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Do you soak nuts prior to feeding?

Chris1234

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Hi everyone!

Do you guys soak nuts for your birds prior to feeding?

I'm ordering nuts for the birds and came across this awesome site with this mix. They mainly get them as treats each day (for my Rose Breasted Too I wrap a few pieces in tissue paper each day and hide them throughout her cage in different toys).

I'm always researching and I prefer to give my birds raw nuts (they're better nutrition wise), but they're also higher in phytic acid. People in the avian community are recommending soaking nuts 12-24 hours to neutralize the acid. Most think this is just a precaution and that as long as they're not getting tons of nuts each day, the acid won't really affect them. It's one of those "better safe than sorry" deals.

Anyway, below are the nuts this mix comes with and what I've researched about soaking them. The soak times are mainly courtesy of Jason Creans FB page Avian Raw whole Food Nutrition and this health website.

-Almonds (soak 8-12 hrs)
-Brazil nuts (soak 12 hrs)
-Cashews (one site says soak 2.5 hrs, the other 6 hrs)
-Hazelnuts/Filberts: (soak 8 hours)Pecans (one site says soak 4-6 hrs, the other 8 hrs)
-Macadamia nuts (soak 4 hours)
-Pistachios (Hard to find feeding info for birds. One site recommended 2 hr soak, another 8. Jason Crean's page said slightly roasted ones are recommended, so I may just pick these out since it's a raw mix.)
-Walnuts (one site says soak 4 hrs, the other 8 hrs.)

My guess is that the lower the soak time, the less acidic they are. So since my birds don't get many of these in their weekly diets, I may just rinse the ones with longer rinse times. Any thoughts? What do you guys do?
 

Mizzely

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I honestly don't feed nuts often (1-2 a month?) so don't bother. Soaked almonds are delicious though; I've had them myself!
 

jmfleish

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I haven't soaked nuts in a really long time because I'm too afraid of the bacterial growth that can occur. I do offer that mix to my birds though and it's really nice!
 

EllaMay

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Ella has to have her Almonds soaking in water, she use to put them in her water dish and then couldn't fish them out. :wacky: So I use a hanging coconut bowl that has a drain hole and sit it in a stainless water bowl, soaks for around an hour or so while she is out playing, she takes the coconut shell out of the water and is one happy camper. :D
 

faislaq

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I've never heard of this. @EllaMay do you have a pic of Ella's coconut bowl contraption? It almost sounds like a soaker and a foraging to in one. And why does she have to have them soaked? Is it just her preference or is it the phytic acid or another reason?
 

EllaMay

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Her's is similar to this one except has a drilled hole in the bottom and just plastic links instead of the chains. I have 3 as back ups and can't remember which vendor I ordered them from. o_O

Ella prefers to have her almonds soaked, she started putting them in water in the beginning when she was a babe, just had a time trying to fish them out of the water so this worked perfectly and she can swing it out of the water (she even watches it drain :D) and holds the bowl to retrieve her almonds.

Amazon.com : Natural Coconut Shell Bird Swing Toy for Parrot Parakeet Cockatiel Conure Cockatoo Macaw African Grey Budgie Lovebird Finch Cage Nest Perch : Pet Supplies
 

faislaq

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she can swing it out of the water (she even watches it drain :D) and holds the bowl to retrieve her almonds.
:heart2:How precious!
 
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