Shell grit

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Shell grit is coarsely ground or broken seashells. It is used, among other things, by birds as a source of calcium for egg shell production, and to aid digestion. [1]

Other uses include protecting plants from slugs or snails [2] and in aquariums.

Related Research Articles

Snail mollusc

A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name snail is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have a coiled shell that is large enough for the animal to retract completely into. When the word "snail" is used in this most general sense, it includes not just land snails but also numerous species of sea snails and freshwater snails. Gastropods that naturally lack a shell, or have only an internal shell, are mostly called slugs, and land snails that have only a very small shell are often called semi-slugs.

Limpkin species of bird

The limpkin, also called carrao, courlan, and crying bird, is a bird that looks like a large rail, but is skeletally closer to cranes. It is the only extant species in the genus Aramus and the family Aramidae. It is found mostly in wetlands in warm parts of the Americas, from Florida to northern Argentina. It feeds on molluscs, with the diet dominated by apple snails of the genus Pomacea. Its name derives from its seeming limp when it walks.

Trematoda class of worms

Trematoda is a class within the phylum Platyhelminthes. It includes two groups of parasitic flatworms, known as flukes.

Asian openbill large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae

The Asian openbill or Asian openbill stork is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. This distinctive stork is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is greyish or white with glossy black wings and tail and the adults have a gap between the arched upper mandible and recurved lower mandible. Young birds are born without this gap which is thought to be an adaptation that aids in the handling of snails, their main prey. Although resident within their range, they make long distance movements in response to weather and food availability.

Whelk A common name that is applied to various kinds of sea snail

Whelk is a common name that is applied to various kinds of sea snail. Although a number of whelks are relatively large and are in the family Buccinidae, the word whelk is also applied to some other marine gastropod species within several families of sea snails that are not very closely related.

Siphon (mollusc) anatomical structure which is part of the body of some aquatic molluscs

A siphon is an anatomical structure which is part of the body of aquatic molluscs in three classes: Gastropoda, Bivalvia and Cephalopoda.

American oystercatcher species of bird

The American oystercatcher, occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher, is a member of family Haematopodidae. Originally called the "sea pie", it was renamed in 1731 when naturalist Mark Catesby observed the bird eating oysters. The current population of American oystercatchers is estimated to be 43,000. There are estimated to be 1,500 breeding pairs along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the US. The bird is marked by its black and white body and a long, thick orange beak.

Heliciculture practice of breeding snails for human consumption

Heliciculture, also known as heliculture, commonly known as snail farming, is the process of raising land snails specifically for human use, either to use their flesh as edible escargot or, more recently, to obtain snail slime for use in cosmetics and snail eggs for human consumption as a type of caviar.

Bird food food (often varieties of seeds, nuts, or dried fruits) eaten by birds; fodder

Bird food is food eaten by birds. While most bird food is fed to commercial fowl, people also use bird food to feed pet birds or wild birds.

A molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specialises in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods and cephalopods. Known molluscivores include numerous predatory molluscs,, arthropods such as crabs and firefly larvae, and, vertebrates such as fish, birds and mammals. Molluscivory is performed in a variety ways with some animals highly adapted to this method of feeding behaviour. A similar behaviour, durophagy, describes the feeding of animals that consume hard-shelled or exoskeleton bearing organisms, such as corals, shelled molluscs, or crabs.

Epiphragm

An epiphragm is a temporary structure which can be created by many species of shelled, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks. It can also be created by freshwater snails when temporary pools dry up.

Land snail

A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to sea snails and freshwater snails. Land snail is the common name for terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells. However, it is not always easy to say which species are terrestrial, because some are more or less amphibious between land and fresh water, and others are relatively amphibious between land and salt water.

Burrill Lake Town in New South Wales, Australia

Burrill Lake is a small village on the Princes Highway in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is a seaside suburb of the Milton-Ulladulla district, a part of the City of Shoalhaven local government area and surrounds the lake of the same name. In 2011, the population of the State Suburb of Burrill Lake was 1,328. The name of the town is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning 'wallaby'.

Slug common name for an apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc

Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word slug is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a small internal shell, particularly sea slugs and semislugs.

Mollusca Large phylum of invertebrate animals

Mollusca is the second largest phylum of invertebrate animals. The members are known as molluscs or mollusks. Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estimated between 60,000 and 100,000 additional species.

<i>Norrisia norrisii</i> species of mollusc

The marine snail Norrisia norrisii is a medium-sized gastropod mollusk within the family Tegulidae. It has several common names, including Norris's top snail, Norris's topsnail, norrissnail, smooth brown turban snail, or kelp snail. It was first described by G.B. Sowerby I under the name Trochiscus norrisii.

<i>Neverita duplicata</i> species of mollusc

Neverita duplicata, common name the shark eye, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Naticidae, the moon snails.

<i>Clinostomum marginatum</i> species of worm

Clinostomum marginatum is a species of parasitic fluke. It is commonly called the "yellow grub". It is found in many freshwater fish in North America, and no fish so far is immune to this parasite. This type of fluke can also be found in the mouth of aquatic birds such as herons and egrets. They are commonly present in the esophagus of fish-eating birds and reptiles. Eggs of these trematodes are shed in the feces of aquatic birds and released into water. Aquatic birds become hosts of this parasite by ingesting infected freshwater fish. The metacercariae are found right beneath the skin or in the muscles of host fish.

Poultry feed

Poultry feed is food for farm poultry, including chickens, ducks, geese and other domestic birds.

<i>Hedleyella falconeri</i> species of mollusc

Hedleyella falconeri, the giant panda snail, is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Caryodidae. It is the largest species of land snail to be found in Australia.

References

  1. Holderread, Dave (19 January 2011). Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, 2nd Edition: Breeds, Care, Health. Storey Publishing.
  2. Snails, Shell grit & Liliums - Gardening in Oz Forum - GardenWeb Archived February 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine .