Goldfish Crackers

[GreenWing]

Okay, so I was told that giving your parrot a few Goldfish crackers a week is good for them. I was concerned about the salt content but was told it's fine, a few a week is good for them and gives them all the calcium they need. I'll discuss this with my Avian Vet when I take Chance in for her check up, but... thoughts?

[Pajarita]

Goldfish crackers for calcium? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense because, for one thing, there is only 4% of calcium in them along with salt and cholesterol which are not good for them so you are much better off feeding broccoli and kale which are not only higher in calcium but also have a better quality of it (their calcium is 50% bioavailable while calcium derived from milk or cheese is only 30%) as well as having fiber, betacarotene, vit C, etc. - all good and nothing bad.

[GreenWing]

It confuses me, too, but according to this particular person who works with parrots, it's the cheese in the goldfish crackers that gives the calcium. What you say makes perfect sense, though (i.e., broccoli and kale et al)

I guess I'll see what the avian vet says, for curiosity purposes

[Pajarita]

LOL - Problem with that premise is that the crackers don't have that much cheese in them - by the way, I checked the manufacturer's nutritional values for the 4% calcium.