Most birds (particularly parrots) love cuttlebone (cuttlefish bone), which has several benefits for birds. 【Why Cuttlebones For Birds?】

You might find cuttlebones on the beach, or easily from seafood markets. You MUST clean and disinfect the cuttlebone, as unsterilized cuttlebone not only smells bad, but is also full of bacteria that can kill your birds.

How can cuttlebone be sterilised? See below.

If you purchased cuttlebones from a pet store, they “should” have been sterilized. However, the cuttlebone from the beach, you MUST thoroughly clean and sanitize the cuttlebone before feeding it to your birds. Cleaning cuttlebone with a bird-specific disinfectant is perfect and will effectively kill germs and bacteria. In addition to using disinfectant, I am going to share a “relatively easy” way to sterilize cuttlebone:

1. Wash the cuttlebone with clean water
2. Soak in salt water (vinegar is another good method) for 2 to 3 hours
3. Boil in water for 15 minutes
4. Sun-dry cuttlebone for more than 24 hours

For cuttlebone purchased from a pet store, if you are not sure whether the cuttlebone has been fully sterilized, you can also use the above method. Do not feed unclean cuttlefish bones to birds, as bacteria and germs can kill your beloved birds, so don’t take any risks.

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