Safe to eat or not?

[smartDancer]

I was wondering if unpopped popcorn was really ok for a bird to eat because it is so compact. Also, I heard that rice is dangerous for birds to eat because it expands in their stomach. Does this mean the African Grey should not eat rice?

[Talon]

I don't know about the uncooked rice, I only feed cooked rice. Others here will know the answer I'm sure.

Uncooked popcorn is okay for them. I feed Talon the Indian corn on the cob before popping it. Mostly she loves to pull the kernels off. I don't think she even eats them.

Well, I don't actually feed it to her, I put it in her cage for something to so.

[lovemyGreys]

The uncooked rice is a debatable one,some feed uncooked, personally i cook mine before feeding it to my greys & macaw.From what information i can find i would suggest air on the side of caution & always cook it

The uncooked popcorn is fine, but as Talon rightly points out i think they tend to play with it as opposed to actually eating the hard kernels.

[judygram]

I always thought that uncooked rice would be bad for our birds, I thought that was the reason behind not using rice to throw at weddings anymore, we use birdseed, because the rice expands in their crops and can kill them.

 

Josey loves popped corn, I don't know how much of it she really eats but she wants it every time I have any so I indulge her, Sunny too.

[lovemyGreys]

From researching on the net this is what i have found....

 

Rice will not expand in the stomach. Uncooked rice expands by absorbing hot (usually boiling) water. Though the water doesn't have to be boiling for absorption to take place, absorbtion slows greatly at normal avian body temperatures. So, even if the water was available in the bird's stomach, it would take hours, perhaps days, for the rice to expand significantly. Acid in the stomach would break down the rice and pass it through to the next stage of digestion long before this became an issue. Moreover, birds just don't drink a lot of water, because the weight makes it harder for them to fly. And what little water they do drink passes through their digestive system much faster than the rice. But, even if the water and the rice stayed there in the stomach for long enough for full absorbtion to take place, the total volume of the rice and water does not increase when the rice absorbs the water.

[danmcq]

LOL - This sounds like some old wives tales on the food "Puffing Up" that kids could eat and kill them.

 

Look Mom!! Our Grey can't stand up on his feet. He has puffed up like a basketball and his feet are inside his belly. And he is rolling away downhill!!!! :laugh: :silly:

 

<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2008/07/07 15:35

[judygram]

Thanks Tracy for the information, I guess this old bird doesn't know squat but then what else is new:blink:

 

Dan, I could have done without that graphic but it did make me laugh, barely:whistle: