sweet potato

[sl8tr]

Hi. Anyone know if it is safe to serve sweet potato raw? Thanks

 

[wonderb]

I know some people run it through the food processor raw and add it to chop, which then gets frozen and thawed. I personally feel more comfortable feeding it cooked.

 

[lotus15]

I think that it is "safe," but it is more nutritive to cook it.

 

[TikiLola]

I boil sweet potato just until tender (3-4 minutes) then submerge in ice cold water for a few minutes and drain, before I put it in the food processor.

Raw Food Toxins | VegPeace.org
Maybe some birds can handle raw sweet potato, but I wouldn't take a chance with my little guys.

 

[Katster]

we boil the sweet potato here too. Dante doesn't have it in a daily basis though. He doesn't like it that much. He gets 6-8 bites out of it.

 

[Daisy_G2]

If you haven't yet, try using white sweet potatoes (with white or yellow flesh inside). Both Baby and Daisy love them cooked. I like them a lot better than regular orange sweet potatoes.

 

[Gen120]

I always cook the sweet potatoes instead of feeding them raw, feels safer to me that way. My birds love sweet potato mixed in their chop mix about once a week or so.. it has a huge vitamin A content!

 

[sl8tr]

Ok thanks all. I'll Go with the general consensus. Thanks

Brian/Dayna have not ever seen those types of potatoes but I wasn't looking for then either. Will next time I go to the store. Thanks

 

[MacDaddie]

My girls love sweet potato, I use it raw in chop, and I feed it baked as well. Hys can be problematic feeders and one food they seem to love is sweet potato and it is a great food!!

 

[allison]

I used to feed raw sweet potatoes before I found out it was toxic. I never had an issue but the toxins may build in the body and the bird may not show signs right away.

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

All potatoes are related to the deadly nighshade family of plants. It is safer to cook them. One note, when you feed white sweet potatoes, which are native to Africa, you lose the best reason for feeding them: the high vitamin A content. I really don't see a reason to feed white sweet potatoes; might as well just give plain potatoes.

There is a Unicef program through the UN and the World Food Bank to give the orange sweet potatoes to the women in villiages in Africa to eradicate vitamin A deficiency in Africa. The women, who control the things in the gardens, have embraced the new potatoe and they are finding many less A deficiency problems in the populations just in a short two year time period. When you take a minute to realize how much vitamin A influences eye health, you can see how wonderful a change this is.

 

[OSUtoo]

I always cook them. Makes me feel better.

I'm just glad Malley likes sweet potatoes since they are one of those veggies that is really great. I didn't think I'd have a problem since he seems to like other versions of potatoes (bird after my own heart, hehe), and I'm glad he liked them from the start. There's a sweet potato out in the kitchen right now as a matter of fact, that I'm going to cook up and share with him tomorrow evening.