Black walnuts?

[Mama CJ]

I have a couple of black walnut trees in my yard beside a creek. Are they safe to feed to my parrots? I know then need to have the outer husk removed. Do they also need to be dried and cured? Are they nutritionally worth the effort? Any info would be welcomed.

[birdhouse]

As far as I know, any type of walnut is fine food for a grey. In particular, they're a good source of Vit A, calcium, fiber, certain acids & oils. They are a little on the fattening side, though. So you might want to limit how much you feed.

 

I'd think it would be beneficial to be able to feed them as is because aging & drying can destroy many good natural nutrients. However certain nut oils go rancid so they have a shorter shelf life. You might want to harvest, wash & refrigerate them. Or you could shell them & freeze the meat for longer term storage.

 

They should also be good for foraging. See if they can open them by themselves. It will give them something to keep them busy & you might be surprised. Otherwise, just start them & let the fids do the rest.

 

Walnut shells might be a fun toy part, too. If you can find a way to work w/them.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juglans_nigra

Edited October 3, 2011 by birdhouse

[Mama CJ]

I think I will freeze them so I can use them as needed. I haven't worked with the shells yet but they as so hard I would think it could be easily drilled for hanging.