Are onions okay?

[missylynn]

I've read all over the place that avocados, chocolate, and so on are bad. I saw one place that said no onions, but I've only seen that once. We cook with onions a lot, and I'd love to share the meals, but I don't want to cause any health problems. Thoughts anyone?

 

[Abzeez]

Onions are bad.

 

[stephend]

My vet said no onion or garlic. He also said that if they are used as flavoring in human food it should be safe to share that.

 

[wuvzbirdies]

Sorry but onions are on the no can do list for birds. As Stephend mentioned flavoring is ok but it should only be in limited quantity. Prolonged eating of onions can cause respiritory distress and eventual death. When birds eat onions it reacts with digestive juices which releases a toxic chemical. They say small amounts should be fine but I personally wouldn't take the chance.

 

[c3honey84]

I always thought onions were no good, but guess what? Many of the cookable bird foods that are out there list onions in the ingredients!

 

[mellykyitus]

yeah, some places say onions are ok but others say they are toxic. also angel loves pepper but i read in parrot magazine not to feed anything from the nightshade family which would include peppers!? i get so confused!

 

[upcgirl]

Rhubarb is another no-no.

 

[mrob]

I heard raw onions were bad. Cooked onions (as an ingredient in human food) were fine as the chemical that can harm birds is broken down in the heat.....So if you want to give them a little of your dinner its ok. The again, i wouldnt be feeding them onion soup or anything lol, but say, a vegetable soup with a little onion in it im not too worried about...

 

[stephend]

This question got me asking why onions are bad for birds, and the answer I found was that onions absorb sulfer from the soil and the onions create compounds which are harmful to most animals including birds and dogs, but if you were able to grow onions in soil free from sulfur (which is next to impossible) they would be safe for birds. I wish I could do so; a lot of my favorite foods include onion and I would like to be able to share them with Bob; I don't think he would eat them though.