Microwaving food

[SimplyBirdLover]

Hi everyone!
I was wandering if ty is safe to microwave food for your parrots or not? I’ve always seen mixed opinions on this. I personally don’t but I would still like to know how safe it is.

 

[Kentuckienne]

The microwave isn't going to do anything bad to the food. But it might heat unevenly, so that part of the food is raw and some is boiling hot, and if you fed that right away the bird might get burned in the mouth, or eat some pathogen that didn't get hot enough to die. So same as people, heat, stir, check the temperature, once everything is good and hot leave it sit for one minute so the temperature has a chance to equalize, stir again, make sure it isn't too hot, and your'e golden.

 

[Scott]

I do and have not observed any issues

Some question the healthfulness of using microwaves. I have not seen compelling scientific evidence against the practice, but others are uncomfortable. Dense items such as yams and sweet potatoes are efficiently cooked, while other foods are simply defrosted from frozen.

Another issue applies equally to conventional methods of heating. It is possible to burn a bird's crop, particularly youngsters, hence the need to make certain the temperature is safe before eating. Some microwaves may not heat uniformly, so hot spots in food must be detected before serving.

 

[wrench13]

Right make sure the food is evenly heated. Saltys chop gets zapped 30 seconds and then mized up with other stuff and then let it cool off a bit.

 

[Soyajam]

I use it all the time to heat up mash that I haven't thawed enough - and I also use it to steam small amounts of veggies for a browse bowl.

Doesn't seem to be doing any harm for me. I also feed 10-15% pellets so if there is any nutrient lost, she's getting the remainder from pellets anyway.

Agree with the hot spots, it's really prominent in mashed and liquid foods. Make sure you mix any of those, and if you did solid veg consider rinsing them in cool water to take off any super hot spots.

 

[bill_e]

I purchased this steamer last year, best 8 bucks I ever spend. Can steam food in seconds using a tablespoon of water. Great for defrosting and great for steaming sweet potatoes and the like.

 

[SailBoat]

If you have not purchased a microwave as of yet, consider a Convection /Microwave combination. The combination gives you great options and when used together more even temperature.

Stirring and checking temperature is very important! With solid foods, cutting into smaller pieces and shifting their location on the heating plate helps.

There is a major difference between re-heating and cooking! I'm not a big believer in the cooking side, since flavoring rarely works into the food I way I like it to.

 

[Violet_Diva]

I got rid of our microwave. I don't like the uneven heat distribution you can get. it can be dangerous, as you try the temperature in one spot and it feels fine, then you feel a different bit and it's hotter than the surface of the sun!