on soft food with nothing to grind against can overgrow the upper mandible, and correcting that means a vet with clippers.
The mineral part is the working part
Wood alone is too soft to do much. The stone sections are what actually abrade, and mixing the two means the bird keeps coming back rather than losing interest in a plain block.
Hang it where they already perch
Birds use what is on the route they take anyway. A chew at the far end of a cage gets ignored; one beside the favourite perch gets used daily.
Good fit if
- Every cage, as a permanent fixture rather than an extra
- Laying hens, whose calcium demand is high
- Growing birds building bone
- Beak maintenance in a cage short of hard surfaces
Look elsewhere if
- Your bird refuses mineral entirely and needs a softwood block
- Your vet has prescribed a specific supplement instead
- You have nowhere to fix it within reach of a perch
Calcium is not optional
Calcium demand rises sharply in a laying hen and in a growing bird, and a seed-based diet supplies very little of it. A hen short of calcium is at real risk of egg binding, where an egg cannot be passed, and that is a veterinary emergency rather than something that resolves on its own.
This is why a mineral source should be permanently available rather than offered occasionally. The bird self-regulates, taking what it needs when it needs it, and a block that has been in the cage for weeks untouched is not a waste: it is there for the point at which demand rises.
Beaks wear through use
A beak grows continuously and is worn down by what the bird works on. Given hard material, a bird maintains its own, which is why an overgrown beak usually indicates a cage short of anything to chew rather than a grooming failure on your part.
It is not the only cause though. Overgrowth can also point to liver disease, scaly face mites or malnutrition, and a beak that keeps overgrowing despite plenty to work on warrants a vet appointment rather than more chews.
Placement and alternatives
Fix it within easy reach of a perch, because a bird will not fly to a mineral block the way it will to food. Somewhere it passes regularly works better than a corner, and not directly above a dish, since chewing produces dust and fragments that will otherwise land in the food.
Some birds ignore mineral entirely, and that is common rather than unusual. A softwood beak block is the alternative worth trying, and cuttlebone is another. It is worth persisting with something, since the point is that a hard surface is available when the bird needs it.
Height is worth getting right too. Fixed at the level the bird stands, it can work at it comfortably with its feet planted; fixed too high it has to stretch and will use it far less. Watching where your bird naturally perches and mounting it at that height does more than any amount of encouragement.
In the box
Everything you need
- 1 mineral chew string
How it works
Simple, from basket to doorstep
- 1
Browse
Shop by pet or category to find exactly what your cat or dog needs, no wading through thousands of listings.
- 2
Order
Check out securely with card, PayPal or one-tap Apple Pay & Google Pay. Free delivery over $59.
- 3
Delivered
Fast, tracked dispatch straight to your door, and a happier pet before you know it.
The details
Specifications
- Small
- 21 cm long
- Large
- 31 cm long
- Material
- Pepper wood and mineral stone
- Weight
- 117-186 g
- Suits
- Budgies through to medium parrots
Size guide
| Size | Length | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 21 cm | Budgies, canaries and finches |
| Large | 31 cm | Cockatiels and medium parrots |
Size on the bird rather than the cage. A block too large for a small bird is awkward to work against, and one too small for a parrot is destroyed in days rather than lasting.
Replacing it
Replace it when it becomes soiled or when it has been worn down to a stub too small to work against. A block that has been in the cage for months and become discoloured should be swapped regardless of how much material is left, since it will have collected droppings and dust.
Do not wash it. Mineral blocks absorb water, and a soaked block crumbles as it dries and loses its structure. If it has become dirty enough to need cleaning, it has reached the point of replacement.
Good questions
Before you buy
A bird eating a varied diet with wood to chew usually keeps its own beak in order. This matters most for birds on soft or all-seed diets, and for species prone to overgrowth. If a beak already looks long or misaligned, that is a vet visit, not a chew toy.
Yes, take the small size. The materials are the same; the large one is simply heavier than a budgie will bother with.
It does say that, and we are not repeating it. This is sold here as a bird product. Rabbits and rodents have their own gnawing requirements and should be given something designed for them.
A formulated pellet diet supplies more calcium than seed does, but a mineral source is still standard practice and costs little. It matters most for laying hens and growing birds.
No. Leave it available, since the point is that it is there when demand rises. If it is still untouched after months, try a softwood block or cuttlebone instead.
When it is worn to a stub, or when it has become soiled or discoloured. Do not wash it, since mineral absorbs water and crumbles as it dries.