Little Friends Bird Calcium Blocks

A bird's beak never stops growing, and a cage is a place with remarkably little in it to wear one down — no bark, no seed heads, no ground to work at. Left with nothing hard to use it on, a beak keeps going, and the fix is not clever: it is putting something in the cage worth chewing.

This is a hard mineral block that hangs straight onto the bars, so it is there whenever the bird wants it rather than being something you have to remember to offer. Calcium is the headline — the maker's line is that it is essential for normal formation and functioning — and the blocks are described as enriched with additional vitamins and trace nutrients, and as helping to counter iron deficiencies in the diet. It measures 40 x 40 x 20mm and weighs 24g, and is listed as suitable for most birds.

• 24g block, 40 x 40 x 20mm
• Hangs onto the bars of a cage for easy access
• A calcium source, enriched with additional vitamins and trace nutrients
• Stated to help counter iron deficiencies in the diet
• Gives the beak something hard to work against
• Described as suitable for most birds

What is not on this label. There is no calcium figure, no ingredient list, no analytical constituents and no statement of which vitamins the block is enriched with. For a supplement that is a lot of blank space, and it means there is no honest way to say how much calcium a bird is getting from it. Suitable for most birds is also as specific as the guidance gets: no species list, no cage-size advice and nothing about how long a 24g block ought to last. And if you are reaching for a supplement because something is wrong — thin-shelled eggs, a bird that is quiet, a beak that already looks overgrown — that is a conversation with an avian vet, not a block on the bars.

Who it's for: keepers of budgies, canaries, finches and other cage birds who want a permanent mineral source clipped to the bars, and anyone whose cage currently contains nothing hard at all.