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Why Meat is a No No

Talk about bird illnesses and other bird health related issues. Seeds, pellets, fruits, vegetables and more. Discuss what to feed your birds and in what quantity. Share your recipe ideas.

Re: Why Meat is a No No

Postby stevesjk » Thu Mar 30, 2017 5:52 am

What happens in the wild when they come across a carcus?
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Re: Why Meat is a No No

Postby ParrotsForLife » Thu Mar 30, 2017 8:02 am

stevesjk wrote:What happens in the wild when they come across a carcus?

You just answered your own question basically :lol: wild birds fly for miles meaning they can digest it very quickly, There are reports of Cockatoos eating from carcasses.
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Re: Why Meat is a No No

Postby stevesjk » Thu Mar 30, 2017 10:17 am

So the inability to digest meat is based on lack of flight?
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Re: Why Meat is a No No

Postby Pajarita » Thu Mar 30, 2017 12:36 pm

GreenWing wrote:Thanks, Bird Woman. I appreciate that you're getting what I'm saying. I hope others do, too.

Pajarita, I do not prefer giving salmon over flaxseed. I never said that at all.

In any case, I spent a few minutes in Google and pulled up some articles, some scholarly. I think they have a lot of good information.


Nutritional requirements of Parrots from Beauty of Birds article

Effect of dietary omega-3 fatty acids on red blood cell lipid composition and plasma metabolites in the cockatiel, Nymphicus hollandicus abstract, but full article available, requires a little searching around.

Merck Veterinary Manual for psittacines and nutrition

Current Therapy in Avian Medicine and Surgery REALLY interesting info on page 146, but overall some good information.

Nutritional Considerations See page 21 of 23.


No, no, I know you did not say that you prefer salmon to flax but that was the reason you gave for feeding it when, in reality, flax does the same job so I was wondering why feed something unnatural for the same benefit that something natural could give - thus, the question.

Thank you for the links. I have a couple of them saved myself. On the first one, I don't know if you noticed but they only mention flax seed as supplementation under the Omega 3 part.

The second one is, unfortunately, as worthless as almost every single dietary study done on birds: the whole study lasted only 13 weeks!

I also have the third one and it actually supports my point, and I am quoting:
"Psittacines eat mainly a plant-based diet and can be classified overall as florivores. The content of the diet—fruit, nectar, seeds, or a combination—varies by species."

Yes, interesting information on the fourth ("and it is likely that birds that evolved to eat marine-based organisms (plant or animal origin) have an obligatory requirement for omega 3 fatty acids" - a requirement that I have never found specifically quantified anywhere or mentioned in psittacines -I think I mentioned this in a previous post) but, although they do mention a study feeding fish oil to birds with atherosclerosis, it decries the lack of flax seed in formulated diets in its conclusion.

I couldn't find anything on the fifth link though... the only place where I saw anything about feeding fish it was in reference to piscivorous species.

Please understand that diet is my 'thing'. I've been doing research on it for many years and I love to learn new stuff and debate 'oldies but goodies' (like feeding animal protein to herbivores) with everybody. I am not trying to alienate you, it's that this is right up my alley.
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Re: Why Meat is a No No

Postby Pajarita » Thu Mar 30, 2017 12:43 pm

stevesjk wrote:What happens in the wild when they come across a carcus?


Basically, nothing. There have been lots of comments about grays having been observed feeding from a carcass but there has never been a single video, picture or field biologist report of this ever happening so, if you ask me, it's one of those things that somebody made up to justify feeding meat to parrots and repeated and repeated without anybody actually knowing if it's true. I don't think it is and not only because there are no reputable sources reporting it or because grays are not classified as omnivorous but herbivores, but also because, in the wild, there are no fresh carcasses for parrots to eat from. None, zilch, nada! Predators bring down a prey and eat from it until they are full, and then watch over it to feed from it until it's all gone or it rots (and there are very few species of animals that would and are actually able to eat rotten meat).
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Re: Why Meat is a No No

Postby stevesjk » Thu Mar 30, 2017 1:05 pm

I realise that there isnt much waste in the wild so i was thinking more along the lines of natural deaths and the parrots just happen to arrive on the scene first? Cant see them turning it up? My birds are real scavengers.

Maybe it wouldnt happen often enough?
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Re: Why Meat is a No No

Postby Pajarita » Thu Mar 30, 2017 3:33 pm

Well, again, I don't see this happening. For one thing, parrots only eat what they know is food so, unless a young bird saw its parents or another member of the flock eating from a carcass, it simply would not recognize the dead animal as an actual source of food. And, for another, I doubt that a flock of parrots would spot a fresh carcass before a predator does... I mean, predators are ALWAYS looking for food, it's what they do ALL the time and are much more effective at finding dead animals than any parrot would ever be (they have a very acute sense of smell, which parrots don't).

Now, let me clarify something. It's not that parrots don't love meat - they certainly do! And they do for the same reason that they love cheese and eggs and seeds and nuts - namely, because of the taste. All these things have what it's called 'umami' flavor which parrots have bud tastes for because it's a marker for protein and they are all 'programmed' to gorge on protein when they find it.
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Re: Why Meat is a No No

Postby liz » Thu Mar 30, 2017 7:40 pm

Myrtle got really sneaky and took a chicken bone from a plate.

I had two thigh bones from a roasted chicken. Scraped them real good and washed the fat off.
I knew the Tiels could not bite them so I gave them to them. They don't usually play with toys but they had those bones traveling everywhere and had fun. I took them away when they went to sleep so they would not dry and crack to cause them any harm.

I know they should not have had them but the flock made a joint effort with them. :lol:
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Re: Why Meat is a No No

Postby liz » Thu Mar 30, 2017 7:40 pm

Myrtle got really sneaky and took a chicken bone from a plate.

I had two thigh bones from a roasted chicken. Scraped them real good and washed the fat off.
I knew the Tiels could not bite them so I gave them to them. They don't usually play with toys but they had those bones traveling everywhere and had fun. I took them away when they went to sleep so they would not dry and crack to cause them any harm.

I know they should not have had them but the flock made a joint effort with them. :lol:

Sorry about double post
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Re: Why Meat is a No No

Postby Pajarita » Fri Mar 31, 2017 11:10 am

Nope, not here. No bones for the dogs, the cats or the birds. We are VERY careful to wrap them up before we put them in the garbage and to put the garbage high so the dogs can't reach it.
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