Someone’s birds died from eating “safe” plants?

[opalwings]

Hello all!
I recently saw a post in my inbox from a bird forum, where someone says their two Linnie’s passed away from eating their Hoya plant, which they had found listed as safe on a few sites.
they said the birds never ever showed interest in the plant, for years- then one fine day, munchie munchie. Just broke my heart to hear this. I know we all try so hard to keep our babies and companions safe.


I really want to help spread this info but also, for me this opens up a bit can of worms!
If Hoya is indeed listed as safe but is in fact deadly… at least when ingested in full (they ate and swallowed a portion of a leaf) , then what other “safe” plants could potentially be deadly if ingested in the right amount?
i became so paranoid after reading this that I put all of my (safe) plants outside or in non bird area.
my girls have the run of the house most of the time and are OOC all day. So whatever room they are in I no longer have plants. In fact I’m considering giving the few that I have left away (I got rid of so many when I got birds)

And just having some really nice fake plants, and lots of crystals - for my natural vibes which are essential to my well being.

I think the only plant I would use would be one that I know has been safely munched a lot by birds. It’s just not worth it!
I think Linnie’s especially may be prone to eating plants- I have a Linnie and she is such a foodie, she will put anything in her mouth, and loves to munch all day, adores her veggies, so I’m particularly worried that she might end up nibbling on something one of these days, or eating a lot even. There are no plants in the main room where they live, but like I said they follow me all over the house as we work from home.
I’d value everyone’s thoughts on this! Do you have any really tried and true safe plants?

 

[Mizzely]

This is hard.

On the one hand, it's very easy to blame something ingested as the problem when no other possibility immediately comes to mind, especially if it's new to the diet.

On the other hand, does another possibility exist? Such as something sprayed on the plant, an airborne contaminate, etc?

Regardless I agree that living in the world of "better safe than sorry" can serve us well.

I'm also curious about what plants to offer, as I do think it would be great enrichment for my Jardine's and Linnie, but I haven't yet due to not having a plant source I trust yet, and I'm only now testing my green thumb!

I planned to start here with some dried bundles being sold by Jason Crean, one of the biggest names in whole food parrot diets right now.

BIODIVERSITY FORAGING BLENDS & BOUQUETS

Biodiversity Foraging Bundles are loose leaf blends or bundled stems that include a variety of whole food items that will engage your bird in their naturalistic foraging behaviors.

biobirdblends.company.site

 

[opalwings]

Wow, that site looks great! I’ll definitely get into it. My linnie love loves her Birdie Salad… from Chirp Central. I’m friends with a local Linnie breeder who shows her Linnie’s, and makes Linnie and budgie food that is amazing.
she is such a great source and also started The Linnie Forum, which is geared primarily to Linnie owners. Her bird salad is a magical blend of herbs and greens and spices, thatshe says birds pick out what they need to balance their systems. Some of the pieces can be chunky, so my Linnie likes to grab pieces of it with her foot. So I highly recommend chirp central as a source … but bundles for chewing and foraging, this sounds so great for birdies that like to chew! I’m excited to try.
I also thought of the possibility of outside contaminant… although the OP implied, as my faulty memory me, they had the plant for a while, one would think it would be washed at some point or they would have washed it to begin with. But who knows?
I feel somewhat trustworthy of palms, since they chew on dried palms, then again dried has a different chemical makeup.

for now I’m just not going to have any live plants I think until I feel secure about something… but open to suggestions!
Thanks for the link!

 

[Mizzely]

I have the linnie seed mix from Chirp Central

 

[opalwings]

Yay! It’s so good

 

[FiatLux]

This is hard.

On the one hand, it's very easy to blame something ingested as the problem when no other possibility immediately comes to mind, especially if it's new to the diet.

On the other hand, does another possibility exist? Such as something sprayed on the plant, an airborne contaminate, etc?

Regardless I agree that living in the world of "better safe than sorry" can serve us well.

I'm also curious about what plants to offer, as I do think it would be great enrichment for my Jardine's and Linnie, but I haven't yet due to not having a plant source I trust yet, and I'm only now testing my green thumb!

I planned to start here with some dried bundles being sold by Jason Crean, one of the biggest names in whole food parrot diets right now.

BIODIVERSITY FORAGING BLENDS & BOUQUETS

Biodiversity Foraging Bundles are loose leaf blends or bundled stems that include a variety of whole food items that will engage your bird in their naturalistic foraging behaviors.

biobirdblends.company.site

This is really interesting and I’m wondering about the offerings that are not organic. I would be nervous to offer flowers and herbs that have unknown pesticides. Some of the ingredients lists denote organic and some do not. Do you think they wash off the flower stems before drying them to remove residues?

 

[Pixiebeak]

Are Hoya plants safe?

I've searched it and half the sites say it's safe and the other say it's not safe. I don't plan on letting them eat it. Just moving all my plants upstairs because I'm not giving them the care they need where they are now because I got sick and tired of my FIL talking crap behind my back and...

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[Mizzely]

This is really interesting and I’m wondering about the offerings that are not organic. I would be nervous to offer flowers and herbs that have unknown pesticides. Some of the ingredients lists denote organic and some do not. Do you think they wash off the flower stems before drying them to remove residues?

Honestly, organic is meaningless to me so I don't pay attention. Organic does not mean no pesticides. It just has to be organically derived. Organic doesn't mean safer, either.

Seems like a good question for Jason Crean/his shop. I would hope that someone as well researched as him would not offer unsafe items for our birds, but of course double checking is never a bad thing.

 

[opalwings]

Are Hoya plants safe?

I've searched it and half the sites say it's safe and the other say it's not safe. I don't plan on letting them eat it. Just moving all my plants upstairs because I'm not giving them the care they need where they are now because I got sick and tired of my FIL talking crap behind my back and...

forums.avianavenue.com

Totally…hmmm that clarifies things a bit- perhaps the OP didn’t research different websites? If even one says unsafe, it’s better to not have it. I’ve never owned a Hoya but, I certainly have a strong aversion to them now after reading that story!

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Hoya isn’t safe.

 

[GreenThing]

If a list cannot tell me the biological component of the plant that are irritants or potentially toxic, I do not trust the list. Honestly, if it isn't 1) a native Australian plant or 2) a common herb or vegetable that is known to be healthy for budgies to eat, I don't feel safe having it around. Greens are the one veggie both my budgies eat, so I keep ALL of my live plants in rooms they don't access or on the balcony.

I don't know where/who most of the lists online come from, so I just don't trust them. You need to have a very specific intersection of avian (and not just general avian knowledge, but species-specific knowledge, since different birds evolve different resistances) and botanical knowledge to give even an approximately correct answer on the safety of houseplants-- many of which now come from all over the world in all different varieties.

 

[Shezbug]

Good to also remember @GreenThing that not all native Aussie plants are safe either and some are only safe if certain parts are avoided or if they are ripe etc. (plants are more iffy than our trees but my comment here refers to both plant and tree)

 

[Shezbug]

Hoya is classified as a succulent from what I can find, there are very few succulents that seem to be deemed as safe to eat for any living being. There are some that are totally safe and even very healthy for you but it seems many succulents (especially the skins) have an irritating effect on the gut of most living beings

 

[fluffypoptarts]

If you guys ever saw hoya sap you’d definitely think unsafe (but I have also read it’s unsafe before and that it can make dogs and cats sick). The sap is very often that milky sap that other poisonous plants have.