shelled peanuts?

[YUMgrinder]

I asked the vet if I can give Peanut shelled peanuts as his previous owner named him peanut because he loves peanuts so much. After the vet did her thing and brought him back to me I gave him a shelled peanut as a treat so he knows he was such a good boy, he carried it around and chewed on it, looks like he eats the whole thing, shell and all. the vet said that's ok.

I read in another post here on this forum that stated shelled peanuts are a no no cause of the risk of getting sick from the shell being infected. What is everyone's thought on this?

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

The actual peanut should be okay, but the shells are a no-no. They may contain a fungus know as Aspergillus which is an aflatoxin and is bad for birds.

I think this is mostly with raw peanuts, though I'm not sure.

 

[Flboy]

Raw, cooked, shell on, shell off, are all a risk! Many have gotten away with it for year, many have not! I used to eat a lot of peanuts and every fiftieth or so, I came across a funky one! That meant the entire bag was contaminated!

 

[lplummer52]

My vet said no to peanuts, shelled or not.

 

[YUMgrinder]

whaaaat? Why would my vet say its okay and then another say no?!

peanuts even come in bags of food!?

 

[Kentuckienne]

Well, not all vets are avian experts. Even certified avian vets might disagree at times. But asper is a huge problem and many many birds die from it every year. It's probably that human-grade peanuts would be safe, but fungal spores can survive severe conditions and since it's not a disease that affects humans the peanuts are probably not tested for it.

There are so many safer nuts - you won't have any problem finding something he likes even better. Gus loves pine nuts, though he had to be convinced, he loves cashews because they are big and luscious, but most of all he loves pistachio nuts. LOVES pistachio nuts. I figure, why take a chance?

The odd thing is people put peanut butter in birdie bread and the like, and parrots also love peanut butter. Is there something about the process, maybe heating, that renders the nuts safe? Would plain old human grade unsalted roasted peanuts be OK? IDK. It would be great to see some actual research on the subject. Maybe a university like Cornell, with its stellar vet program, might have some research in progress.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Skittles loves peanuts, so I get him the Harrisons Power Treats which have organic peanuts in them. I'm not sure how they process them, but it is Harrisons so I know its safe. I think something to do with how they process them kills whatever bacteria there may be.

Peanuts, in general, are a very high-fat food so you don't want to give them too often anyways.

As for your vet, not all vets agree on things- even avian vets. There have been times the vet I go to-one will say one thing the other say something different. They are both avian vets, a married couple incidentally. But I have noticed one seems to be more 'cautious' than the other.

 

[YUMgrinder]

Where do you get pistachios and these other nuts you feed your birds? Everywhere I look they are salted.

I'm deathly allergic to pistachios. I loved them till one day last year they sent me to the ER and almost died. I wonder if handling them for my birds is safe. Im also allergic to almonds and macadamia nuts and hazel nuts. Oh how I miss almonds and pistachios.

 

[Scott]

Where do you get pistachios and these other nuts you feed your birds? Everywhere I look they are salted.

I'm deathly allergic to pistachios. I loved them till one day last year they sent me to the ER and almost died. I wonder if handling them for my birds is safe. Im also allergic to almonds and macadamia nuts and hazel nuts. Oh how I miss almonds and pistachios.

You can get them at stores that carry natural and organic foods. Some large grocery stores have raw and unsalted nuts. If you are deathly allergic, speak to your doctor and find out if the fine dust and powder of handling are dangerous. Don't want to find out the hard way!

 

[PickleMeDickles]

Shelled Peanut Nightmare

This really has nothing to do with birds, but the thread did bring up one of my most disturbing young adult memories. I was in college living with a roommate and working 2 jobs. We had absolutely no money so I grabbed some raw shelled peanuts (unbeknownst to me she had bought them to teach her 1st graders to count).

I sat on the couch eating them as fast as I could well working on homework and watching TV (just about ready to leave for work). I finally took a 20-second break and I looked into the bowl and it was full of maggots from the peanuts.

I immediately broke out in hives from head to toe and called my mom hysterically. She called someone from the entomology department at the local museum. The entomologist reassured my mom that not only were the worms not harmful, but actually a great source of protein. The hives were from hysteria.

Suffice it to say, shelled peanuts are not allowed on my property

 

[YUMgrinder]

Re: Shelled Peanut Nightmare

This really has nothing to do with birds, but the thread did bring up one of my most disturbing young adult memories. I was in college living with a roommate and working 2 jobs. We had absolutely no money so I grabbed some raw shelled peanuts (unbeknownst to me she had bought them to teach her 1st graders to count).

I sat on the couch eating them as fast as I could well working on homework and watching TV (just about ready to leave for work). I finally took a 20-second break and I looked into the bowl and it was full of maggots from the peanuts.

I immediately broke out in hives from head to toe and called my mom hysterically. She called someone from the entomology department at the local museum. The entomologist reassured my mom that not only were the worms not harmful, but actually a great source of protein. The hives were from hysteria.

Suffice it to say, shelled peanuts are not allowed on my property

Oh my! That's so funny. Do parrots like maggots?!

 

[PickleMeDickles]

Re: Shelled Peanut Nightmare

I would imagine that grub and easily caught insects would be a really valuable protein source for birds. In fact, I just googled worms and parrots and mealworms pop up.

I used to raise exotic grass finches in large outdoor aviaries many years ago. I would always offer mealworms during breeding season and had great success. In fact, I had so many that I started breeding the mealworms for the birds (the things I get myself into).

At one point I was trying to raise an exotic African grass finch who required ant grub to breed. So I marched out to the largest red ant hole I could find and started digging (I was going to freeze the extra grub). Did I ever piss those suckers off. They came charging out of every mound within a 1/2 acre and tried to kill me. Never again.