Very Important Info to know re. Aspergillosis

[lovethatgrey]

I never offer any type of peanuts to my flock and certainly won't consider it after reading this article.

 

http://www.avianweb.com/aspergillosis.html

[judygram]

I never give my birds unshelled peanuts but they do get human grade unsalted peanuts occasionally, I don't see the problem with them.

[jessdecutie18]

Scary! I give Yoshi the occasional peanut... She loves them.

[carriekinz]

Really??? Even unshelled ones? Why the heck do so many parrot seed feeds have unshelled peanuts in them?? Our new Grey came with two bags of food, one of which contains peanuts.

[Dave007]

I personally think that a mass opinion of something ( cause of Aspergillosis--specifically peanuts) )isn't correct unless it's been studied over and over. Specific reasons and descriptions of items need to be examined. I can bring up articles from well known vets in the Avian community that really don't put such a stigma on peanuts.

Aspergillosis can just as easily be contracted by people and they get it for many reasons, none of which has anything to do with peanuts. It's an airborne surface spore and can affect weak birds who are in dirty conditions and also healthy people who are in ideal conditions.

Some articles talk about where peanuts come from and how they're grown. It may sound terrible yet many seed companies--both well known and less well known put unshelled peanuts in their mix. They also add shelled peanuts( raw) to the mix. They're completely afraid of law suits so go out of their way to make sure the ingredients are safe for birds even if they're raw. In the wild, any type of nut is raw and is surrounded by the same things that peanuts are surrounded by. The birds eat them though.

As far as putting any item into their product that has spores and mold, it should be remembered that mold and spores also can get on the other types of seed in that bag which is why seed companies make sure of their product.

I too remove the peanuts from my seed mixtures but not for any health reason. It's totally my fault. The reason is that many years ago, I spoiled my greys by giving them unshelled peanuts that were roasted and human grade. So, they simply ignore the others that are in their seed mixtures because they know what I'll give them during the day and they're fussy. I give them 5 to 6 unshelled human grade peanuts every day.

As far as the better name brand foods that are sold, I don't buy them simply because when I buy seed, I get it in 50 lb bags from a feed store that also sells feed for horses, cows, sheep, chickens and rodents that people have as pets. because of how many birds I have and if there was a problem with what's in those bags, the percentages of a disease spreading with my birds would be much, much higher than the bird or two that the average person has and I've never had any problems with disease plus some of my birds also have chicks with them and chicks can contract many things because of a lack of immune systems.

[Elvenking]

I mainly feed Issac veggies and other cooked goodies. He picks through his seed mix and I usually take the larger peanuts in teh shell out because bugs can get in them and such rendering a pretty nasty peanut. But given all the precautions in that article, how do these guys make it in the wild? I have seen videos of them forraging in the mud where I know other animals deficate. This kind of makes me feel that I am not doing to bad by giving him an unsalted cashew or almond.

[Dave007]

You really should be giving him more than the occasional almond. Those nuts have vitamins in them that a parrot needs and even better, those almonds shouldn't be shelled. Break off about 1/4 inch of the pointed end and let your bird have some excersise trying to get to the innards. The only problem with unshelled almonds is that they're hard to buy except when holidays arrive such as Xmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. Usually, they're in the mixed nut bins but they're much less expensive when purchased that way as opposed to the 12 oz packages of shelled almonds that stores have all year long. But if you can only buy the shelled ones, fine. Just make sure to remember that the almonds need to be considered a health food. And yes, they do eat things that are in mud and feces and weeds that other animals shit on but the reason is that most parrots are scavengers and will eat a large variety of things that we find gross.

I really don't know about cashews because the second they're in my house I take them over instantly.

[Luvparrots]

My birds love nuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, macadamias, Ana Grey steals them from me all the time!!!! Little booger!

[Xtreme575]

Haha! Dave, I hear you on the cashews, they don't last long with me around either. I keep offering seeds/nuts that I have in a parrot mix, he won't touch any of it. I'm actually going to try again right now. Let's see what happens, but so far, not interested.

[lovethatgrey]

At the moment I give Emma 2.5 almonds per day. I wonder if this is enough?

 

You really should be giving him more than the occasional almond. Those nuts have vitamins in them that a parrot needs and even better, those almonds shouldn't be shelled. Break off about 1/4 inch of the pointed end and let your bird have some excersise trying to get to the innards. The only problem with unshelled almonds is that they're hard to buy except when holidays arrive such as Xmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. Usually, they're in the mixed nut bins but they're much less expensive when purchased that way as opposed to the 12 oz packages of shelled almonds that stores have all year long. But if you can only buy the shelled ones, fine. Just make sure to remember that the almonds need to be considered a health food. And yes, they do eat things that are in mud and feces and weeds that other animals shit on but the reason is that most parrots are scavengers and will eat a large variety of things that we find gross.

I really don't know about cashews because the second they're in my house I take them over instantly.

[Dave007]

3 is fine. 4 will cause your bird to love you more.

[lovethatgrey]

Hahaha!! Good one Dave!!