Toxic Foods: Avocado, Chocolate, Coffee, Salt Chocolate, coffee, and cocoa contain Theo bromine, which is toxic to birds. Do not give these to your birds and do not leave them out where your bird could get a hold of them. Avocado is toxic, particularly to African species, but should not be given to any birds. A breeder related to us a story in which a sun Conure baby they sold to a family was fed guacamole even though the new owners were warned about avocado. The sun Conure was dead the next morning. No guacamole. Parrots cannot excrete salt the way we can. High-salt foods can be harmful to them. An occasional nibble from a chip might be okay, but don't let them get into the habit. Junk food is not good for your parrot. Avoid high-fat, high-sugar, and high-salt snacks. Once in a blue moon won't kill them, but beware of giving foods like this. Parrots can get into bad habits just like humans. Resist the temptation to give in to them if they "beg" for your chips. Although it seems obvious, I will state it nonetheless. DO NOT GIVE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES to your bird under any circumstances. It is cruel, not amusing, to get your bird drunk. Their liver cannot metabolize the alcohol. Overheated Oil It has been reported that overheated oil on the stovetop can be as lethal to birds as overheated Teflon. Be sure that birds are removed from the kitchen immediately if you burn oil and vent the room thoroughly. Vents over ovens should be used on high at all times when cooking in a bird household. Mineral Blocks - many mineral blocks contain grit in the mixture. It's best to avoid them because grit can cause serious blockage. I also received this e-mail about lava rocks from a cockatiel owner recently. Hi, my 14 year old cockatiel Penny is very ill as we speak with an impaction and iron toxicity suspected from chewing on a lava rock toy. He has had this hanging lava rock with attached bell since he was very young. He became weak and fell last weak; his poop was black with blood. X rays showed he was impacted, the vet asked about grit and she was told he never had been offered grit but I remembered this toy, which he has always been enamored with, chewing and picking with it daily. Since posting his plight on a website I frequent daily, I have heard repeated stores of the same -parrots ingesting their lava rock toys, leading to impactions and often time deaths. I am surprised to have never been warned of their danger so I thought I'd email this in. I am praying and hoping for the best for my Penny. Apparently the ingested rock chards have passed the crop now, he is no longer passing blood but is still weak from the iron overload, and they are awaiting test results to start therapy on him. Brenda G, owner of 4 wonderful tiels in Madison, Al Cooking Bag Death Confirmed on Necropsy This new report of the dangers of cooking bags is backed by the results of a veterinarian's necropsy. Since this is the second brand of bag reported here, I would say all cooking bags are suspect at this point and probably contain a Teflon-related chemical. Durkee Cooking Bags. A woman reports that her Senegal, Fred, died from exposure to these heated bags: "We had a necropsy done and the results came back Teflon Toxicosis. I had to wait until morning to get him to a vet! I didn't want to tell my hubby, but I knew that his bird wasn't coming home. I know enough about birds and symptoms that Fred was in serious trouble. The vet was good. He knew by looking and listening to Fred that he was in respiratory distress. He tried oxygen but Fred was too far gone. The vet did try to contact the manufacturer after I was told by them that the information I was requesting (whether the bags contained Teflon) was "proprietary information." (The Vet was also unable to get a straightforward response from the company.) Reynold's Cooking Bags. A woman brought home a box of the new Reynold's oven cooking bags. They were made of aluminum and plastic. The instructions stated that they could sustain temperatures up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. She used two bags in an oven heated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and set the timer for 40 minutes. After 30 minutes she came back in the room to find her Amazon gasping for air and its eyes severely burned. He would have been dead in another 10 minutes. A metallic odor filled the house. Several other amazons in other parts of the house suffered eye irritations. TEFLON FUMES ARE POISONOUS TO BIRDS Don't forget that bird owners need to beware of nonstick cookware. I know many people will say it's okay to use as long as you don't overheat it, but all it takes is a few minutes of inattention for a nonstick pan to overheat, releasing fumes that are known to kill birds. VETERINARY REFERENCES CONFIRM THE DANGERS OF OVERHEATED TEFLON Blandford TB, Seamon PJ, Hughes R, Pattison M, Wilderspin MP. "A case of polytetrafluoroethylene poisoning in cockatiels accompanied by polymer fume fever in the owner." Veterinary Record, 1975, V.96, No. 8, p.175-176. Duff P. "Acute inhalant toxicosis of cage birds." Veterinary Record, 1997, V. 141, No. 4, p. 107. Ehrsam H. ["Fatal poisoning of small pet birds following accidental overheating of cooking pans lined with polytetrafluorethylene."] Schweiz Arch Tierheilkd (Switzerland), 1969, V. 111, No. 4, p. 181-186. Forbes NA, Jones D. "PTFE toxicity in birds." Veterinary Record, 1997, V. 140, N. 19, p. 512. Holt PE. "PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) toxicity in birds." Veterinary Record, 1997, V. 141, No. 7, p. 180. Lumeij JT. ["Risk for pet birds following exposure to burn products of pans coated with PTEF and butter."] Tijdschr Diergeneeskd (Netherlands), 1997, Vol. 122, No. 24, p. 720. Stoltz JH, Galey F, Johnson B. "Sudden death in ten psittacine birds associated with the operation of a self-cleaning oven." Veterinary and Human Toxicology, 1992, Vol. 34, No. 5, p. 420-421. Temple WA, Edwards IR, Bell SJ. "Poly (polymer) fume fever - two fatal cases (cage birds)." New Zealand Veterinary Journal, 1985, Vol. 33, No. 3, p. 30. Temple WA, Edwards IR, Bell SJ. "Poly fume fever - two fatal cases (poisoning of Psittaciformes by fumes from heated Teflon saucepans)." Australian Veterinary Practitioner, 1985, Vol. 15, No. 2, p. 66. Wells RE. "Fatal toxicosis in pet birds caused by an overheated cooking pan lined with polytetrafluoroethylene." Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 1983, Vol. 182, No. 11, p. 1248-1250. Wells RE, Slocombe RF, Trapp AL. "Acute toxicosis of budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) caused by pyrolysis products from heated polytetrafluoroethylene: clinical study." American Journal of Veterinary Research, 1982, Vol. 43, No. 7, p. 1238-1242. Wells RE, Slocombe RF. "Acute toxicosis of budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) caused by pyrolysis products from heated polytetrafluoroethylene: microscopic study." American Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Vol. 43, No. 7, p. 1243-1248. |
VEGGIES, VEGGIES, VEGGIES All birds should have some type of vegetable with their meals. Ha! Easier said than done It can be frustrating and concerning especially when they look in their bowls like we've given them something foul (No pun intended). I know for my birds it was difficult at first; I pleaded, I begged, I cheated and then learned to be creative and most of all persistent. Believe me, if you're going to be upset over wasteful discarding of food, don't read on! A couple of my birds will throw a piece of carrot or celery right across the room not to mention redecorating the bottom and sides or their cages. And there are some days they don't even give them a look, but when they eat them, I'm so pleased and they have gotten another vital part of their diet. Let's talk about the basics: Why is it important for the birds to eat vegetables? Simple! They will have better overall health, a longer life with you and their diet will be varied and more interesting and stimulate them to forage and search for favorites. This in turn this will give us cheaper vet bills, years of love and companionship and beautifully feathered birds. It is important to know your bird! Research the nutritional needs of your species. Remember though, just because you don't like broccoli doesn't mean your bird won't like it! "Sneak Attack" My methods of getter my bird to eat vegetables was and is simple! I take the "Sneak Attack" approach By sneak attack I mean being creative, learning to camouflage food and how to dress up those veggies that some birds will toss across the room being persistent will in the end give you a true veggie lover! 1. Food preparation; My birds like to watch what I'm doing and want to take part in whatever that may be. I let the birds see me tasting from the same salad/veggie bowl that I prepare for them. Mine can't stand not knowing what I'm fussing about; making noise and showing my enjoyment is a big hit! This is the time to introduce (in small portions) the veggies. Once again, be persistent, don't give up. Do this each day with different fruits and veggies. Remember, like children they like to win now and again so occasionally slip in a nut or a piece of their favorite fruit. 2. Paper and leafy greens; Tear up strips of paper and cut dark leafed lettuce and greens and alternate the leaf and paper strips then tie with string and place on the side or top of the cage. It won't be long before it's all shredded, the birds will get some nutritional value this way. 3. Colored food dishes; Use different colored dishes, bright colors seem to naturally attract the birds. Place these dishes in different locations so the birds will have interest. Note: A friend told me she did this and placed the fruit and veggies dish in the location where the pellets/seed dish normally went. When she arrived home she noted the bird had eaten some of the veggies as if it was all he was supposed to have gotten! She then showed the bird what was in the other dish (his normal pellets) and he was dumbfounded. Now he looks in every bowl in his cage. That's a perfect example of being sneaky! 4. String game; Cut your fruit and veggies in half inch size pieces. In addition to the fruit and veggies take a hand full of Cheerio's. Thread the string through the fruit and veggies placing the Cheerio's on either side. Tie the colorful strings across the corners of the cage or from the tops of the cage. Your birds will have a lot of fun with these. Note: Dangling strings/wires can be extremely dangerous and open loops of string/wire even more so. Please make sure once the birds have eaten them, remove the string. Do NOT leave in the cages if you are not close at hand to watch them, OR use a cotton string from an all-cotton mop. Most birds, including cockatiels can chew through those. 5. Kabobs; as with the veggie strings, you can thread fruits and veggies on small wooden kebab spikes. This is a favorite for my birds and you can find the kabob sticks in your local grocery store. Note: Once all the fruits and veggies are placed on the kebabs, cut off the spiky end of the kabob for safety. 6. Flower pots; Flower pots can be crocks, stainless steel food bowels and literally NEW heavy duty flower pots, the pressed card board planters can also be used. Take the broccoli and perhaps the slender ends of carrots and form a tight bunch. Place inside the pots (tightly) and place at the bottom of the cage. The sneaky example is to place as close as possible on the OUTSIDE of the cage. The birds will think its one of those "No-no" things to do and so be absolutely irresistible. 7. Toy distractions; Place favorite toys, colorful wooden blocks around the food dishes. This way they can play and eat without realizing their eating veggies. I have Amazon's and when they play they get REALLY excited. They don't even stop to think before diving into their dish when they're in their "happy" mood whilst playing. Another great toy "sneak attack" is to place a NEW toy next to their dish each time you introduce a new veggie to their diet. They WILL remember that. |
Species Specific Diets. First species will be Amazon's as those are what I have. My Amazon's as with most Amazon's are great eaters and not afraid to try something different. They love their fruit and veggies as well as their cooked food. I am only giving you ideas of what to feed Amazon's, however, the diet I give my birds can be used for just about all species of parrots give or take! General health: Amazons have a tendency toward obesity and related health issues. Their life span is generally between 40 80 years although the oldest recorded Amazon was reported at 119 years of age. Obesity can reduce the general age up to 70%. It's very important to get your avian vet to weigh your birds annually to evaluate any weight gain or loss. It's a good idea to weigh your birds yourself every three months if able. That way you can keep a running weight log and be able to notice any changes. In conjunction with a good diet, exercise is a must especially flying! If your bird is trimmed, you can hold your bird up and let them flap Diet: Watch the daily fat content in the food you give your Amazon's. Pellets (medium/large) are good for Amazon's as long as that is not all they are given. Fresh vegetables (whatever is in season), some fruit, sprouts, and grains (quinoa especially) are great. Flower petals and fun too, but are not always in season and NEVER give your birds flowers unless you know they are harmless. Speak to you VET not your neighbor about which plants and flowers are safe for your birds. Don't forget fruits are high in sugar and spoil quickly especially in the summer. Fruits are not as important (or as nutritious) as are fresh vegetables. Be very careful with giving your birds strawberries that are not certified organic due to the harmful pesticides used for growing remember with all fresh fruit and veg washing first in running water is a much. I make up a fruit/veggie salad every three days, depending on what is in season I will have 1 orange, 1 peach, 1 nectarine, 1 mango, a couple of slices of fresh pineapple, grape, 1 apple, (remember to put the apple in the mix, for some reason this is very helpful to the Amazon's in sorting out tummy issues). Veggies, are 1 half green zucchini, 1 half yellow zucchini, 2 heads of broccoli, 2 large carrots, fresh snap pea's, chopped red lettuce and 1 cup of cooked mix veggies. This mixture is prepare and mixed together and served with the cooked bean/lentil mix each morning. I use a mixture of seeds, nuts (in very small amounts), grains, oats, 9 different kinds of beans, brands, lentils and several others available and in season and mix in together as a base diet. I use NO sunflower seeds at all. Natural colored noodles and wild rice are also nice for color and texture. Calcium is important for Blue Fronts as well as Grays. Fresh yogurt is great for calcium but must NOT be left in the cage for longer than an hour. Use is as a treat, for the special close, sharing time. A cuttle fish is also good for Amazon's and mine enjoy theirs very much. DO NOT GIVE GRIT TO THIS OR ANY OTHER PARROT SPECIES. |
Ivy & Bailey |
Jessie and Doodlebug |
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Questions or further info please click on mail box for correct address kenyamemsaab@alaska.net |
The articles on this page were all written by Diane in Alaska. She at that time was the "Birdie Gourmet Chef" for her bird club. She has most graciously shared these important works with all of us... |
Thank you Di for sharing these articles with us. |
