peanuts

[betsyboop]

A very interested in this debate I do know from our vet that dirty monkey nuts as we call them here is dangerous for our parrots as they can cause disease.When we got our charlie the amazon she was not well and we took her to the vet to find out what was wrong with her,he took some blood and x-rays and various tests too,and he asked us if we fed her dirty food such as peanuts,and sunflower seeds,we said no she came to us like this we did not know what was wrong with her as she had water coming down her nose and not going up on her perch,she was diagnois with ASPERGELLIOUS disease due to being fed dirty food and not looked after properly that was 6 yrs ago and beleive it or not she is still here with us to this day for how long nobody knows each day as it comes with her,one day fine the other bad,breathing like somebody having an asthma attack and gasping for breath this is due to dirty peanuts.So please make sure that the nuts you give are clean on the outside please,dirty or rotten in the bid.

[judygram]

I only feed shelled peanuts just for that very reason, but thanks for the heads up as it bears repeating, you are lucky that Charlie is still surviving, you must be taking good care of him, bless you.

[BaxtersMom]

Thanks for sharing that with us and explaining it so well. When I first got my grey I heard a lot of bad things about peanuts but noticed all the pet stores I went into were offering them so I was very confused. I finally asked and they said about what you said above.

 

They also said that since peanuts are grown in the ground, for one, the dirt is not good for them but also has moisture in it which can lead to mold inside the shell.

 

I am not sure if the peanuts they offer in the pet stores have been roasted to get all the moisture out but am assuming so.

 

Karma to you for taking such good care of Charlie. He probably wouldn't still be around if it weren't for you. {Feel-good-000200BB}

[mjames74]

I just dont buy pet grade peanuts.

 

If a Bird food I buy has them I dig them out and throw then away.

 

I buy a bag of roasted peanuts from the grocery store because of the moisture like mentioned above and they are FDA approved which has more strict policies in place than pet grade foods for the most part.

[casper]

I stopped feeding the monkey nuts for this reason.

I offer pine nuts instead as a treat now.

 

I also throw them away out of any bird mixes.<br><br>Post edited by: casper, at: 2008/12/30 22:28

[Luvparrots]

I too only give human grade shelled peanuts to Ana Grey as a treat, I just luv to watch her shell them, she is so delicate when she does it. Pine nuts are her other favorite which I put in the from-scratch corn muffins I make her, she loves them.

[ajlinva]

I also throw away any peanuts found in bird seed and only give human grade peanuts as a treat once in awhile. They do love them so much. But, I believe they love almonds just as much and so much better for them as a treat.

[judygram]

Josey does not care much for almonds but she loves peanuts but I have cut her back on peanuts or monkey nuts as some like to call them but pecans and walnuts are a hit.

[she]

Charlie does not get monkey nuts. I give walnuts, almonds or ceder nuts.

[Talon]

MY vet says NO PEANUTS AT ALL!! Too much of a rick. Human Grade are not 100% safe for them.

[judygram]

Aww man, Josey is going to be so disappointed, she loves peanuts but a risk is a risk so no more peanuts:(

[Adhaincroi]

My vet said human grade are ok...as a treat...I do feed them in the shell though...do you think shelled are better...means Tiki would get less as there are usually 2 per shell and then I could give just one at a time...and he will most likely lose most of it to the ground...he doesn't like any other nuts though...and I do not feed any kind of seed mixture...I get Lafeber berries...that's it for seed

[Talon]

Dr. Flock........Where are you when we need you...............help us with this will you? :blink: :pinch: :unsure:

[BaxtersMom]

I just bought a very small bag of human greade roasted "out of the shell" peanuts from an organic food store. Shouldn't these be totally safe?:unsure:

[judygram]

They should be Erika but we need to hear from Dr Flock,:blush: I mean Dave to find out whether they are safe for our fids.

[Dave007]

Human grade peanuts are processed in order to kill off any aspergillous that may be on the shell. people can get that disease so that's why they're processed in order to ward off disease. Birds are prone to this disease too. You can give the whole peanut to yor bird but it'll take about 5 sec to break the shell to get to the peanuts. Shelled peanuts are also fine. They should be unsalted. They won't produce any weight problems for greys becauses greys don't have a weight problem. They can also be given to other species too. Small birds like them. Human grade tastes better. Any that come in parrot mix should be thrown away. They're not cooked.

 

PS----I should also added this yesterday

 

it's alright to give peanuts as long as everything is proper about them. Cooked, clean, purchased from stores that always deal in decent food of all types.

Talon spoke of her vet who said *no peanuts ever*. well, he says that because he doesn't know how good they are, where they were purchased, what general quality they are, how many are given.

The reason he's saying that is because he's taking the better safe than sorry attitude which all vets should do but don't.

But there's another side to giving nuts. People give peanuts because they like to watch the bird break the shell and eat them but as I said, it takes about 3 sec for the bird to break the shell open. So people sometimes don't see the capabilities of the bird. For those bird's that like almonds, you see a surgical procedure which will take about 15 to 20 min to accomplish with almonds and almonds are good for birds. They don't need to be given in a tiny quantity and my belief is that they shouldn't have to perform in order to get them.

So here's 3 almonds from 3 different greys and their surgical procedure. it's fun to watch them totally concentrate on doing this. Notice how all of the almonds have had successful surgery.

 

<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/01/08 19:15

[judygram]

Thanks so much Dave for coming thru with the information we needed, I knew I could count on you and you never disappoint me. :kiss:

[Luvparrots]

Thanks for the info on the unsalted human grade peanuts, Ana Grey would have been very disappointed if she had to give these up!!! We munch them together. Dr. Flock you are a doll, thanks for well--just being!!!

[Talon]

THANK YOU DAVE!!! You have made so many birds happy!! :woohoo: :woohoo:

[judygram]

Yes my birds are so happy now that they have their peanuts back for what nuts they do like they go nuts over them:blush: :laugh: :whistle:

[BaxtersMom]

That was the answer I was hoping for to:) I don't think my flock would appreciate being without their peanuts. It's one of their lifes "pleasures":woohoo:

[judygram]

Yep, peanuts and cheddar cheese are their two favorite things they go nuts over. I'm a mite fond of them myself but I like the salted variety so I have to buy the unsalted for them.

[Char]

My bird must be crazy. She won't eat nuts of any kind. I have tried them all. She will break the peanut open and shred the shell but she doesn't eat the nuts.

 

She does however go crazy for grapes.

[BecoG]

Our vet suggested not to offer Cocco any peanuts as it increases the frequency of feather shedding. Maybe this is an individual case, but we did notice alot less feathers in his cage ever since we stopped offering peanuts!

[davek85]

Wilma doesn't seem to know what to do with almonds in the shell. She takes it from me and then just drops it. I tried oening them a little but she still does nothing with them. Does she just not like them?