10 things that are poisonous for parrots

[Jeaniebean]

I really don't think Coffee should be on the list. The reason is in the wild, the birds eat the coffee beans due to the fact that the bean has a natural insecticide in it, which aids them with mites, etc.

 

My Huey likes a sip of coffee now and then, and he's 23 years young. They also have had onions in chili with no adverse effects. I don't know if they ate them, but they were in there. Avocato is a BIG NO NO and the other big NO NO IS NON STICK PANS OR ANY non stick surface.

 

House Plants too can be a danger. Dracina (the long sticks with a green spikey top)will make your birds drunk-they will find that plant if you have one....

 

Jean

[danmcq]

Jeaniebean wrote:

I really don't think Coffee should be on the list. The reason is in the wild, the birds eat the coffee beans due to the fact that the bean has a natural insecticide in it, which aids them with mites, etc.

 

House Plants too can be a danger. Dracina (the long sticks with a green spikey top)will make your birds drunk-they will find that plant if you have one....

 

Jean

 

Good Post JeanieBean! :-)

 

However, I am not certain I want my Grey to fly at super-sonic speeds or flying while intoxicated .....Thanks for the warning!!

 

{Emotions-00020120}

[Jeaniebean]

LOL Yeah, coffee nerves is a problem. LOL I litterally have to yank the cup from him. He calls in the morning " MOMMIE....COFFEE PLEASE" over and over..I created a monster. If I don't give him one sip, he'll come down off his cage and walk over like a dog waiting right by my feet till I give in. Yet, Dewey doesn't like it. Huey will stick his whole head in the cup, and if I put Orange Juice in the cup instead, he gets mad and grabs the cup with his beak and will NOT let go.

 

One of my people who bought birds from me called me very worried about her "sick birds". I came over and looked around and saw the dracina in the cage with bite marks all over them. The birds couldn't stand up! Once I told her to take away the plant they were fine.

 

Jean

[judygram]

Toxic indoor plants include:

amaryllis

azalea

balsam pear

bird of paradise

boxwood

buttercup

caladium

calla lily

trumpet vine

christmas candle

clematis

coral plant

cowslip

daffodil

delphinium

dumb cane

elephants ear

english ivy

foxglovehemlock

holly

hyacinth

hydrangea

iris

jack-in-the-pulpit

japanese yew

java bean

juniper

lantana

larspur

laurel

lily of the valley

locoweed

mistletoe

mock orange

monkshood

morning glory

narcissus

nightshade

oleander

philodendron

poinsettia

poison ivy & poison oak

pokeweed

rhododendron

rhubarb

skunk cabbage

snowdrop

snow on the mountain

sweet pea

virginia creeper

wisteria

 

I know there are others but this is a start.

[danmcq]

Jean - LOL - That is just too funny.

 

I love the "MOMMIE....COFFEE PLEASE" your Grey does. :-)

[judygram]

Sounds like another Kodak moment, please video that for us, I would probably roll around in the floor laughing at that one.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[danmcq]

Judy,

 

Thanks for that indoor plant list. :-)

 

We have a couple of those listed and I will certainly ensure my Parrots never munch on them.

 

You would think, Parrots, like other wild animals would instinctively know what good and bad.

 

I have read however, that in the wild, Parrots eat clay. It coats their Crops/digestive tract and protects them from the poisons of the tree's and plants, that they ingest as part of their natural feeding process.

 

Obviously, none of us maintain clay for them. At least I've not seen it post about it yet, that anyone does.

[kihei]

I have an avacado tree behind my sofa, across the living room from Kihei...it will never fruit, just has lots of leaves. I wonder if the leaves (if she ever did somehow get over to it, i know better than to underestimate her abilities..) would be toxic too? Off to do a google search..

[crossfit]

Obviously, none of us maintain clay for them. At least I've not seen it post about it yet, that anyone does.

 

Harrison's pellets include clay. It is not just any type of clay. It is particular. I think it is called bentonite but its too late for me to look it up. I will try and remember tomorrow. There is some research that clay can work similarly as charcoal absorbing toxins as well as providing some nutrients itself. This research is in humans. I don't know about parrots.

[pearllyn]

I don't know about the leaves - would be interested to hear what you find out though.

Crossfit that's interesting about the clay - will have to look into that too!

[kihei]

Taken from Wikipedia, link HERE

 

Avocado leaves contain a toxic fatty acid derivative known as persin, which in sufficient quantity can cause equine colic and, without veterinary treatment, death.[30] The symptoms include gastrointestinal irritation, vomiting, diarrhea, respiratory distress, congestion, fluid accumulation around the tissues of the heart, and even death. Birds also seem to be particularly sensitive to this toxic compound. Feeding avocados or guacamole to any non-human animal should be avoided completely. Negative effects in humans seem to be primarily in allergic individuals.

[crossfit]

Okay, got more info on the clay. Its not bentonite. Its montmorillonite. Here is what wikipedia says about the health use:

 

Use in medicine and pharmacology

 

Montmorillonite clay is widely used in medicine and pharmacology.

 

For internal use, montmorillonite is effective in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.[5] It is also used for the prevention of aflatoxicosis,[6] and in the treatment of constipation.[7] Also, a modified version inhibits intestinal absorption of cholesterol (nanotechnology research),[8] and absorbs uric acid.[9] It is used in agriculture to improve growth performance of piglets and fish.[10][11] It ameliorates hyperthyroidism of rats and mice.[12] Montmorillonite is also used in other related research.[13][14][15]

 

Montmorillonite is proven to be effective in use as an adsorptive of heavy metals, toxins, and hazardous chemicals.[16][17][18][19]

 

Antibacterial effects of montmorillonite are well demonstrated.[20][21] [22][23][24][25][26][27]

 

For external use, montmorillonite has also shown its effectiveness.[28][29][30] It has also shown itself useful for tissue engineering.[31]

 

Montmorillonite is widely used in pharmacology for a variety of application, such as stabilization of suspensions and emulsions, viscosizing, adhesion to the skin, and tablet making.[32] It is also used as drug carrier,[33][34] or as part of a drug delivery system,[35][36] such as for controlled drug release;[37] including for gene delivery,[38][39] and for drug targeting to specific tissues.[40] It is also used for stability enhancement in drug and nutrient application.[41] There are also other similar uses.[42]

 

Montmorillonite is also used in the production of pharmaceuticals, e.g. as a catalyst

[Xtreme575]

Dan, thanks for the your curious mind! I'm so thankful for the research you do. I feed cooked beans to Paco almost everyday. But after having read about the beans on here some time ago I got paranoid and doubled the cooking time and rinsing them well with distilled water before feeding. I never knew why, but I wasn't going to take any chances.

[Luvparrots]

I wonder about fresh ginger??? Does anyone know of that is toxic to parrots??

[SunnyBird]

This paragraph says it all. It from http://www.avianweb.com/nutrition.html:

 

Calcium-rich vegetable / fruits and greens are: bok choy, kale, parsley, mustard greens, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, dandelion greens, apricots, figs, endive, okra, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), pinto beans and kidney beans. Please note that large raw beans - such as Anasazi, Black, Fava, Kidney, Lima, Navy, Pinto, and Soy - can cause toxicities when fed raw, causing digestive upsets for people and potentially for birds. Some experts recommend that large beans should be cooked to make them safe and digestible. Others counter that soaking beans for 24 hours starts the germinating process and that soaking makes the beans safe and digestible. For those who do not want to take any risks, it's best to cook large beans thoroughly before feeding to your birds. These beans are not recommended for general sprouting purposes. Certain uncooked dried beans contain enzyme inhibitors, are indigestible , and may cause visceral gout in birds. These enzyme inhibitors may prevent or decrease the utilization in the body of substances, such as trypsin and chymotrypsin, to produce nutritional deficiencies. Beans that can interfere with proteolytic enzymes are lima, kidney and soybeans. Cooking these beans for at least 2 hours destroys these enzyme inhibitors. Other dried beans do not appear to contain these enzyme inhibitors or, if present, are in low concentrations. To be on the safe side, it's best to cook ALL varieties of beans

I feed my fid sprouts which are very healthy but not from the above kinds of beans. As for cooked beans, we eat them every week and Sunny gets his share with no ill effects but much enthusiasm.

 

 

As for the ginger, check out this cool page I found: http://www.landofvos.com/articles/kitchen.html

 

They say it's actually good for birds!

 

GINGER-Called the "wonder drug", the ginger root is actually a rhizome which is similar to several foods known to be consumed in the wild by parrots. It has been used for two thousand years by the Chinese to treat nausea and upset stomach. It is no coincidence that the Japanese serve fresh ginger slices with sushi as insurance against the parasites sometimes found in raw fish. Ginger is a wonderful remedy to use with baby parrots that go through brief periods of colic or throwing up their formula. I mix their formula in ginger tea instead of water and the problem is solved immediately. You can make the tea by steeping two or three slices of fresh ginger root in the water for ten or fifteen minutes. If your parrot must travel and is prone to motion sickness, ginger to the rescue! Add fresh ginger to the food and drinking water several hours before the trip and put a few slices in the carrier. Parrots seem to have an innate sense of what they need and will munch on the ginger to "quell their queasiness" during the trip.

Cheers, Renate