Are the following foods safe for birds?

[Maria]

Here’s just a few things I need to know about if these are safe for birds, immense thanks and bird hugs

Bean sprouts

Water chestnuts

Bamboo shoots

Baby Corn (the ones that look like tiny corn on the cobs)

Bell peppers (any color)

I would buy these foods only from the fresh produce department of the grocery store for my bird, (the ones which are safe ).

Just wanting to add more variety of veggies to his nutrition, but need to check if they are safe first, as some veggies and fruits are safe for humans but not for birds, and certain things we have to be careful of.

Thanks

[liz]

I would stay with veggies that are bright colored. Like a potatoe, white means carb and low nutrition.

[brfussne]

Always make sure you buy organic because pesticides are harmful to parrots. Be sure to wash off your veggies & fruit really good before giving them to your parrot!

[Maria]

Yes, there are organic sections, but I would love to have reply from people, as well, who know of those specific foods listed, which ones are safe, and which ones are not; as certain foods which are safe for humans are not safe for birds.

thanks

[marie83]

Bean sprouts- yes these are very good but be cautious that they havent been treated to prevent mould. Best thing you can do is to sprout them yourself to be sure.

Water chestnuts- Again they are fine, I wouldn't feed too many though.

Bamboo shoots- Should be ok in small amounts if cooked according to this website, couldnt find any other info on this though so do your own research to be sure.
http://caiquesite.com/Foods/dangerous_human_foods.htm If I'm unsure whether to feed something or not I generally dont.

Baby Corn (the ones that look like tiny corn on the cobs)- Never found anything that says dont and my parrot has it semi regually with no problems

Bell peppers (any color)- Any pepper is fine to feed so I've read from several different resources. mine have peppers with no problems, I've read about some people making toys out of them.

Best thing to do is check any food your not sure of with three independant resources,(Beware the sites that copy info from other sites) if two say that its ok to feed and one doesnt I personally won't take the risk. If 3 say its ok to feed then I'll feed it.

[Maria]

Alfalfa sprouts. The sprouts and seeds of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) contains the amino acid L-canavanine
?????? ????? ????? ?????

Marie! thank you for your response!

Also, the above it says on that site about alfalfa sprouts, I'm surprised! I thought alfalfa sprouts were safe for parrots?! They can also be toxic to parrots?! What is "canavanine? It's toxic?

I'm a bit confused, the site you're referring to (for the bamboo shoots) is about foods toxic to parrots, and alfalfa sprouts is on it, indicating they're toxic to parrots.

There is another website listing "Fresh Food List For Parrots", and it lists alfalfa sprouts on it! It lists it exactly like this, under Healthy Fresh Vegetables section: "Sprouts (Alfalfa, Broccoli, Bean)".

Here is the link: http://www.loveyourparrot.com/food.html. When you get there, scroll down toward the middle of the page. This page is full of healthy fruits and veggies for parrots.

thanks.

[Maria]

Ok, maria, thank you so much, reading the rest of your posting

Also, here is a list my parrot shop gave me (not all inclusive), which lists toxic foods for parrots:
Avocado. Mushrooms. Chocolate. Rhubarb. Eggplant. Caffeine.

She also has a listing on it of toxic plants and flowers and toxic woods and safe woods.

But please share insight on the alfalfa sprouts thingy? Cause I'm a bit lost and confused on that.

Thanks.

[marie83]

Sometimes you do get conflicting info on things, sometimes its down to how its prepared, sometimes its just differences in opinion or scaremonging. If in doubt dont feed. I check 3 different independant resources and if theres any conflict in the information I dont take the risk simples. Take mushrooms, some say its ok to feed, others dont, I think most of the info these days says mushrooms are definitely NOT ok but I would never chance it.
I read somewhere a debate on tomatoes too with some sources saying they are ok and others saying their not ok. I personally dont see any reason why tomatoes are not ok but I'd just rather not take the risk even though I used to give tiny amounts of tomatoes before I had an internet connection.

Theres alot of info out there and its hard to sort out whats good, bad or mearly ok information.

[Maria]

oh, I forgot, the seeds of apples are also toxic to birds.

[Shelby]

Alfalfa sprouts. The sprouts and seeds of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) contains the amino acid L-canavanine ??????

I'm drawing on what I studied in my Nutrition class a few weeks ago... amino acids are a type of acid that is actually a building block in the body and are a necessary part of the diet. I'm pretty sure that they either combine to form proteins or important fats in the body. We studied this several weeks ago and my brain was overloaded with lots of scientific terminology, so I'll have to check my textbook again to be sure of what exactly they do. I think they also had a chart of several common amino acids and what they do; if L-canavanine is listed, I'll let you know.

I also read somewhere that you should always take out the seeds of fresh fruit before giving it to your bird. I'm not sure who takes the seeds out for them in the wild, but better safe than sorry!