In development. Waitlist open.

Bird N3rdz

Mineral Blocks

Three blocks separated by hardness grade, not by botanical flavor. The chemistry stays the same. The hardness changes so the block matches the beak. Built to hold a seed fed bird's total diet in the accepted calcium to phosphorus range whether the bird takes a little or a lot.

Join the waitlist See the hardness ladder

We are also recruiting Bird N3rdz beta testers. Selected testers trial products free and help set the numbers we will not guess at.

cross drilledkeying holes brushite cementmineral body tie hole forcage lace
Concept diagram. The stick is the mount, the handle and the foraging perch. Composite flows through the drilled holes and sets into mechanical rivets, so the block cannot be twisted or pulled off the stick.

The signature instrument

One chemistry. Three hardness grades.

The line is not separated by botanical flavor. It is separated by hardness. A budgerigar cannot work a block built for a conure, and a conure destroys one built for a budgerigar in a day. The calcium system is identical across all three. What changes is the hardness grade, matched to the beak that will use it.

Hardness Ladder

Hardness windows will be measured on first production runs. No published numbers until then.

SoftBN-07

Small Species Block

35 g. Built for beaks that cannot work a standard grade block. The mineral body yields to light mandible pressure so the bird can still pace its own intake without fighting the material.

BudgerigarCanaryFinchLovebird
StandardBN-01

Base Block

100 g. The reference block. Every element of the platform, nothing layered on top. Formulated for the birds most commonly kept on seed based diets in companion settings.

CockatielConureQuakerSmall Amazon
StandardBN-02

Conditioning Block

100 g. Same hardness grade as BN-01, with a conditioning layer for molt, pre-show and breeding demand. Seasonal availability. The calcium backbone does not change; only the enrichment layer does.

MoltPre-showBreedingSeasonal

Hardness windows are not yet established. They will be measured on the first production runs rather than assumed from formulation alone. No numeric hardness figures will be published until physical testing closes.

The settled lineup

Eleven SKUs. Six pages. Concept bars only.

The botanical flavor variants are gone. The bird blocks are separated by hardness grade. The powders, loft block, poultry amendment, reptile line and aqua line sit beside them. Every rendering below is a labelled concept diagram, not a photograph. Nothing has been cast yet.

Concept renderings, not photographs. Color predictions come from botanical or mineral inputs already in each formula, not from synthetic dye. Final appearance depends on supplier certificates of analysis still open on the register.

Bird N3rdz Mineral Blocks

BN-07 Soft, BN-01 Base, BN-02 Conditioning. One chemistry, three hardness grades. Route /bird-n3rdz-blocks.

BN-07 · Soft · 35 g

Small Species Block

Budgerigar, canary, finch, lovebird. Soft enough for a light mandible.

SoftSmall species
BN-01 · Standard · 100 g

Base Block

Cockatiel, conure, quaker, small amazon. Planned catalog size 100 g. Waitlist only until verification closes.

StandardEveryday
BN-02 · Standard · 100 g

Conditioning Block

Molt, pre-show, breeding. Same hardness as BN-01. Seasonal enrichment layer.

StandardSeasonal

Bird N3rdz Powders

BN-03 phytase companion and BN-04 vitamin D3 powder. Measured dose on moist food. Full page at /bird-n3rdz-powders.

BN-03 · Powder

Parrot Powder

Cleaves phytate in seed so the bird can keep the calcium the block supplies. Calcium retention rose 25.1 percentage points with phytase in the presence of phytate.

EnzymeMoist food
BN-04 · Powder

D3 + Phytase Chop Powder

Scoop dose on moist food. Deliberately not in the mineral block, because transition metals catalyze vitamin oxidation and free choice is the wrong vehicle.

Vitamin D3Separate by design

Loft and flock

BN-05 pigeon peck block and BN-06 poultry powder. Separate pages, same platform.

BN-05 · Peck block

Pigeon N3rdz Peck Block

Racing and breeding lofts. Pigeons peck rather than gnaw, so there is no stick. Open page

Loft
BN-06 · Feed amendment

Bird N3rdz Poultry Powder

Two fraction calcium for backyard and small flocks. Shell formation runs overnight. Open page

Small flock

Reptile N3rdz

RN-01 Calcium, RN-02 Calcium with D3. /reptile-n3rdz.

RN-01

Dusting Powder

Built around retained dose on the insect, not the jar label.

RN-02

Vitamin D3 Supplement

Packaged apart from the mineral so transition metals cannot degrade it.

Aqua N3rdz

AN-01 Caridina GH+, AN-02 Neocaridina GH/KH+. Tier one. /aqua-n3rdz.

AN-01 · Powder

Caridina GH+

GH 5, KH 0. No carbonate at any inclusion.

AN-02 · Powder

Neocaridina GH/KH+

GH 8, KH 4. Carbonate and sulfate blend at 3:1 Ca:Mg.

Intake tolerance

The defect nobody corrects, and what we do about it.

A pure calcium article lands a seed fed bird's diet in the right range only across a very narrow band of consumption. Above it the diet runs to four to one, then eight to one. Our block stays in range whether the bird takes a little or a lot, because nobody meters a cage mineral.

6.8×

more tolerant of unmetered intake

Pure calcium article in band from 1.60% to 2.24%  /  window 0.64 pts
This product, 3 : 1 in band from 5.17% to 9.52%  /  window 4.35 pts

Modeled against a seed based diet. Formulation target is 3:1, a judgment across seed, chop and pellet base diets rather than an unconstrained arithmetic optimum. Horizontal axis is supplement intake as a percentage of total dry matter, 0% to 30%.

What is in it and why

Eleven ingredients, each with a function.

Five calcium sources at different dissolution rates, bound with brushite cement rather than plaster, and built around Lithothamnion as the primary calcium because of what it does at gut pH that limestone and oyster shell cannot.

01 / Primary calcium

Lithothamnion calcareum

A calcified red alga with a honeycomb microstructure. Published solubility at pH 4.5 is roughly 50%, against 34% for oyster shell and 26% for limestone. That means more calcium enters solution in the proventriculus without requiring excess mass. Also supplies magnesium at 0.43% of the block.

02 / Binder

Brushite cement

Two feed grade calcium phosphates react with water to form brushite, a calcium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate that sets the block in the mold. The binder is itself a calcium source and contributes phosphorus at the formulated ratio. No plaster. No calcium sulfate.

03 / Slow matrix

Milled cuttlefish aragonite

One of five calcium sources, contributing roughly 15% of total calcium. The aragonite crystal structure is poorly soluble and releases slowly, which limits the rate at which calcium enters solution on a heavy chew day.

04 / Manganese

Mn at 500 ppm

Added back deliberately at 500 ppm because calcium phosphate in the binder would otherwise impede manganese absorption from the base diet. Manganese is required for eggshell formation and skeletal development.

05 / Iodine

Ascophyllum nodosum (kelp meal)

Supplies iodine and marine trace minerals. Budgerigars are the classic goiter species in the literature, and kelp iodine is a whole food source rather than a potassium iodide spike.

06 / Palatability

Brewer's yeast at 4%

Included for palatability and B complex contribution. The yeast fraction also delivers nucleotides and the umami character that encourages initial investigation of the block.

07 / Carotenoid

Calendula and Capsicum

The color source. Provitamin A carotenoids rather than synthetic dye. The colorant and the nutrient are the same ingredient.

08 / Essential fatty acid

Flaxseed (milled)

Alpha linolenic acid source. The reason refrigeration is recommended: unsaturated plant oils oxidize over time and flax is the most sensitive of them.

09 / Second calcium

Calcium carbonate (fine grind)

A standard calcium source at a controlled particle size. Intermediate dissolution rate between the fast brushite fraction and the slow aragonite matrix.

10 / Amino acid (BN-02 only)

DL-Methionine

The conditioning block adds methionine for the keratin demand of molt, feather regrowth and breeding. Present in BN-02 only.

11 / Structural mount

Bird safe untreated hardwood stick

Cross drilled so the composite sets into mechanical rivets around it. The stick is the mount, the foraging perch and the end of life indicator. The bird chews down to the stick and the whole unit is replaced.

Six deliberate exclusions

What is not in it, and why it is not.

Each exclusion has a mechanism. Nothing is left out for marketing. Everything left out is left out because including it would either harm the bird, degrade in the matrix, or create an uncontrolled upper limit in a free choice article.

Excluded

Plaster (calcium sulfate binder)

Conventional mineral blocks use plaster of Paris as the setting agent. It contributes calcium but also a large sulfate load with no nutritional role, and it dissolves too fast for a free choice article where intake is unmetered. Brushite cement replaces it entirely.

Excluded

Added iron

Iron storage disease is a documented risk in certain psittacine and softbill species. A free choice article where the keeper does not control how much the bird takes is the wrong vehicle for a mineral with a narrow margin between sufficiency and overload.

Excluded

Added zinc

Seed already carries zinc. Phytase in the companion powder releases it from phytate binding. Parrots are sensitive to zinc accumulation, and adding it to a free choice article where intake is unmetered creates an unnecessary upper limit risk. Deliberately absent.

Excluded

Synthetic dye

Common enriched blocks are tinted with FD&C Red No. 3 and Yellow No. 5. Neither carries a nutritional function. Color in this block comes from calendula and Capsicum, which carry provitamin A carotenoids. The colorant and the nutrient are the same ingredient.

Excluded

Vitamins in the mineral matrix

Transition metals in a mineral matrix catalyze oxidation of fat soluble vitamins. Published stability data on conventional premixes shows retention below twenty percent after three months. A vitamin figure on the label of a mineral block is largely gone before the bird chews it.

Excluded

Vitamin D3 in the block

D3 governs how much dietary calcium is absorbed at all, which makes it the component that needs a hard limit rather than unmetered delivery. Free choice is the wrong vehicle for a vitamin where excess is a known risk in free choice delivery. UVB is a better route that cannot overdose a bird, because the reaction in skin shuts itself off. Where light cannot reach, D3 is sold separately as a powder for moist food.

Block and powder are a pair

The phytase interlock.

Seed stores phosphorus as phytate, which also binds calcium and zinc so the bird cannot use them. The block delivers calcium. The companion powder delivers phytase, the enzyme that cleaves phytate and releases both phosphorus and the minerals it held hostage.

Published figure

Calcium retention rose 25.1 percentage points with phytase

In the presence of phytate, adding phytase increased calcium retention by 25.1 percentage points. The block supplies the calcium. The powder supplies the enzyme that lets the bird keep it.

Why two products

An enzyme cannot survive the block

Phytase is a protein. It denatures if exposed to the alkaline cure of a cement matrix or the heat of setting. It cannot be baked into the block and remain active. The powder keeps the enzyme separate, dosed on moist food where it contacts the phytate in seed at gut pH.

The block works alone. The powder works alone. Together they interlock: the block lifts the calcium, the powder lifts the retention of that calcium by breaking the phytate that would otherwise sequester it. See Bird N3rdz Powders for the full powder page.

Positioning

Is this right for your bird?

A calcium supplement is not universally beneficial. Whether this one helps depends entirely on what else your bird eats, and for one common feeding pattern the honest answer is that it does not.

01 / Seed

Seed based diets

An all seed ration sits near 0.18:1, far below the accepted range. This is the case the product is built for.

02 / Chop

Chop and fresh food

Fresh food diets run higher in phosphorus than calcium and need additional calcium for balance. Even a greens forward chop still sits near 0.85:1.

03 / Pellets

Formulated pellet diets

A properly formulated pellet already provides a balanced mineral profile. A bird on 60 to 80 percent pellets is already inside the accepted range. For that bird this product has an upper limit rather than a benefit. Two independent reasoning routes close this exclusion: the ratio arithmetic, and the fact that a pellet manufacturer has already formulated for it. We would rather tell you than sell you something.

If you are not sure which describes your bird, ask your avian vet before adding any calcium supplement, including ours.

Introducing the block

Give it time.

Acceptance takes patience, not persistence

Give it time. Birds judge new food by how it makes them feel afterwards, not by how it tastes on first contact, so acceptance often takes two to four weeks. Place it beside a favorite perch or food dish rather than somewhere new. If your bird ignores it at first, that is normal and it is not a fault in the block.

The platform

Six lines, thirteen SKUs, for small keepers.

The same calcium system runs across companion birds, small flocks, freshwater tanks and insectivorous reptiles. What changes is the delivery format, because each animal feeds differently. All six lines are focused on individual keepers and small operations rather than commercial production.

Stick mounted block

Bird N3rdz Mineral Blocks

Companion psittacines and small species. Three hardness grades matched to beak strength. The page you are reading.

In development You are here
Companion powder

Bird N3rdz Powders

Phytase and mineral powder for moist food. The enzymatic pair to the block, releasing calcium and zinc from phytate binding in the seed based diet.

In development Open line
Dusting powder

Reptile N3rdz

Insectivorous reptiles and amphibians. Feeder insects invert the ratio hard. Keepers already dust, so the behavior is in place.

In research Open line
Powder and passive block

Aqua N3rdz Remineralizer

Freshwater tanks. The one line where the element pair is calcium and magnesium rather than calcium and phosphorus.

In research Open line
Loft peck block

Bird N3rdz Pigeon Block

Racing and breeding lofts. Pigeons peck rather than gnaw, so there is no stick.

In research Open line
Feed amendment

Bird N3rdz Poultry Powder

Laying birds and backyard flocks. Shell formation runs overnight, making particle size as important as ratio.

In research Open line

Nothing marked in research is offered for sale, on a waitlist, or scheduled without an open register check. All lines are focused on companion birds, small flocks, small keepers and freshwater tanks. Nothing is offered for sale until verification registers close.

Development status

We publish the open questions too.

This is a research program, not a finished shelf product. Below is the live verification register. Items stay flagged as open until a certificate of analysis or bench data closes them, and nothing moves to sale while a safety item is still open.

Register last reviewed . Items are dated when they close.

ClosedPremise correction: free choice tolerance window replaces supplement level ratio targeting.
Closed3:1 target derivation: modeled across seed, chop and pellet base diets.
ClosedPellet fed exclusion: two independent routes (ratio arithmetic and manufacturer intent).
ClosedBinder decision: brushite cement from two feed grade phosphates replaces calcium sulfate.
OpenHardness windows not yet established. Measured on first production runs.
OpenBrushite cement sets in molds. Untested at production scale.
OpenFlorida humidity 30 days. Stability untested.
OpenPalatability with brewer's yeast at 4%. Untested.
OpenAcceptance latency. Beta program will establish baseline.
OpenLithothamnion price and availability. Unquoted.
OpenLithothamnion honeycomb microstructure survives blending and casting. Untested.
OpenMn and Zn levels vs poultry requirements. No psittacine specific figures found.
OpenHeavy metal screening for lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury on all calcium sources and plant powders. Hard quality gate.

Questions

Straight answers, including the unfinished ones.

What is the hardness ladder?

The line is separated by hardness grade rather than by botanical flavor. Soft is for small species whose beaks cannot work a standard block. Standard is for medium psittacines. The same calcium system is inside all three blocks.

Hardness windows are not yet published because they will be measured on the first production runs rather than assumed from formulation alone.

Why brushite cement instead of plaster?

Plaster of Paris is calcium sulfate. It contributes a large sulfate load with no nutritional role and dissolves too fast for a free choice article. Brushite cement is formed from two feed grade calcium phosphates reacting with water, making the binder itself a controlled calcium and phosphorus source that contributes to the 3:1 formulation target.

Why is zinc deliberately absent?

Seed already carries zinc, and phytase in the companion powder releases it from phytate binding. Parrots are sensitive to zinc accumulation. Adding zinc to a free choice article where intake is unmetered creates an unnecessary upper limit risk. We leave it out deliberately and let the powder handle availability instead.

Why is there no vitamin D3 in the block?

Three reasons. Minerals catalyze the breakdown of fat soluble vitamins, so a D3 figure on a mineral block is largely gone before the bird chews it. Free choice is the wrong vehicle for a vitamin where excess is a known risk in free choice delivery in sensitive species. And UVB is a better route that cannot overdose a bird.

Where light genuinely cannot reach the bird, D3 is sold separately as a powder for moist food, dosed by scoop.

Can my bird take too much?

The formula is built so that self regulation is not the only safeguard. Most of the calcium sits in slowly soluble sources (Lithothamnion honeycomb, cuttlefish aragonite), the fast release fraction is capped at a small percentage of the block, and vitamin D3 is excluded entirely from the matrix. The 3:1 formulation target means the ratio stays in range across a wide span of intake.

Is this right for my bird?

It depends on the rest of the diet. Seed based and chop based birds are the intended use. A bird on a properly formulated pellet diet at 60 to 80 percent of intake is already inside the accepted calcium to phosphorus range, and for that bird this product has an upper limit rather than a benefit. Two independent reasoning routes close that exclusion. If you are not sure which describes your bird, ask your avian vet before adding any calcium supplement, including ours.

What does the companion powder do?

The powder delivers phytase, the enzyme that cleaves phytate in seed and releases the calcium, phosphorus and zinc that phytate holds hostage. Published data shows calcium retention rose 25.1 percentage points with phytase in the presence of phytate. The block supplies the calcium. The powder lets the bird keep it.

What will it cost?

The 100 g blocks (BN-01 and BN-02) are $16.00. Pricing on BN-07 is not yet set. Nothing goes on sale while a safety item is still open on the register. The waitlist receives the first notice.

Is my bird's data or my email shared with anyone?

No. Email addresses and beta questionnaire responses are used for the beta program and for discussing your feedback with you. They are not sold and they are not shared.

Get the first batch

Made to order means the run is small.

Join the list and you get told when the first production run opens, which sizes and blocks it covers, and what the verification register looked like on the day it shipped.

Bird N3rdz beta program

We can only keep so many birds at home and in the lab, and one flock only generates so much data. The beta program extends the testing to your aviary.

Selected testers receive products free of charge to trial, a discount code, and coverage of their birds alongside ours across the Bird N3rdz channels.

Registering sends you one email covering the testing rules, the format we need feedback in, and a few questions about your birds.

We treat the whole operation as one long experiment, and an observation from your cage carries the same weight as one from ours. Feedback is read, logged and answered, and your time is counted as a real cost of the work.

Your details are used for beta testing and feedback only. We do not sell them and we do not share them.

Avian science, in the field

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Hatch footage, cross species comparisons, and the honest version of what happens when a research flock meets a research product. The birds you see on the feed are the birds this line is validated on.

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