A shortage of usable calcium lies at the root of many problems, including:

• Egg laying
• Egg binding
• Weak hens that cannot lay or continue to lay more clutches
• Broken bones in young chicks
• Rickets in baby birds
• Slow moults and French moult
• Feather plucking
• Nervousness
• Aggression
• Twirling and co-ordination problems which may go as far as falling off the perch
• Respiratory problems

Most of the cuttlefish which is supplied to try to raise calcium levels when eaten by the bird goes straight out in the droppings. As with other minerals the difficulty is absorbing it into the bloodstream. So The Birdcare Company developed a super-saturated chelated calcium solution called Calcivet.

Calcivet uses a chelated mineral technology similar to the calcium supplied in nature by plants. So it is easily absorbed and quickly gets to the bones, nerves and muscles where it is needed. It is such an effective calcium source that most of the year you will only need it once or twice a week (definitely twice for African greys and eclectus).