pom juice and ather

[furley]

Just a quick ? as I am a vegetarian, and I juice lots and I try to give some to my gray but recently I found that sako really likes the organic store bought juice called Pom which is a pomegranate juice from concentrate.Is this a good idea to let her drink and if so how much and how often and what about other juices,or is there to much sugars in them.

Thanks if anyone can help.

[Dave007]

Just a quick ? as I am a vegetarian, and I juice lots and I try to give some to my gray but recently I found that sako really likes the organic store bought juice called Pom which is a pomegranate juice from concentrate.Is this a good idea to let her drink and if so how much and how often and what about other juices,or is there to much sugars in them.

Thanks if anyone can help.

 

Any fruit whether it's solid or liquid doesn't give vitamins to a parrot. It goes in and out pretty quickly. There are no benefits with fruits. Fruits and Juices make the droppings very liquid. People use them as treats once in a while. As far as a concentrate, you would need to look on the container and see if it has sugar added. Regular sugar is no good for a grey. It's unhealthy. Any juices that the product has should be the natural juice in what the juice or fruits you're giving. it's important that you check to see what type of sugar is in it. I have no idea about concentrates. I can say that years ago, there were juice concentrates for humans but all of them had sugar added. Solid pomegranates are usually avoided by people because of the extreme mess they make ( splashing on walls, floors making different areas look like blood).

[furley]

Thanks David I well cut them out,maybe once in a blue moon,Thanks again

[Inara]

Furley, I make a lot of fresh juices (veggies mixed with berries usually) and Inara loves a few drops of those. In the wild, some species will eat a lot of fruit, but they need the fruit sugars to replenish the glycogen stores in their muscles for flying energy. Short burst flying in birds rapidly depletes the muscle glycogen stores. Long flights draws more from the liver stores which come more from fats. (Much more complex than this but this is the condensed version).

 

If your bird isn't flighted, and doesn't get a lot of exercise then fruits, sugars, juices, and simple grains like white flour bread, white rice, etc. are not going to be good in large quantities. (I don't give my bird rice because of the arsenic levels in most rice, and white bread is useless). Fruit juices are like feeding them a lot of whole fruit at one time if you've juiced it yourself -- (not the stuff in the bottle, which is like giving them pure sugar water). If your bird is flighted and you exercise your bird with flight training in the house, for example, your bird is doing mostly short burst flights compared to what they would be doing in the wild, and so to feed a little fruit before and/or after will be OK and can be helpful. Just remember, bird quantity not in human quantity.

 

A person who long flies their bird (perhaps outside like those who free-fly their birds) would also want to give some fruit and ensure their birds are getting enough of the proper kinds of fats and proteins.

 

Fruits are high in moisture, and like Dave said will quickly go through your bird. This also ensures that they are not bogged down for flight. Most birds will drop a poo before beginning a flight, or in the event of a startled flight, will drop one during or immediately after. Sort of like dumping cargo

 

So to answer your question more directly with regard to juice, (just my opinion), if it's unsweetened (no sugar, no fructose, dextrose, corn syrup, etc) pure fruit juice -- then a few little drops off the tip of your finger is fine to have with you to share when you make your juice. If it is bottled juice and is loaded with sugar, just skip and give your bird a little bite of fresh fruit instead.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Inara

[Greywings]

Good explanation and well written Inara. Mine just had some fresh Pomegranate yesterday yes it is messy but they had fun and it kept them busy and happy.

[furley]

Thanks Inara, Sako is a no flight girl for now ,but it would be cool to teach her to free fly but not sure that well happen,I do take her out lots for when I go on my walks and stuff and I do juice a lot for my self so thank you for your suggestions with given her a bit off my finger.

And also thank you for this imfor as I love to learn on how to provide the best life I can for the little girl.

Love and light my friend

[Dave007]

Thanks Inara, Sako is a no flight girl for now ,but it would be cool to teach her to free fly but not sure that well happen,I do take her out lots for when I go on my walks and stuff and I do juice a lot for my self so thank you for your suggestions with given her a bit off my finger.

And also thank you for this imfor as I love to learn on how to provide the best life I can for the little girl.

Love and light my friend

 

In case you're not aware of certain phrases--------

 

FREE FLYING means that the bird is flying outside with NO flight harness:(. That's not what you should be thinking about. Greys and other parrots fly away never to be seen again.

Flying with an aviator harness is what's used when taking a bird outside. They can be purchased at pet stores or online.