My boy got into some honey… help!

[WinstonToBC]

My boy flew onto the counter yesterday afternoon and I heard a pecking noise. He poked a dime sized hole into an unpasteurized honey container. He didn’t consume much but he had to have gotten some as he was pecking at the bottle. I called the vet and poison control number as I know that honey contains the spores that can cause botulism. I was told to monitor him for the next 24 hours and if he appears sick to bring him in to get the charcoal to absorb the honey. I’m really stressed. Has anyone had their feathery friend get into honey?

He seems fine. Preening. Eating. Walking around. Talking. Cuddling. I was told to watch for tiredness and weakness of legs/wings.

 

[LeeC]

My boy flew onto the counter yesterday afternoon and I heard a pecking noise. He poked a dime sized hole into an unpasteurized honey container. He didn’t consume much but he had to have gotten some as he was pecking at the bottle. I called the vet and poison control number as I know that honey contains the spores that can cause botulism. I was told to monitor him for the next 24 hours and if he appears sick to bring him in to get the charcoal to absorb the honey. I’m really stressed. Has anyone had their feathery friend get into honey?

He seems fine. Preening. Eating. Walking around. Talking. Cuddling. I was told to watch for tiredness and weakness of legs/wings.

I feed several of my parrots (African Grey, Senegals, and Conures) raw honey periodically. I also take them to my avian vet for regular exams, where I've mentioned using raw honey to administer pain meds at one point. I have had no issues, and my avian vet did not raise a concern.

Parrots have a short digestive track and a corresponding short "transit time" (the time food is inside the parrot), so they are unlikely to get sick from raw honey unless the parrot has a compromised immune system. Raw honey has good "bugs" in it mostly, but, yes, there is a slight risk of bad bugs, which their bodies should be able to deal with.

 

[WinstonToBC]

I feed several of my parrots (African Grey, Senegals, and Conures) raw honey periodically. I also take them to my avian vet for regular exams, where I've mentioned using raw honey to administer pain meds at one point. I have had no issues, and my avian vet did not raise a concern.

Parrots have a short digestive track and a corresponding short "transit time" (the time food is inside the parrot), so they are unlikely to get sick from raw honey unless the parrot has a compromised immune system. Raw honey has good "bugs" in it mostly, but, yes, there is a slight risk of bad bugs, which their bodies should be able to deal with.

Thank you so much. This makes me feel so much better. I find it hard to get accurate information. And, I haven’t been able to find pet birds and honey info other than not to give honey to them. Even the poison control lady couldn’t find pet birds getting sick from honey. She could only find something on a pelican.

And thank you for the info on their digestive tract. He seems just fine. No changes at all in his behaviour. I just worry as people just post stuff online and not have any scientific proof to back it up.

 

[Owlet]

I feed several of my parrots (African Grey, Senegals, and Conures) raw honey periodically. I also take them to my avian vet for regular exams, where I've mentioned using raw honey to administer pain meds at one point. I have had no issues, and my avian vet did not raise a concern.

Parrots have a short digestive track and a corresponding short "transit time" (the time food is inside the parrot), so they are unlikely to get sick from raw honey unless the parrot has a compromised immune system. Raw honey has good "bugs" in it mostly, but, yes, there is a slight risk of bad bugs, which their bodies should be able to deal with.

I have to disagree with this solely because it's an eclectus we are talking about which are notorious for their digestive track and thus having difficult diets. Eclectus have a longer digestive track than the average parrot and take in a lot more from what they eat than others. Hence why foods enriched with vitamins are usually a no-go with them.

I would still be on the look out for signs that Winston is unwell. It's unlikely anything will happen, but I wouldn't let your guard down just yet.

 

[WinstonToBC]

I have to disagree with this solely because it's an eclectus we are talking about which are notorious for their digestive track and thus having difficult diets. Eclectus have a longer digestive track than the average parrot and take in a lot more from what they eat than others. Hence why foods enriched with vitamins are usually a no-go with them.

I would still be on the look out for signs that Winston is unwell. It's unlikely anything will happen, but I wouldn't let your guard down just yet.

I am keeping a close eye on him. He is past the 24 hour vet recommended watch. I am hoping he is ok.

 

[LeeC]

I have to disagree with this solely because it's an eclectus we are talking about which are notorious for their digestive track and thus having difficult diets. Eclectus have a longer digestive track than the average parrot and take in a lot more from what they eat than others. Hence why foods enriched with vitamins are usually a no-go with them.

I would still be on the look out for signs that Winston is unwell. It's unlikely anything will happen, but I wouldn't let your guard down just yet.

I am just a parrot enthusiast, (and a human health enthusiast) so please do not take my thoughts as authoritative. As I understand it, the transit time for an Eclectus is about the same as other parrots, even with their comparatively longer digestive tract, which is interesting.

The GI transit time for an Eclectus parrot is similar to that of other medium-size parrots; it takes 2-3 hours for food to pass from mouth to the vent.”

https://windycityparrot.com/eclectus-parrot-elongated-digestive-tract-fact-or-fiction/

All living food (not pasteurized, not irradiated; not cooked) should have living microorganisms on it and in it, as food would "in the wild" for parrots, and humans. :] Eating such "live" food is crucial to good digestive health, for the good micro organisms that come with live food. It always carries, what should be a very small, risk of ingesting some bad "bugs", but again, digestive acids and the immune system should cope with that.

With such "bad" micro organisms, transit time is a big factor. The longer they can be inside the organism, the more likely they are to cause trouble and take up residence, before being expelled by natural digestive excretion (parrot "droppings"). So, I think my original statement stands: parrots, including Eclectus, have a fairly short transit time, at 2 to 3 hours, compared to humans (24 to 36 hours is normal).

Short transit time is what allows certain animals to eat old road kill and the like without getting sick.

You can test your parrot's transit time pretty easily. Give them some blackberries, and measure the time from ingestion to those startling purple droppings. :]

 

[LeeC]

I found a very interesting YouTube playlist.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZAfJC67rREuIE5dQ8DzhKqbt_rfS4qtP

It includes a short section with this slide:

Here is a link to the associated research paper:

Exploring The Wild Diet | birdhealth

www.birdhealth.com.au

 

[WinstonToBC]

I am just a parrot enthusiast, (and a human health enthusiast) so please do not take my thoughts as authoritative. As I understand it, the transit time for an Eclectus is about the same as other parrots, even with their comparatively longer digestive tract, which is interesting.



All living food (not pasteurized, not irradiated; not cooked) should have living microorganisms on it and in it, as food would "in the wild" for parrots, and humans. :] Eating such "live" food is crucial to good digestive health, for the good micro organisms that come with live food. It always carries, what should be a very small, risk of ingesting some bad "bugs", but again, digestive acids and the immune system should cope with that.

With such "bad" micro organisms, transit time is a big factor. The longer they can be inside the organism, the more likely they are to cause trouble and take up residence, before being expelled by natural digestive excretion (parrot "droppings"). So, I think my original statement stands: parrots, including Eclectus, have a fairly short transit time, at 2 to 3 hours, compared to humans (24 to 36 hours is normal).

Short transit time is what allows certain animals to eat old road kill and the like without getting sick.

You can test your parrot's transit time pretty easily. Give them some blackberries, and measure the time from ingestion to those startling purple droppings. :]

Thank you! And I’m loving the term transit time! My boy goes regularly. I would say when he is eating def 20 min after. He hasn’t had this change since yesterday at 4. So I am hoping he passed whatever he got. I can’t see him getting much.

 

[LeeC]

Thank you! And I’m loving the term transit time! My boy goes regularly. I would say when he is eating def 20 min after. He hasn’t had this change since yesterday at 4. So I am hoping he passed whatever he got. I can’t see him getting much.

I first learned of "transit time" about 8 years ago, for human health. :] Look up the Bristol stool chart! There is a similar thing for parrots:

Sadly, Dr. Perry recently passed away.

 

[WinstonToBC]

I first learned of "transit time" about 8 years ago, for human health. :] Look up the Bristol stool chart! There is a similar thing for parrots:
View attachment 44014

Sadly, Dr. Perry recently passed away.

Thanks so much!

 

[HeatherG]

Hi. Honey very rarely has botulism spores. If your bird has a normal immune system I don’t think you should need to worry about it.

We don’t feed human babies honey because they don’t have a fully working immune system. if there were botulism spores or bacteria present, they could multiply and the toxin could then make the baby sick. And people who have AIDS or cancer or are taking immune suppressing drugs should not eat unpasteurized honey for the same reason.

My first Quaker was very sickly and tinted and I did not ever give her honey since something was clearly wrong with her immune system. She passed at four years of disseminated aspergillosis and had a history of infections from things that shouldn’t have made her sick (like lactobacillus acidophilus, that processed milk sugars to make yogurt).

(But botulism toxin (botox) is otherwise handy as a treatment for muscle spasms and intractable migraines. I’ve tried every drug possible to treat migraines and only botox deadens the face and scalp spasms that cause my migraines. It’s nice not to have them every day. It is a very potent toxin.)