Tomatos..... good? bad? indifferent?

[kaylayuh]

So its only bad if given in excess, and the problem is that birds LOVE it so will preferentially choose corn over other food items...

I must have weird birds. All three of them refuse to eat corn!

[captwest]

I must have weird birds. All three of them refuse to eat corn!

WOW, can't believe they won't eat fresh corn on the cob, i don't think i've ever seen a bird turn it down.

[kaylayuh]

WOW, can't believe they won't eat fresh corn on the cob, i don't think i've ever seen a bird turn it down.

I string it up by poking a hole through the cob center and they don't even touch it. I've also tried steamed frozen corn and they refuse it. The only things I can really get them to eat are peas, rice, black beans or pinto beans, apples, mango, and the occasional tomato. But even then, they rarely eat more than a few pecks of them.

[patdbunny]

I've seen birds fed diets high in corn with both metabolic bone disease and fatty liver...

Birdvet - does that mean there's a correlation with the pelleted diets that list ground corn as the first ingredient with MBD and fatty liver?

So its only bad if given in excess, and the problem is that birds LOVE it so will preferentially choose corn over other food items...

Agreed. I tend not to feed anything that seems a particular favorite more than about once a week. I also run everything through the food processor so it's really hard for my birds to pick and choose.

[birdvet]

Birdvet - does that mean there's a correlation with the pelleted diets that list ground corn as the first ingredient with MBD and fatty liver?

Probably...which diets are you referring to? A lot of the earlier diets weren't very good but they were in the early stages of developing them.

And kaylayuh, you're so lucky. I wish my birds didn't like corn...on the upside, they all hate sunflower seeds. I tested them one day out of curiosity

[patdbunny]

diets w/ corn as first ingredient:
Kaytee Exact pellets
Kaytee Exact handfeeding formula
Zupreem pellets
Roudybush pellets
Pretty Bird pellets
Lafeber pellets
Hagen Tropican pellets
Vetafarms Paradise pellets
Mazuri pellets


Don't know if I missed any brands. I know the older pellets were causing problems with the smaller birds. Is it really the corn or the formulation? If it's the corn, then I would think it's not nutritious to be feeding the high percentage pelleted diets that's the push right now; unless you buy the very few out there that don't have corn as the first ingredient.

[TheNzJessie]

Corn is high in fat and the calcium:phosphorus ratio is out of whack so if you feed too much your bird could develop metabolic bone disease and/or become obese. Its fine in moderation but I wouldn't be keen to feed it too much...I've seen birds fed diets high in corn with both metabolic bone disease and fatty liver...

So its only bad if given in excess, and the problem is that birds LOVE it so will preferentially choose corn over other food items...

my lorikeet goes crazy over corn he gets it for dinner on a sunday night

birdvet are tamarilos ok for budgies and lorikeets? i have an excess amount of them at the moment and cant find a reliable source before i feed them out

[HeatherFeather]

Anything in moderation gets even myself through a rough day of eating right..

I can tell my new girl wasn't interested in the 'madoes. Didn't touch 'em at all.

[FatimaAndCharlie]

Tomatoes have acid so not good for their stomach, but they're not deadly so it's okay if your bird eats it. Just don't feed too much....

My lovebird loves them and every time i cut tomatoes to make lunch or dinner, he can't help but constantly jump into the bowl for tomatoes and keeps trying to lick them. The first time he ate it (more like touched it with his tongue; i wouldn't even call it licking), he started pretending to choke and TERRIFIED me... ROFL!!!!

He's my silly little cutie