Shelled peanuts

[Emily Wiley]

Hi everyone!
I have 2 green cheek conures and I am wondering if it is safe to give them shelled peanuts as a treat once in a while? If so, should I buy unsalted human peanuts in the shell or the ones they sell in the pet stores for parrots or wild birds? Thanks!

 

[saroj12]

There are much better nuts than peanuts. Avoid peanuts. Almonds are very beneficial, walnuts, pistachios. Cashews make one of my birds ill.

 

[Emily Wiley]

I thought they would be a good thing to put in their foraging toy to keep them occupied for a bit. I thought the shell would make them work for it. Why do peanuts have such a bad wrap anyways?

 

[Flipburry]

They're very high in fat and can cause an assortment of health issues, although I think a peanut every once in a blue moon should be fine, you might as well go for other nuts.
Like the ones Saroj mentioned. Although cashews are bird safe, but all birds handle food differently.

 

[janicedyh]

Wow that pic went in 3 times. Won't let me edit and take away 2 either. Oh well. I was saying, Nelson loves this and it has a lot of variety. I think his is the smaller version

 

[Peachfaced]

I thought they would be a good thing to put in their foraging toy to keep them occupied for a bit. I thought the shell would make them work for it. Why do peanuts have such a bad wrap anyways?

The main reason? Aspergillosis.

Peanuts are very susceptible to fungi, including Aspergillus flavus. This type of fungus can be an Aspergillosis source and a producer of a type of poison called aflatoxin.

Read more here: April 2011 Newsletter

It just isn't worth the risk, especially when there are better options out there for nut lovers.

 

[camelotshadow]

Peanuts are not worth the rick as that a pretty serious asperr is a serious illness.
It might be more in the shell or lining but it can get in the peanut & not sure if roasting them kills it. I would think it should
but the peanuts in seed seem to be raw & even if they don't eat the peanut the fungus can spread to the seed in the bag.

Yeah, Rio came on Higgins Conure Feast & it had peanuts in it. I switched to Higgins without peaanuts.
Truthfull Rio does not like nuts so he probably never ate a peanut.

So sad as he turns his nose up to almonds, walnuts etc...

 

[XstatyK]

I have a hookbill feed that has nuts in it, guess i should pick the peanuts out

 

[Shinobi]

No Peanuts

 

[Peachfaced]

I have a hookbill feed that has nuts in it, guess i should pick the peanuts out

Fungus contaminates the other seeds too. Best to throw it all out.

 

[Lady Jane]

The cheaper bird foods, mostly sold in pet stores do contain peanuts. It is best not to feed these to any parrot, ever! The shells can contain a mold during the growth or processing which can be absorbed by a bird. Like said there are so many more nuts that can be put in a container for foraging like almonds. Walnuts are great for birds. You can partially crack them open and put in a foraging box.

 

[Jaguar]

Peanuts found in pet foods, especially whole in shell ones, are likely to be ones deemed to be too poor quality for human consumption. That's scary in a lot of ways - we don't know if that was determined by how they were stored or handled or what conditions they were grown in. There is still a detectable level of aflatoxins allowed in human grade foods, so the risk is always there. Corn is another big harborer of asper, even moreso than peanuts since corn in some form is in everything these days.

That said, I personally still feel comfortable feeding foods that contain peanuts - like Harrisons pellets.

 

[Hankmacaw]

The article that @Peachfaced posted is excellent. One of the best I've seen for laymen to read.

I had flashbacks when reading the testimonials by the owners of Asper birds. It seems that I went through at least part of every persons' experience with my Hank. It was a four year long nightmare. When I got him he had chronic Aspergillosis (Aspergillosis comes in Acute and Chronic forms) and Jasper contracted Asper too, but she healed rather easily - only three months of treatment.

Every peanut out there is not going to immediately kill your bird, but birds do not have a sign on their foreheads that say I'm immunosuppressed, or I'm particularly sensitive to Aspergillosis. I don't know of one veterinarian who says, "Go ahead feed peanuts, you may or may not give your bird Asper". You just don't know - so why take the chance.

 

[camelotshadow]

Hmmm seems alot of pionus sick in that article...

I have a austin air cleaner with a allergy filter close to Rios cage & one in my bedroom.

Something I splurged on before chemo.

 

[BrianB]

I've avoided peanuts because of the salt content. My birds love almonds, and dried peppers oddly enough. I buy a bulk bag of raw almonds from the local grocery store and use them as treats once in a while.

 

[jmfleish]

I think that Pis are particularly sensitive to asper which also lives in our everyday air, so you have to be careful about husbandry practices, especially in moist, wet areas of the country. I don't think human grade roasted peanuts are a bad thing but they are fatty and there are better nut choices out there. I would never feed anything to my birds that wasn't human grade besides their pellets and I would always choose a good pellet like Harrison's, Lefeber's, Zupreem, Roudybush or a few others. I'd stay away from anything Kaytee makes but that's my personal preference...