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Other Foods for Parrots

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: Other Foods for Parrots

Postby marie83 » Thu Nov 22, 2012 2:44 am

charlieandkiwi wrote:I'm surprised to see tomatoes are on the no feed list. I've never seen that before and have fed it to my conure many times with no problems, thinking it was a good food.

Any idea why it's on the no-feed list?


I've fed them in the past, different places say different things, they certainly aren't going to kill a bird or give it health problems overnight. Just limit what you feed like you would citrus fruits.
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Re: Other Foods for Parrots

Postby IagoTheIRN » Sun Dec 02, 2012 3:07 pm

Why can't parrots have raw tomatoes?? My indian ringneck loves them! I give him tomatoes and capsicum. Banana, apples, orange(sometimes), and a few sunflower seeds.i don't give him too many seeds cus i read online they r fattening and harmful in large quantities. So I use them as treats.
He eats rice now n then too. Pomegranate. And umm yeah. Safflower and grass seeds sometimes too,
Is this okay?? :o :irn:
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Re: Other Foods for Parrots

Postby GreenWing » Sun Dec 02, 2012 4:29 pm

Re: tomatoes, THIS article basically explains why it's on the not-to-feed list. Although the "foods for parrots" list states cooked tomatoes are fine, the linked article says otherwise! I'll find out more info about this.

IagoTheIRN wrote:He eats rice now n then too. Pomegranate. And umm yeah. Safflower and grass seeds sometimes too,
Is this okay?? :o :irn:


Pomegranate is on the list, Kiki loves Pomegranate more than apples! Rice is excellent. Not sure about safflower. I think it's okay from a simple Google search but I'd look into it more.
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Re: Other Foods for Parrots

Postby marie83 » Mon Dec 03, 2012 6:12 am

safflower is fine, its in just about every single seed mix. Treat it as the same as sunflowers though- go easy on them.
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Re: Other Foods for Parrots

Postby GreenWing » Mon Dec 10, 2012 3:43 am

Thanks, Marie you're a dear. :-)
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Re: Other Foods for Parrots

Postby rebcart » Mon Dec 10, 2012 8:49 pm

GreenWing wrote:Re: tomatoes, THIS article basically explains why it's on the not-to-feed list. Although the "foods for parrots" list states cooked tomatoes are fine, the linked article says otherwise! I'll find out more info about this.

Goodness, you'll forgive me for the language, but that article is complete bullshit. How can you make a blanket statement of "every single plant in this diverse family is toxic" without examining whether the offending chemicals vary in concentration across different parts of the plant or not? And whether these compounds are processed differently by different species? Dosage over time is a key factor any real toxicologist would consider, but apparently this article throws it out the window.

Should we say that rhubarb stems are now toxic, only because the leaves are? Should we never feed cherries to our parrots or ourselves, because the stems are poisonous? Apple seeds contain a tiny amount of a not-very-toxic form of cyanide, better never bake an apple pie again!

I would be taking that website's claims with a large bucket of salt.
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Re: Other Foods for Parrots

Postby GreenWing » Tue Dec 11, 2012 7:58 pm

rebcart wrote:Goodness, you'll forgive me for the language, but that article is complete bullshit. How can you make a blanket statement of "every single plant in this diverse family is toxic" without examining whether the offending chemicals vary in concentration across different parts of the plant or not? And whether these compounds are processed differently by different species? Dosage over time is a key factor any real toxicologist would consider, but apparently this article throws it out the window.

Should we say that rhubarb stems are now toxic, only because the leaves are? Should we never feed cherries to our parrots or ourselves, because the stems are poisonous? Apple seeds contain a tiny amount of a not-very-toxic form of cyanide, better never bake an apple pie again!

I would be taking that website's claims with a large bucket of salt.


Eh well I agree it's extreme, BUT like Marie says above: different sources say different things, and parrot owners hold different opinions. The article was shared for the purpose to explain some reasoning behind why some parrot owners don't feed their birds tomatoes. It was printed in Parrot Magazine, which is certainly more reliable as a resource than, say, noparrotsandtomatoes.blogspot.com, lol. Naturally I choose to not agree with it; I personally feed Tiki cooked tomatoes, as in pizza sauce and such. All I know is that "raw" tomatoes is on the no-feed list I received, and I obtained that list from a reliable source. Regardless, I've been meaning to talk to our Avian Vet about this... so I'll post more info when I get it.

Nonetheless, pros and cons are just that, and you can find more cons on this issue than that article alone. Whether you choose to agree or disagree is your own opinion.

EDIT: For the curious on the raw tomatoes opinion, check out this article too
More scholarly info can be found by simply searching "alkaloids and solanaceae" in databases and/or Google Scholar
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Re: Other Foods for Parrots

Postby Baylee4ever » Wed Dec 12, 2012 3:18 pm

wow that is good to know about the tomatoes!
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Re: Other Foods for Parrots

Postby Karma » Sat Dec 15, 2012 10:58 pm

I have seriously become so frustrated with reading a list of foods that are okay for parrots from what seems to be very reliable source, and then seeing contradictions from others that seem to be as credible. How does anyone know what to believe anymore?

Just like research for humans..one researcher finds benefits in drinking coffee while the others find it harmful. Damned if we do and damned if we don't.


I don't even feel comfortable with choosing a pellet that is BEST for our parrots.
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Re: Other Foods for Parrots

Postby GreenWing » Sun Dec 16, 2012 1:16 am

Baylee4ever wrote:wow that is good to know about the tomatoes!


Thanks, I think it's good info to "know", too.

Karma wrote:I have seriously become so frustrated with reading a list of foods that are okay for parrots from what seems to be very reliable source, and then seeing contradictions from others that seem to be as credible. How does anyone know what to believe anymore?

Just like research for humans..one researcher finds benefits in drinking coffee while the others find it harmful. Damned if we do and damned if we don't.


I don't even feel comfortable with choosing a pellet that is BEST for our parrots.


I completely understand. I think the tomatoes thing is just one of those instances that "can potentially" hurt your bird. Apparently there are some who feed it to their birds with no problems, while others will only feed their birds cooked and died tomatoes, while others will completely swear off feeding their parrots anything from the nightshade family. It's just a matter of what you're comfortable with. Personally, I feel good feeding Tiki the A vitamin foods that she is supposed to have. Carrots are always a good thing, as are collard greens...
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