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Bird Safe Fresh Foods & Toxic Food Lists & More

Monica

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I seem to be posting this more often, or referring people to it, and since I haven't added it here (got lost, tried to come back, got confused, couldn't figure it out... okay, I'm here!) thought I'd add this in, too!


The list for the grains, legumes, veggies, and fruits are mostly from the Feeding Feathers YH-group. The list of foods to avoid is from Buffalo Parrots. List of seeds, well I just looked at a few packages of bird food to get the ingredients off of. I did add a few things to the lists but didn't remove anything.

FF recommends feeding 15% pulses, 30% grains, 45% veggies, and 10% fruits. (Species specific diets and birds with special dietary needs may differ than the general recommendation). All of this can be mixed together as a 'mash' diet. Fresh foods should take up a minimum of 25% of the diet, but can take up as much as 90% with treats, pellets, nuts, and seeds taking up the rest. Sprouted seeds are healthier than dry seeds. *Some pellet companies may only recommend no more than 10% fresh foods as having any more may "unbalance" their 'balanced' diets*

Cooked grains - can also be sprouted
  • Millet
  • Quinoa
  • Amaranth
  • Whole Oats
  • Hulless Barley
  • Spelt or Kamut
  • Teff
  • Brown Rice
  • Wild Rice
  • Buckwheat

Cooked legumes - or sprouted with 1/4" tails
  • Adzuki
  • Mung
  • Sprouting Peas
  • Lentils
  • 13 Bean Soup minus Spice Packet - not as good as others but works

Vegetables - Fed fresh, lightly steamed, or even frozen (thawed) out of the frozen section in grocery store
  • Pumpkin
  • Carrots
  • Acorn or Butternut Squash
  • Red or Green Pepper
  • Kale
  • Dandelion Greens
  • Mustard Greens
  • Collard Greens
  • Turnip Greens
  • Broccoli
  • Celery
  • Cucumber
  • Romaine or other dark leafy lettuce
  • Jicama
  • Peas
  • Zucchini
  • Green Beans
  • Tomatoes
  • Cabbage
  • Chinese Cabbage
  • Bokchoy
  • Carrot Tops
  • Cactus Leaf
  • Okra
  • Kohlrabi
  • Spaghetti Squash
  • Cauliflower
  • Radish
  • Chayote Squash
  • Brussel Sprouts
  • Escarole
  • Endive
  • Corn
  • Beet Root

Fruits
  • Papaya
  • Mango
  • Any type of berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc)
  • Pomegranate
  • Kiwi
  • Oranges
  • Melons
  • Nectarines
  • Cherries
  • Apricot
  • Grapefruit
  • Banana
  • Pears
  • Apples
  • Figs
  • Pineapple
  • Lemons
  • Limes

Other Foods
  • Whole Wheat Pasta
  • Whole Grain Breads
  • Corn Bread
  • Cooked Eggs
  • Sprouted Seeds




Avoid the following foods

-Avocados

-Dairy Products(Except Yogurt)

-Fruit Rinds

-Rhubarb

-Raw Meats

-Onions

-Garlic

-Chocolate

-Salty/Sugary Foods

-Alcohol

-Fruit Pits

-Peanuts

-Uncooked Rice

-Uncooked Beans

-Seeds of: Pears, Oranges, Papaya, Grapefruit, Grapes, Apples & some Melons

-Mayonnaise products

-Caffeine



And here's an imcomplete list of seeds you could feed: safflower seed, white millet, oat groats, buckwheat, canary grass seed, sunflower seeds, hemp seed (human grade), whole wheat, rolled barley, pumpkin seeds, shelled peanuts, almonds, pine nuts, pistachios, red millet, nyger
 

Monica

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Please note, any of the links below [including next post] may be dead. Sorry if this may cause any inconvenience!


List of Suppliers who sell sprouts!!!



  1. Sprouts
  2. Sprouts for pets
  3. Thrive! Exotic Blend: China Prairie Products








  4. Moran's Critter Connection Best Bird Food Ever


Sprouting Information & Diets

Parrots are my Weakness.: Sprouting for Parrots

 
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Monica

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Billie Faye

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Thanks for your time in doing this Monica! Good info...:hug8:
 
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Bridgette

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Awesome post. I think this should be a sticky!!
 

kudfu

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I totally agree. This is an awesome post and I've already bookmarked it. I know I'll be coming back to it just about daily for a while. :)
 

Anne & Gang

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wow Monica...that is awesome...thanks very much
 

The Cozy Nestbox

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Hmmmm, out of curiosity, what is the basis for the inclusion of papaya seeds on the no-no list? I've fed them with the fruit to our birds for years now and never had a problem. I have traveled through various parts of Asia in the past, and papaya seeds are often included in dressings. I have tasted them myself....kind of peppery in taste.
 

jmfleish

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I feed papaya seeds too as well as garlic and uncooked rice and most smaller seeds are not a problem, such as apple because it would take a million seeds to ever kill an animal.

I also would not recommend the 15 bean soup mix for sprouting. The only beans you ever want to sprout without cooking afterwards are Adzuki, Garbanzo, and Mung.
 

Deejo

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Hmmmm, out of curiosity, what is the basis for the inclusion of papaya seeds on the no-no list? I've fed them with the fruit to our birds for years now and never had a problem. I have traveled through various parts of Asia in the past, and papaya seeds are often included in dressings. I have tasted them myself....kind of peppery in taste.
Good question....have fed them for many years with no problems. They're quite peppery tasting; the birds LOVE them!
 

Monica

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Re: Garlic. Some owners have thought that feeding garlic was safe, so over-fed garlic and killed their birds. If you feed in small amounts, I don't see an issue. It's when you feed too much that it can kill. You'll have to forgive me for the cross-posts, since this is not my own information, but someone elses.

Sandybottomsmn said:
Not to come across as harsh, but garlic can be a huge risk to birds. I am currently writing an article on Avian Toxicity for the Veterinary Technology Magazine, garlic and onions are one of the foods I am highlighting, as its unique that it is also toxic to dogs and cats, but affects them differently.
BioOne Online Journals - Hemoglobinuric Nephrosis and Hepatosplenic Erythrophagocytosis in a Dusky-headed Conure (Aratinga weddelli) After Ingestion of Garlic (Allium sativum) you have to have a subscription to the page so here is the following text giving full credit to the authors Laura L. WadeDVM, Dipl ABVP (Avian) and Shelley J. NewmanDVM, DVSc, Dipl ACVP and Bio One online journals
Medical Journal Abstracts on Onions…



"A dusky-headed conure (Aratinga weddelli) with a history of being force fed a large amount of garlic (Allium sativum) was presented because of anorexia and lethargy. The conure died 1 hour after supportive care was administered. At necropsy, a half clove of garlic and several large pieces of chicken meat were present in the crop. Histopathologic findings of hemoglobinuric nephrosis and hepatosplenic erythrophagocytosis strongly suggested an acute hemolytic event. Frozen kidney and liver samples were negative for polyomavirus DNA, and tissue lead and zinc levels were normal. The clinical presentation and postmortem findings in this conure are similar to those in mammals with onion and garlic (Allium species) toxicosis.



Sudden increase in mortality was observed in 2 different flocks of mature breeder geese fed green onions. At necropsy, birds had pale epicardium with random petechiation, sanguinous fluid accumulation in the pericardial sac, and mild swelling of the liver and spleen. Histologically, there was accumulation of hemosiderin in hepatocytes, Kupffer cells of the liver, macrophages, and renal tubules. There was also moderate to severe hepatic necrosis, vacuolation of hepatocytes, splenitis, and renal tubular nephrosis. To assess the effects of green onion ingestion, 2 feeding trials were carried out in 3 mature White Chinese geese. In the first trial, onions were thoroughly mixed with pellet maintenance ration. In the second trial, onions were offered in a separate trough from the pelleted diet. During the 21 days of experiments, the red blood cell count and hematocrit decreased, whereas the polychromasia and reticulocyte estimate increased. The blood changes were more marked in birds from the second feeding trial. Gross and histologic changes were similar in both trials. Mild swelling and severe darkening of the liver were the only significant findings at necropsy. Histologically, the liver looked similar to that seen from the field outbreak. The liver contained moderate amounts of hemosiderin in the hepatocytes and Kupffer cells, and had centrolobular necrosis and vacuolation of hepatocytes. This experimental study demonstrated that anemia and liver pathology could be caused by ingestion of onions. Furthermore, Heinz bodies are not a consistent finding in the blood of geese fed onions."

Sandybottomsmn said:
That is true. However, I have taken a call at work (pet poison help line) from a woman whose bird was regurgitating clear liquid and not wanting to eat for 24 hours. After much run down of his diet, two days previously she had been eating pasta and giving him the chunks of garlic out of it. Unfortunately lab research has never proven any LD 50 (the amount a which 50% of the animals fed will die) for birds. However, there has never been a definitive LD 50 for avocado either, as most of the testing has been based off of feeding large amounts of this, but we all know that even small amounts can be deadly from personal stories of others. I guess in my opinion, can things like onions, garlic, avocado, and honey be given and an animal have no reaction? Yes, I know a woman who routinely gives her macaws a small amount of avocado once a week because she claims its what has brought them back from feather picking. Most of us here would never even try that. But we've heard that these things can be harmful to other animals, why take the risk? Some people (as you said) really dont understand the term moderation

Although I suppose it could be said of some other foods - feed too much of a good thing, and it will kill. An owner of a lovebird(or was it a parrotlet? I forget) had fed her bird kale and one other food exclusively - both foods on the 'safe to feed list'. However, this is all that the bird was fed (i.e. no variety in foods), and after several years, I guess there was an oxalate build-up (what prevents calcium absorption in the body) from all the kale that eventually killed the bird. I can't recall where I read this incident, unfortunately. Might be on a forum that has since been shut down. I don't know if it should be anything to worry about, since oxalates are found in a variety of foods.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=48
Oxalate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The Cozy Nestbox, you would have to ask Buffalo Parrots that question. It may have been simply from hearing that all pit fruit seeds are toxic, and thus papaya was included? Now, papaya is not a pit fruit, so I can't say. Below is the link to their safe & toxic food page.
Good and Bad Parrot Foods - Buffalo Parrot

jmfleish, I agree with the bean mixes. Hundreds of parrot owners have been using these mixes, even mixes that include kidney beans. I usually only recommend using the safer ones - Adzuki, Mung, Sprouting Peas, Lentils. As for rice, I was under the impression that many grains are safe to food uncooked, but rice needs to be cooked or sprouted. I never actually researched into the subject, and just feel safer feeding it 'soft' vs dry. And apples, well I have heard of one macaw owner who fed their B&G apples all the time, and the bird was still thriving! I don't know if it has anything to do with the type of apple seeds or not.
 
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jmfleish

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Garlic in large quantities can indeed be harmful but garlic is very beneficial in small amounts, acting as a natural antibiotic and can be fed raw. I've been doing it for years with no ill effects and the birds love it.

As for rice, I think people believe the old wive's tale of the dry rice expanding in the gut and the bird "exploding". It's totally false and dry rice is absolutely fine.

Apple seeds contain small amounts of cyanide but you would have to feed so many of them that there is absolutely no danger of death from a single apple and it's seeds, probably not even ten.
 

Ginich

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Hi Monica- I just joined this forum yesterday and, lo and behold, I found an unsolicited recommendation for Gini's BIRDIEBREAD Cones & Muffins! Thank you so much!
 

Monica

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Hi Gini! I saw that you had joined! I usually don't post too much here, and I've never gotten any of your bread for my guys, but I know many birds love your stuff! So of course I'd have to recommend you! Your foods and treats are made with love, and the birds in mind! :heart:
 

Sparkles

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I have to agree that garlic in large amounts is harmful, but in small dosages is actually really healthy. It can help with infections because it's a natural antibiotic.
 

hrich59

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This article states that peanuts are on the "no list". I just got my umbrella cockatoo a month ago, and I bought her a bag of parrot food that contains whole peanuts in it. She likes them and eats them. Could you give me your source that caused you to decide to put them on the list? Until I hear from you, I'll sort them out.
 
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