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Nuts? In shells? What's the general consensus?

RN48

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Hi there,

So I have 2 Indian ringneck parrots and they both love flaked almonds and blanched almonds and pine nuts - no issues there.
Cashews they enjoy but I think the fact that they spilt in half confused both of them so they have those less often.

Now I've not seen anywhere that says pistachio or almond shells are toxic (unlike walnut shells, cashew shells and macadamia shells) to parrots, so I'm wondering is it best to de-shell or to leave them shelled and see what they make of the nuts in a different form.

I'm open to suggestions - ultimately just wanting what's best for my birds
 

Mizzely

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I try to feed in shell wherever possible. I can give my bird an almond without the shell and it will take him less than 2 minutes to eat. I give him one in the shell and it might increase that time to 5-10 minutes. Instead of it just be the action of eating, it is also a puzzle and a challenge, which works their brain! It's a little natural foraging toy :)
 

RN48

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I try to feed in shell wherever possible. I can give my bird an almond without the shell and it will take him less than 2 minutes to eat. I give him one in the shell and it might increase that time to 5-10 minutes. Instead of it just be the action of eating, it is also a puzzle and a challenge, which works their brain! It's a little natural foraging toy :)
Thank you for your response and I'll give that a try then it's purely because as your probably aware there's so much conflicting advice out there but hearing it from people who have the same breed of bird helps narrow it down alot
 

Shezbug

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I’ve not heard about any nut shells being a problem.
My macaw regularly gets almond, macadamia, pistachio, pecan, hazelnut, walnut all in shells.
I’ve never seen cashews in shells or whatever it’s external casing is called (I thought the outside was a fruit but I’m not sure).
 

Teckechick

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The only one I can think of would be peanut shells but I don't feed peanuts in general.
 

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My guys love pistachios in the shell as well as walnuts ;)
 

Aviphile

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Almonds shells can't be toxic because Heidi would be dead already. She could care less about the almond but she loves to eat the shell. She loves macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, hazel nuts, and pistachios in the shells but she wants her pecans and walnuts out of the shell. The Diva doesn't want to have to work around the membrane that separates the nuts. Pine nuts have never been popular with mine I think they all suffer from that pine mouth syndrome. They always act like something terrible is in their mouth and I hand them a napkin.
 

Aviphile

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I’ve not heard about any nut shells being a problem.
My macaw regularly gets almond, macadamia, pistachio, pecan, hazelnut, walnut all in shells.
I’ve never seen cashews in shells or whatever it’s external casing is called (I thought the outside was a fruit but I’m not sure).
Cashews are my favorite!

 

flyzipper

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Shells here when possible, but since that's not always possible my guys usually get shelled nuts.
  • Jericho and Oscar like almonds and I'd consider them an easy starter nut for IRNs.
  • Oscar likes walnuts, but Jericho struggles with them unless I only offer smaller sizes which is a shame because walnut flesh is his favourite.
  • Pecans are too slippery for them to crack (my theory through observation), but I find that giving them a little start makes them enjoyable.
  • I've only found shelled cashews and everyone loves them.
  • They don't like brazil nuts (in or out of the shell)
  • Pistachios are enjoyed by Oscar and sometimes Jericho.
  • Hazel nuts aren't enjoyed here (in or out of the shell).
  • Haven't tried macadamia in shells (toxic to dogs).
  • Marvin will eat beak-sized bits of everything.
Oscar is my favourite to watch with nuts -- he holds them and acts like he's eating out of a bowl.

My only safety concern with shells is stepping on them
 
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Shezbug

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Almonds shells can't be toxic because Heidi would be dead already. She could care less about the almond but she loves to eat the shell. She loves macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, hazel nuts, and pistachios in the shells but she wants her pecans and walnuts out of the shell. The Diva doesn't want to have to work around the membrane that separates the nuts. Pine nuts have never been popular with mine I think they all suffer from that pine mouth syndrome. They always act like something terrible is in their mouth and I hand them a napkin.
We have not seen brazil nuts in shell for a long time but I am hoping somewhere will have them soon, Burt loves all the nuts and I do prefer them in shell for him.
 

Shezbug

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Cashews are my favorite!

I will have to check this out a bit later- it wont let me in, I think it could be my settings so my son will have to help me lol
 

Shezbug

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Shells here when possible, but since that's not always possible my guys usually get shelled nuts.
  • Jericho and Oscar like almonds and I'd consider them an easy starter nut for IRNs.
  • Oscar likes walnuts, but Jericho struggles with them unless I only offer smaller sizes which is a shame because walnut flesh is his favourite.
  • Pecans are too slippery for them to crack (my theory through observation), but I find that giving them a little start makes them enjoyable.
  • I've only found shelled cashews and everyone loves them.
  • They don't like brazil nuts (in or out of the shell)
  • Pistachios are enjoyed by Oscar and sometimes Jericho.
  • Hazel nuts aren't enjoyed here (in or out of the shell).
  • Haven't tried macadamia in shells (toxic to dogs).
  • Marvin will eat beak-sized bits of everything.
Oscar is my favourite to watch with nuts -- he holds them and acts like he's eating out of a bowl.

My only safety concern with shells is stepping on them
I believe all tree nuts are toxic to dogs! As far as I know peanuts are fine for dogs but no tree nuts are. Does not stop my dog from stealing and eating the shells.
 

Aviphile

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We have not seen brazil nuts in shell for a long time but I am hoping somewhere will have them soon, Burt loves all the nuts and I do prefer them in shell for him.
Do the brazil nut trees grow there in Australia?
 

Shezbug

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Do the brazil nut trees grow there in Australia?
Found online...

The only nuts that aren't grown at all in Australia are Brazil nuts, as they need the rainforests of the Amazon to grow. Tree nuts are grown all over the world, and most types are grown here in Australia.
 

flyzipper

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Aviphile

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Found online...

The only nuts that aren't grown at all in Australia are Brazil nuts, as they need the rainforests of the Amazon to grow. Tree nuts are grown all over the world, and most types are grown here in Australia.
I figured that Brazil nuts grew there too.
 

RN48

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Thank you all for your response - I read this to find out that the 3 nuts (or fruits as the case maybe)
Parrot Nuts | Parrot Food | Parrots | Guide | Omlet UK!)
@flyzipper its funny how our birds interact so differently from those in the flock
@Aviphile mine took to pine nuts quickly as they are nice and small and this was one of the first foods they went to from formula
@Teckechick mine dont get peanuts either as part of there diet


UPDATE - they both tried there first pistachio in the shell and my boy just dropped it because I don't think he knew what to do where as my girl tried getting into it but couldn't so I de shelled so they could have it and they seemed to enjoy so will definitely try again
 

RN48

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I’ve not heard about any nut shells being a problem.
My macaw regularly gets almond, macadamia, pistachio, pecan, hazelnut, walnut all in shells.
I’ve never seen cashews in shells or whatever it’s external casing is called (I thought the outside was a fruit but I’m not sure).
This might sound like a really stupid question, but do macaws have the same diety requirements as IRNs? I mean I know there all parrots but I don't know what requirements a macaw would need differently to an IRN
 

RN48

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This might sound like a really stupid question, but do macaws have the same diety requirements as IRNs? I mean I know there all parrots but I don't know what requirements a macaw would need differently to an IRN
As I know IRNs are Asiatic subspecies so I didn't know if macaws were too
 

Mizzely

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This might sound like a really stupid question, but do macaws have the same diety requirements as IRNs? I mean I know there all parrots but I don't know what requirements a macaw would need differently to an IRN
As I know IRNs are Asiatic subspecies so I didn't know if macaws were too
They are not related. Macaws are a South American species.

Parrots do likely have different requirements; we know that macaws do better on higher fat diets vs Amazons who are prone to obesity. We know that African Greys require higher calcium diets and that cockatiels do poorly on an all pellet diet. I am not sure what specifically we know about Ringnecks yet; a lot of what we know is still in its infancy as we are still learning.
 
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