Trying to find reliable information on bird care seems to be a minefield. Just about every person you run into is ready to jump up on a soap box and tell you that what you're doing is wrong and that you should instead be doing something else "OR YOU WILL KILL YOUR BIRD!!!!"
Almost none of this advice is backed up by any facts or even logic. So in an effort to find out the truth, for the sake of my beloved bird, I'd like to ask for some information, this time hopefully supported by facts.
Stuff I'm fairly sure of:
Chocolate is toxic: This one makes sense, and I also came across an article that listed the actual chemical in it that makes it so. Humans have the ability to filter it out and process it, but most animals don't. Makes sense, I don't expect to see a flock of parrots in the wild popping into the corner store for a mars bar. I'm good here. Chocolate = bad for birdy. No problem. Moving on.
Fruit seeds/pips, e.g. apple seeds and peach pits are toxic: I know they actually contain traces of cyanide. They're bad for humans too, but the trace amounts won't kill us outright. The feeding habits of most birds in the wild generally won't see them dig all the way to the core of a fruit to eat the seeds. They'll bite and nibble here and there and then move on to something else that catches their fancy. I'm good here. Don't feed birdie fruit pits. No problem.
Stuff I'm unsure of:
Avocado - WARNING: read the rest of this paragraph before commenting From what I can figure out, Avocado leaves, bark and the skin of the fruit contains a toxin which is also hazardous to humans. The fruit itself does not contain this toxin. I've even heard of some parrot breeders who swear by avocado in the diets of their parrots for healthy, shiny feathers.
Also, as a kid, my parents had various birds which we rehabilitated, two of which were Cape Parrots (since we actually lived in the Eastern Cape in South Africa). These parrots moved around the yard all day on their own and were brought in every evening by my mom. They spent a fair amount of time in our Avocado tree, where they wreaked unholy havoc on the thing and any avocados it bore. These parrots were perfectly fine. Now both the parrots and the tree were native to the area, and I know Cape Parrots often stop by in avo trees, yet I've never heard of them dropping dead in the wild around avo trees. Leads me to wonder a bit about this. Maybe the wild ones were just smart enough not to eat the bark, leaves and skin?
Regardless, I'm not going to start feeding my birds avo any time soon. For one I know it's fairly high fat. Still, I've always wondered about this whole thing. Anyone got anything to add?
Iceberg Lettuce This is the standard light green leafy stuff found in most salads. There are other types of lettuce, hence the distinction, but this one is most common. Now I cannot find a list anywhere of any actual TOXIN in this stuff that could be harmful to birds. All I can find is that it's not particularly nutritious to anyone. I'm sure it has its fair amount of vitamins and minerals, but there's just not enough nutrition there to live on.
The only harm I can see this stuff causing to a bird is if you expect it to live on it with nothing else to eat, in which case it would die of starvation/malnutrition. Giving your bird a leaf of fresh and clean lettuce to nibble on and play with in addition to its regular healthy diet should not in any way be bad. Can anyone offer any evidence to the contrary?
Cabbage This really makes no sense, but you can find people all over the net telling you that "IF U FEED UR BIRD CABBAGE U WILL KEEEEL EEET!!!!!!111" I've never yet found any scientific backup to this. In fact, one of the high quality, scientifically balanced parrot pellet makers (either Roudybush or Harrisons - I forget which) has a product containing cabbage.
So can anyone offer any scientific or logical evidence on why cabbage "WILL KEEL UR BIRD!!!11" or is this just another fallacy that keeps being repeated?
Parsley No idea why. Keep seeing it listed as toxic. Anyone got any idea what it contains that's toxic or any more evidence other than "somebody on the interwebs said so"?
Almost none of this advice is backed up by any facts or even logic. So in an effort to find out the truth, for the sake of my beloved bird, I'd like to ask for some information, this time hopefully supported by facts.
Stuff I'm fairly sure of:
Chocolate is toxic: This one makes sense, and I also came across an article that listed the actual chemical in it that makes it so. Humans have the ability to filter it out and process it, but most animals don't. Makes sense, I don't expect to see a flock of parrots in the wild popping into the corner store for a mars bar. I'm good here. Chocolate = bad for birdy. No problem. Moving on.
Fruit seeds/pips, e.g. apple seeds and peach pits are toxic: I know they actually contain traces of cyanide. They're bad for humans too, but the trace amounts won't kill us outright. The feeding habits of most birds in the wild generally won't see them dig all the way to the core of a fruit to eat the seeds. They'll bite and nibble here and there and then move on to something else that catches their fancy. I'm good here. Don't feed birdie fruit pits. No problem.
Stuff I'm unsure of:
Avocado - WARNING: read the rest of this paragraph before commenting From what I can figure out, Avocado leaves, bark and the skin of the fruit contains a toxin which is also hazardous to humans. The fruit itself does not contain this toxin. I've even heard of some parrot breeders who swear by avocado in the diets of their parrots for healthy, shiny feathers.
Also, as a kid, my parents had various birds which we rehabilitated, two of which were Cape Parrots (since we actually lived in the Eastern Cape in South Africa). These parrots moved around the yard all day on their own and were brought in every evening by my mom. They spent a fair amount of time in our Avocado tree, where they wreaked unholy havoc on the thing and any avocados it bore. These parrots were perfectly fine. Now both the parrots and the tree were native to the area, and I know Cape Parrots often stop by in avo trees, yet I've never heard of them dropping dead in the wild around avo trees. Leads me to wonder a bit about this. Maybe the wild ones were just smart enough not to eat the bark, leaves and skin?
Regardless, I'm not going to start feeding my birds avo any time soon. For one I know it's fairly high fat. Still, I've always wondered about this whole thing. Anyone got anything to add?
Iceberg Lettuce This is the standard light green leafy stuff found in most salads. There are other types of lettuce, hence the distinction, but this one is most common. Now I cannot find a list anywhere of any actual TOXIN in this stuff that could be harmful to birds. All I can find is that it's not particularly nutritious to anyone. I'm sure it has its fair amount of vitamins and minerals, but there's just not enough nutrition there to live on.
The only harm I can see this stuff causing to a bird is if you expect it to live on it with nothing else to eat, in which case it would die of starvation/malnutrition. Giving your bird a leaf of fresh and clean lettuce to nibble on and play with in addition to its regular healthy diet should not in any way be bad. Can anyone offer any evidence to the contrary?
Cabbage This really makes no sense, but you can find people all over the net telling you that "IF U FEED UR BIRD CABBAGE U WILL KEEEEL EEET!!!!!!111" I've never yet found any scientific backup to this. In fact, one of the high quality, scientifically balanced parrot pellet makers (either Roudybush or Harrisons - I forget which) has a product containing cabbage.
So can anyone offer any scientific or logical evidence on why cabbage "WILL KEEL UR BIRD!!!11" or is this just another fallacy that keeps being repeated?
Parsley No idea why. Keep seeing it listed as toxic. Anyone got any idea what it contains that's toxic or any more evidence other than "somebody on the interwebs said so"?
