How much salt is bad and dangerous?

[pink4289]

So my new CAG came home today and hasn't ate much. He is still on handfeeding twice per day and he didn't eat even a quarter of the 60cc formula.The only thing he really gulped down was Reduced fat White Cheddar Cheez-its. I know salt is bad for birds and these have salt in them. But HOW much salt is TOO much and can cause problems? Should there be any people food(besides the obviously toxic foods I know about) that I should not give him? Such as breads and fried stuff?

 

[oled]

Dont use food with salt, no fried food. Som smal peces of bread but wait until he is used to ordenary food

 

[kerry]

Give him fresh fruit & fresh vegetables & healthy people food.
Cheez Its are not a healthy food for a parrot.
Did you get him from a local breeder?
Did they teach you to hand feed him?
If you give him Cheez Its he probably won't eat the formula, but then he will not be healthy, either.
What did the breeder say to feed him along with the hand feeding formula?
Pellets?
This is a good parrot reference:
https://companionparrotonline.com/index_QNU6.php

I suggest that you read the article about a healthy parrot diet, here is a link to it:

https://companionparrotonline.com/Diet.html

You need to be the guide/parent for him to have healthy food available to him.
He has no other way of getting it.

 

[suebee]

as the sayin goes you give a baby sweet/salty foods an thats what they will crave an refuse other food tastes!!

it will be the same with your bird, an you will be making a rod for your own back! and creating a monster as these bad foods will no doubt mess with his temperment!

ensure your bird has ONLY formula or parrot food, did you warm formula??

i would be a liar if i said i only give my nut parrot food! i do give bad foods as a treat for her, but once a week and if its a very bad food, such as a chip (fries) can't remember the last time we had them!
but nut eats her pellets, fresh fruit an veg and drinks plenty and is an adult bird

i break foods that i consider bad for nut, into sections

really bad foods are anything high in fat/salt/sugar and processed we dont have these foods often ourselves (mash potatoe is nuts fave!!! but we make ours with cream an butter!) once a month if that

bad any other none parrot foods such as cooked dinners! even though i do not add salt into my cooking, its not cooked for nut, its cooked for us to eat and although she does get a bit of dinner each night i only put things such as pasta/rice into her bowl an perhaps a touch of what ever else

treats still occasional are such things as boiled eggs (no yolk, as i know that has cholestrol an high fat) chicken bone, chicken meat, prawns (none of these are fried! or cooked with added fat)

these are only offered before nuts bed time, so throughout day she has had a normal diet

i want to grow old with my nut, and just like i want my son to grow with healthy eating habits, i set the rules an examples

also vet fees are not something i can afford easily!!

 

[mygirl]

if your bird is ever sick and will not eat anything arrowroot biscuit soaked in water is what the vet told us to get into Mylah when she was really sick and at one stage i was syringing honey water down her throat. i'm not a vet but i nursed her through a really bad stage considering the vet wanted to put her to sleep shes fine now and shes not addicted to sweet food at all and its all she had for a good 2 weeks of her life

 

[oled]

A sick bird is one thing and not compereble to daily food. In pellets and seeds there is a natual contens of fruitsucker. So dont provide salt or sucker in any way

 

[Iris The AfricanGrazyGrey]

Dont use food with salt, no fried food. Som smal peces of bread but wait until he is used to ordenary food

What's wrong with you people. Give bird people a bad name. I do not understand, you did not even answer this persons question and now .......I find myself wanting to know the answer to this question, and I read on just to find some bossy tips and nothing to do with salt? Your bird (not smaller birds but parrots of good size) can have apiece of a chip , piece of pizza crust, albeit tiny and not often or near often at all because they can stop eating the food in their bowl. This also goes for treats, you want a special bowl . What could happen is they love the treat so much and if it is in the regular bowl they will throw everything else out looking for only that

 

[LaManuka91]

What's wrong with you people. Give bird people a bad name. I do not understand, you did not even answer this persons question and now .......I find myself wanting to know the answer to this question, and I read on just to find some bossy tips and nothing to do with salt? Your bird (not smaller birds but parrots of good size) can have apiece of a chip , piece of pizza crust, albeit tiny and not often or near often at all because they can stop eating the food in their bowl. This also goes for treats, you want a special bowl . What could happen is they love the treat so much and if it is in the regular bowl they will throw everything else out looking for only that

Hi @Iris The AfricanGrazyGrey, welcome to the forums Please note this is a very old thread from 2011, and the last time any of these members visited us was back in 2015. The following thread is much more recent and perhaps may be of more help to you. Otherwise, if neither of these threads is of any assistance, you are welcome to start a brand new thread of your own to address your specific query.

Post in thread 'Salt-addicted cockatiel?'

Dec 8, 2025

Hi! I´ve been unable to find an answer to this odd question I have, so I *just* registered to ask here ^_^
My cockatiel, Squid, really likes eating salt. He will sit on my table and eat the crystal chunks out of the dish. There is a cuttlebone in his cage + he has access to fresh water and drinks it all the time (even has a glass of his own when hes downstairs)
Do I just have a weird bird?? He will try and steal salty crackers out of my mouth too

Welcome to the forums, @trafficcones and salt-loving Squid! I would have to recommend you get him to kick his salt habit, as...

• LaManuka