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Snails


Ultrastu
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Yep, had similar a couple of years ago with about a dozen  pigeons that each had six to eight small snails like the ones in your photo.

I will go back through my game book to find out what crop I was shooting over and report back, but I think that it was laid wheat, which would make sense with the snails possibly climbing up the stalks.

Just shows what an opportunist bird the wood pigeon is.

OB

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14 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

Amazing how they manage to grind those up in their gizzards.  Certainly the first time I have seen it in 60yrs of cleaning pigeons.

Surely snails are more 'grindable/digestible' than dry beans or even acorns.

OB

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I was thinking the shells, but yes, your right. Certainly, horse beans and even wheat is as hard but may be moistened and softened somewhat in the crop prior to passing into the gizzard. The snail shells would not.  A heron will swallow a rat or duckling whole and manages to dissolve and grind the bones so  I suppose the snail shells would be no problem.

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58 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

You dont suppose the bird picked these snails up as very small youngsters (thinking they were grain ).and they have grown inside the crop ? 

I would very much doubt that.

I thought it was fairly common knowledge amongst pigeon shooters that they will eat snails.

Edited by motty
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6 hours ago, Walker570 said:

Amazing how they manage to grind those up in their gizzards.  Certainly the first time I have seen it in 60yrs of cleaning pigeons.

Yes, I've had birds with little else but snails in their crop so they must be able to grind them up. On the same note a wild turkey I shot this spring had a few complete hazel nuts in it's crop. Now that would take some grinding!

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3 hours ago, lord_seagrave said:

Slightly off-topic, but I was fascinated to see footage of a Lammergeier in Ethiopia swallowing huge pieces of bone - apparently its stomach juices are more corrosive than battery acid :sick:

Nature is brilliant, isn’t it⸮

LS

your gut ph is between 1.5 - 3 and battery acid around 1, it is super strong and made up of potassium chloride and hydroclhorid acid among others. Your own gut does not dissolve as it constantly makes proteins by globlet cells which produce a thick mucous that protects the stomach lining and the lining is constantly being replaced.

Yep it is highly corrosive and can deal with bone. This is one of the reasons that gastroesophageal reflux can damage your gut lining as the acid gets up into areas where there is not the protective globlet cells. .

I would surmise that the crop of a piggie deals with them no problem as an important mineral source.

As humans we have teeth and can masticate (chew our food) 

Wonder if pigeons also use the snail shells as Wrangle  mastication to break down the hard outer husks of grains in the same process that game birds and raptors use wrangle in their crop, such as grit. 

atb

7diaw

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