Hari Mineral Block for Birds with Dried Vegetables, Calcium Supplement Bird Treat

I have a budgeriar parakeet that I have struggled to get on an all-pellet diet. He’s eating pellets, but still insists on eating mostly seeds. So I know he needs a mineral block to supplement—and I have always used mineral blocks instead of cuttlebones because cuttlefish are highly intelligent creatures and I just can’t support their slaughter. I’ve always offered him the type of mineral blocks available at pet stores where I live, which are expensive, hard to affix to a cage, and don’t last very long because they fall off the weak little twist tie that supports them. I never see my bird nibble at them, but I’ve offered them in hopes he will someday start going for them. It’s always felt like a waste of time and money.These Hari blocks are 100 times better. I placed this in my budgie’s cage last week, and he immediately hopped over and took a bite out of it. I’ve seen him return to it at least two times since. That’s a huge improvement, and it makes this purchase so worth it on its own.The Hari blocks are supported by a flat plastic hook that is embedded fairly deep into the block. I’ve uploaded a picture of the hook to show what it looks like. This type of fastener makes it so much easier to mount this in the cage and quickly remove it when I need to clean in there. It seems stable and I’m not worried about it falling out prematurely, which is a problem I had frequently with the blocks that you fasten with a twist-tie. Another reviewer mentioned that they had a hard time getting the block to sit flush on the cage bars. I experienced this as well, but I don’t mind it at all and my bird definitely doesn’t either. It doesn’t need to sit flush to stay securely in place. I will say I think you will have more flexibility in where you can mount the block if your bird’s cage has horizontal bars, but mine has vertical bars and I still found it easy to mount at the joiners where there is a horizontal cross bar, and I’ve also hung it from the top grate of his cage, which he seems to like.Additionally, this mineral block is larger and has more surface area than the twist-tie-mounted ones readily available in pet stores where I live. It would work well for a larger bird or a cage where multiple birds are kept, and it will last a lot longer than the twist-tie type since the fastener is firmly and deeply embedded in the block and requires less manipulation to remove and affixAnd there is the cost. As mentioned, these are larger than the twist-tie types I have previously bought and it costs the same or less than I was paying (prices for the other brand vary in stores).Since the list of ingredients is short (Calcium Carbonate, Dried Carrot, Dried Parsnip and Dried Leek—that’s it) and it’s made in Canada, I trust that this is a safe product and I feel comfortable giving it to my bird.These blocks are great for beak conditioning, which I really appreciate since my bird typically only chews and shreds especially soft materials (like sola). I know this is going to help him a lot.I’m really glad I found this product. I will buy again, and I hope they release more blocks with other healthy mineral and supplement additives.