Controversial parrot opinions/controversial things I do with my birds!

[BirdyBee]

If you want a healthy bird DO NOT feed anything with sugar or fat. A tiny morsel of a banana might be ok, but why reinforce the addiction to sugar? They cannot use it and it's very bad for them. If you would like to add flavor to his pellets, he is on pellets right? You can use baby food mixed in with the pellets, but after a meal put the dish back in the fridge in a zip lock baggie. I understand they love sweet things.. well for me, I prefer a healthy and long lived bird to one that gets sick and dies young. I
have had my tiny Moluccan for 30 years now and my grey for 19 years. Both healthy and happy. They may like sugar but they cannot have it. And do be very very careful with high sugar fruit... such as mango, banana, cherries, pears, etc.

I get what you're trying to say. What I mean by giving her human food occasionally, I mean only one bite, or a crumb or two. And that's only once a month or less.

Fruit is totally fine(for most birds), as long as it's only given in small amounts. I do agree that mango, banana, etc should only be a treat due to high sugar content.

I wouldn't recommend fruit for birds with diabetes or liver/kidney issues, or hormonal birds. It is not good for birds with these issues to have fruit as giving them sugar if they are a diabetic is NOT a good idea, and liver/kidney issues have an effect on processing sugars/fats as far as I know.

Lorikeets are one of many birds that need high amounts of fruit in their diet.

 

[Zoruace]

Tiki mostly ate seeds more then pellets (i think it was one of those good mixes it had none of those color orb thingies)
Tiki has a hut (seagrass) no hormones!
I pet Tango all over and she never became hormonal (atleast i don’t remember her being hormonal, and i didnt know hormones on the first place)

 

[BirdyBee]

*VERY CONTROVERSIAL*

Some nonstick things have been used in the same house as my birds with no issues... I don't have much of a choice, as my mom thinks since my birds aren't dead yet, using a non stick pan or something once in a while is ok... there is very little non stick things, I can only think of a waffle maker that non stick, I don't know about anything else.

Well, I'm prepared for a lot disapproval...

 

[Cottonoid]

I have a non stick waffle maker too

 

[SailBoat]

I understand the position regarding; " Haven't Had a Problem Up to this Point!" So why be concerned!! That is all true, right-up to the point that the non-stick surface becomes damaged and especially those lifting or flacking areas as much lower temperatures can cause it to off-gas!!
But, it only effects the Parrots and they are in another room, right? Wrong, Humans with Lung issues like COPD are as prone to sudden death as our Parrots.
But, no one has died in our home /neighborhood, therefore everything is Okay! This is a common response to near everything covered in this Thread. It hasn't killed my Parrots, so why worry??

The Goal is to increase the life span of our Parrots. FTI: The long life, Larger Parrots, over the last two decades, have seen their life span drop with increased cases of disease and/or failure of the primary organs. When that happens it commonly starts with expensive Vet visits and then the knowledge that the Parrot has a life threatening disease.

 

[Cottonoid]

I should admit I've been too nervous to use mine in the house since getting Cotton! It's been used many times on low with a bird in the house in the past, but I agree with SailBoat that there will never be a bad consequence to a bird by NOT using anything potentially harmful.

But I do still have it in my cupboard.

 

[Terry57]

I understand the position regarding; " Haven't Had a Problem Up to this Point!" So why be concerned!! That is all true, right-up to the point that the non-stick surface becomes damaged and especially those lifting or flacking areas as much lower temperatures can cause it to off-gas!!
But, it only effects the Parrots and they are in another room, right? Wrong, Humans with Lung issues like COPD are as prone to sudden death as our Parrots.
But, no one has died in our home /neighborhood, therefore everything is Okay! This is a common response to near everything covered in this Thread. It hasn't killed my Parrots, so why worry??

The Goal is to increase the life span of our Parrots. FTI: The long life, Larger Parrots, over the last two decades, have seen their life span drop with increased cases of disease and/or failure of the primary organs. When that happens it commonly starts with expensive Vet visits and then the knowledge that the Parrot has a life threatening disease.

People who live with their parents cannot force their parents to use other cookware.
I believe there are many, many people in Pipp's position, and her post may relieve their minds over a worry that they cannot resolve.

I agree that the goal is to increase their lifespans as much as we humanly can. I think this thread also shows the differences between countries as to what is considered normal in some aspects.

I think this is an important thread because it's nice to see that we are not alone in not being perfect.

I have a couple of birds with huts, one of my birds is covered at night, I used muffin pans for 2 years not realizing they were were coated with something, my budgies and cockatiels eat seeds with some pellets mixed in (and fresh twice a day), and I could add more.

I can relate to many of these posts, and I think that this place has amazing members because no one has attacked anyone for what they have done.
Y'all are the best.

 

[HeatherG]

Well…sometimes I only feed my birds pellets, if I am feeling very tired or sick.

Willow will only come out of his cage by stepping up onto a towel after I put my hand in his cage. I tried for months to get him to come out onto his drawbridge-style door but he gets Soo Excited (about me standing near his cage?) that he paces and chews his toy.

I live in an apartment and must clip my birds’ wings. I don’t want them flying from the living room to the kitchen right off of it and getting cooked.

Thanks for this thread. This is an international forum and around the whole world, people don’t all live the same. We have different homes, foods, medicine, vet access. We do the best we can.

 

[BirdyBee]

Well…sometimes I only feed my birds pellets, if I am feeling very tired or sick.

Willow will only come out of his cage by stepping up onto a towel after I put my hand in his cage. I tried for months to get him to come out onto his drawbridge-style door but he gets Soo Excited (about me standing near his cage?) that he paces and chews his toy.

I live in an apartment and must clip my birds’ wings. I don’t want them flying from the living room to the kitchen right off of it and getting cooked.

Thanks for this thread. This is an international forum and around the whole world, people don’t all live the same. We have different homes, foods, medicine, vet access. We do the best we can.

I also sometimes give my birds only TOP's when I'm busy.

 

[wrench13]

We are a family that took the warning of teflon stuff very very seriously after my BeeBee parrot, Max, of 6 years , died all of a sudden, no warning, just ........ went away. If you are any sort of parront, trust me the loss and feelings you will have if this happens will be more then a whole room full of cookware are worth.