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Aspergillosis


Dave007

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Thank you very much for the information. My backyard for now is just ground, with grass growing all over. It can get pretty moist when it rains, obviously. It will be re-constructed and will get a pool and bricks and everything. However, for now I am concerned. Should I be? Obviously I will be giving my TAG as great a nutrition I can give him and all the attention he needs, too ^^ I will also help him get over change 'n' all.

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  • 3 years later...

This hasn't been replied to in a few years but I have been recently reading on other forums about people not feeding any peanuts at all due to this issue. I have fed Scooty peanuts the past 10 years and have had no issues thus far. Of course, that's not to say the next one could be the one that does it. I buy his peanuts from the pet store in the pet bird section (not the wildbird section) in hopes these will be treated a little better in regards to processing. I'm sure that's just wishful ignorant thinking but I'd rather have that then the bulk bin at the grocery store that who knows what gross crap has been coughed out on them and touched with nicotine hands and everything else. Like I said, this might just be my mind justifying buying those over the others offered.

 

My questions are for those of you that do feed various nuts and peanuts and things, do you bake them first? I heard that some people do that and it will greatly minimize the risk. If this is accurate is there any documentation proving that thought process? And if so, what is the preferred baking temp and duration? Peanuts are Scooty's favorite high value treat and I'd hate to take those away from him after so many years.

 

However, after working in the veterinary industry as long as I have...I cannot stand it when someone says to me that they let their dog eat cooked chicken bones because they've done it for years and never had any problems...or my dog doesn't live outside so I don't need to give them heartworm prevention. So, I don't want to be that jerk person that says that I've fed peanuts for 10 years so they have to be safe and everyone else is wrong....you know?

 

What are your thoughts?

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This hasn't been replied to in a few years but I have been recently reading on other forums about people not feeding any peanuts at all due to this issue. I have fed Scooty peanuts the past 10 years and have had no issues thus far. Of course, that's not to say the next one could be the one that does it. I buy his peanuts from the pet store in the pet bird section (not the wildbird section) in hopes these will be treated a little better in regards to processing. I'm sure that's just wishful ignorant thinking but I'd rather have that then the bulk bin at the grocery store that who knows what gross crap has been coughed out on them and touched with nicotine hands and everything else. Like I said, this might just be my mind justifying buying those over the others offered.

 

My questions are for those of you that do feed various nuts and peanuts and things, do you bake them first? I heard that some people do that and it will greatly minimize the risk. If this is accurate is there any documentation proving that thought process? And if so, what is the preferred baking temp and duration? Peanuts are Scooty's favorite high value treat and I'd hate to take those away from him after so many years.

 

However, after working in the veterinary industry as long as I have...I cannot stand it when someone says to me that they let their dog eat cooked chicken bones because they've done it for years and never had any problems...or my dog doesn't live outside so I don't need to give them heartworm prevention. So, I don't want to be that jerk person that says that I've fed peanuts for 10 years so they have to be safe and everyone else is wrong....you know?

 

What are your thoughts?

 

There's nothing wrong with human grade peanuts. I've given them for years with no ill effects. If you don't feel like buying a large bag of human grade peanuts then get as many peanuts from a seed mix bag as you can. Get a baking tray, spread the nuts out. Us as many as you can. Heat up oven to 350 degrees. When ready, put tray in oven for 15 minutes. Voila, human grade peanuts. No disease, no parasites.

Peanuts are the only one that I take the shell off because the shell is so thin that one bite and the peanuts wind up in the cage tray. So I hand feed all of the birds.

AS far as walnuts, because they're so big I crack one in half and give the birds a half nut and they dig in and remove the nut.

One of the favorite nuts my birds love are almonds. I never crack any of them even though they're difficult to crack but each bird wants to eat them unshelled. It takes a while to crack them and then they dig out the internals. Cracking unshelled almonds is very good for the beak.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/DaveVP/DSCN0273.jpg

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Scooty also enjoys breaking into the peanuts and almonds. He eats the nut too but seems to have the most fun getting to it lol. I'll go ahead and bake the ones I have already and just buy them baked and unsalted from now on. Thanks guys :)

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It's the spendy cooked unsalted in-shell pistachios that are a bummer. Very costly but much loved.

 

I've never considered pistachios all these years lol....I'm gonna get some this week and see what he thinks! Thanks for the idea :)

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Got a question on this subject. Since our grey doesn't like nuts I've never given this much thought but our caique would hop a country mile for a raw peanut. I've tried to get him to eat human grade peanuts with NO success. He will only eat the nuts that come in the volkman hookbill after I shuck them. Reading this thread over he weekend I decided to bake his bag of nuts in the oven as indicated earlier in this thread but now he won't touch them.

 

Are caiques at risk for aspergillosis as in one of the books I have by J. McMichael (a wealth of knowledge regarding caiques) never mentions aspergillosis in his writings...

 

Thanks in advance

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Got a question on this subject. Since our grey doesn't like nuts I've never given this much thought but our caique would hop a country mile for a raw peanut. I've tried to get him to eat human grade peanuts with NO success. He will only eat the nuts that come in the volkman hookbill after I shuck them. Reading this thread over he weekend I decided to bake his bag of nuts in the oven as indicated earlier in this thread but now he won't touch them.

 

Are caiques at risk for aspergillosis as in one of the books I have by J. McMichael (a wealth of knowledge regarding caiques) never mentions aspergillosis in his writings...

 

Thanks in advance

 

Aspergillus can affect every parrot species. Greys and amazons are most suseptable . Even wild birds can sometimes get it although it's not common. They don't breathe in dusty air, don't eat moldy food or live in areas where the mold can develop. They can fly away from all these bad situations.

The disease can develop in other ways too. Usually indoors. As far as your bird liking or disliking certain nuts, compare that situation to natural foods that a parrot will eat such as vegetables. Hypothetically, lets say that there's 10 good kinds of vegetables for a bird to eat and a person buys them. Just because they're healthy and a natural food for parrots, that doesn't mean that a parrot will eat all the different vegetables that are purchased. Luckily, maybe 3 or 4. That's why we suggest doing different things to the vegetables to make them more appealing but that doesn't mean that the bird will change it's mind. Some will, some won't.

The reason it isn't mentioned in a book is because it comes in a specialized book on bird diseases. That book would include all diseases that affect all parrots.

AS far as I feel about nuts in the shell, I believe in baking or cooking or rinsing all kinds because a person doesn't know where the picker last had his/her grimy fingers or dirty hands. They also may have a cold and sneezed on them. Maybe they just came out of the restroom.

Don't you get excited and thrilled when you find out that people have been stepping on loads of grapes with their bare feet just to make wine.

Edited by Dave007
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Dave,

 

Would boiling them work to kill off any potential bacteria. My son brought up this topic with his chemistry class today and his teacher mentioned dropping the nuts in 240deg water for 10-15 minutes...

 

Seeing our Caiques enjoyment when he gets a glimpse of these nuts I don't want him to miss out...

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Dave,

 

Would boiling them work to kill off any potential bacteria. My son brought up this topic with his chemistry class today and his teacher mentioned dropping the nuts in 240deg water for 10-15 minutes...

 

Seeing our Caiques enjoyment when he gets a glimpse of these nuts I don't want him to miss out...

 

I really have no experience with boiling water. The only thing I've had to do is rely on very hot tap water for certain nuts and baking for other types of nuts.

I do know that putting unshelled peanuts ( also known as monkey nuts) in boiling water would destroy the shell and probably the internal nut. For that type of nut, baking is the best way to go. For other very hard shelled nuts, you can try boiling water but again I have no idea what'll happen. I know that peanuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, hazelnuts can withstand a short trip to the baking oven. They're aren't too many other types of nuts that are available for parrots. So you can try it out in boiling water but don't experiment on your birds. You should eat them first, see how they taste, check the consistency and color of the nut and check the smell. Personally, I would stick with methods that have already been proven to be safe even if a teacher talked about other ways of doing it. It doesn't really take much to turn on and preheat an oven.

One other thing----Aspergillus is most common on and in soft shelled peanuts. The major reason is that those types of nuts have broken shells in which contaminents may get into. One other thing-----Brazil nuts are commonly given to macaws because they're the only parrot that has enough strength and powerful beak to actually break them so buying them is a waste of money unless you have a macaw.

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Sophie eats nuts of all kinds! I buy them at my pet store. Of course, I worry about many diseases including aspergillosis, but for the past 15 years, I have worried about every disease she can have. I am quite aware!

I practice " safe handling". If you want to pickup my bird, wash your hands! My kids get it! Noone picksup Sophie, until they have washed their hands with soap and water. Its been sucessful Nancy

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