i have read that no bird actually needs grit in their diet.
That's not true. There are species of birds that DO need grit to digest. The difference being in how the eat their seed. If you see the bird removing the hull - the thin, hard covering - from the seed, then they don't need grit. If you see them eating the seed whole, hull and all, they need grit to grind off the hulls of the seeds in their crops. A parakeet, cockatiel, canary or finch hulls its seed before eating, so they don't need grit. A little bit won't hurt them, but they don't have to have it. A chicken or a dove eats its seed whole, so it MUST have grit.


I agree with PCB, sandpaper perch covers look like a good idea at first glance, but they are really hard on birds' feet, and can contribute to a disease called Bumble Foot. Don't use them.


Yes, it is possible to housetrain a parrot, to some degree.