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Palm oil versus Palm nuts


Timnehmommi

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The point is, they eat MANY Palm Nuts in the wild, not just 2. They will not get the same nutrition from such a low intake as they will if you also add the Palm Oil to part of the foods they eat.

 

Feeding them Palm Nuts, as many of us do is a great treat for them and the additional nutrients from them not contained in the Oil that has been extract is certainly beneficial too.

 

But, keep in mind, the Palm Nuts obtained here in the states is NOT the same variety as found in African and does not contain the Red Palm Oil or it's other properties.

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Red Palm Oil is derived from the fruit of the dende palm, which is native to Africa. However, there are two types of palm oil that are sold; red palm oil which is made from the fruit of the palm and palm kernel oil which is made from the seed/nut of the palm. It's very important to make sure you are only buying unrefined RED palm oil that is NOT from the kernel, as the kernel type does not have the same nutrients as the red palm oil and has a much different ratio of fatty acids. (I'm sure feeding nuts in small quantities is no big deal, but it's important to understand that the nut is NOT the most nutritious part for your bird.) There are several studies which suggest the high levels of Vitamin E & tocopherals/tocotrienols in red palm oil actually help reduce cholesterol and improve the body's overall health and immune defense, but if you're only feeding the palm kernel oil then you're getting a lot more fat and a lot less cholesterol reduction. Translating this to parrots, it's been theorized that the high incidences of heart attack in captive African greys are due not so much to terrible frights or freak accidents as to a diet rich in seeds and the saturated fat diets of their owners. Although minimizing seed intake is going to be beneficial to reducing the risk of heart attack, supplementing the diet with red palm oil may also have a significant impact. A search of "red palm oil health" will return a bunch of articles on the health benefits of red palm oil.

 

There is a large quantity of palm oil products made in South America and Malaysia which are made from the KERNEL and not the fruit, so be careful when buying this for your birds. Don't buy anything that doesn't specifically say "made from the fruit, not the kernel." (Jungle Products is what I use and is a very high quality product. I get a 16 oz jar for $12 from Whole Foods and it lasts me about 5-6 months.)

 

Observations of wild greys show that greys forage the palm fruit (the fleshy pulp that surrounds the nut, which is where the oil is extracted from) as part of their normal daily diet. It has been suggested that because the palm oil has such a high concentration of specific nutrients (including high beta-carotenes, Vitamin E and Vitamin A), many of the problems seen in captive greys (including arterioscleroisis/heart attack, seizures, plucking, hypocalcemia, chronic sickness, dry skin etc) can be "cured" by adding red palm oil to the bird's diet.

 

There's tons of anecdotal evidence that suggests the above is true. From my own experience, Athena gets about 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon a day and goes nuts whenever she sees the jar of oil. She loves the stuff and will literally try to stick her head in the jar to eat it. (Which means that if I want her to eat something she doesn't like, I just melt some palm oil, coat the food and wha-la, my bird eats her broccoli without a fight! Of course, it also means I often have an orange-headed bird.) I've noticed a significant difference in the sheen of her plumage, her tail feathers are a beautiful deep red, her foot scales are shiny and black, and she is very active and playful. She has never been sick. If she gets a bump on the head (from over-zelous playing), I dab a little palm oil on it and it heals up almost instantly (thanks to the loads of vitamin A).

 

 

Some great links on this:

 

http://www.holisticbirds.com/pages/palmoiltrials0803.htm

 

http://www.americanpalmoil.com/faq.html#1

 

http://www.junglepi.com/products/source_tour.html

 

Post edited by: zandische, at: 2009/03/14 01:12<br><br>Post edited by: zandische, at: 2009/03/14 01:17

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There are 2 types of Palm Oil in Malaysia. One is the normal yellow type cooking oil and the other is a red palm oil. The Red Palm Oil is made from the fruit. It is a hi quality oil which contains hi levels of carotenoids, tocopherols and tocotrienols. It cost only a few bucks for a small bottle. I haven't tried that on my parrots.

 

My Grey is not a great eater of palm nut, I guess I should try the red palm oil.

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Thanks for the info on this. I was unaware of the need of red palm oil. I guess I get to make a trip to the store.

 

How exactly do you feed it to your bird?

 

Bandit does really well if I am eating it but, like her pellets, it has taken a while to get here to eat them instead of throwing them around.

 

I don't really want to eat the red palm oil :pinch: :)

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Some people can just put some on toast or untoasted bread. Some mix it in the food. Some just put it on a spoon. Some birds like the taste, others don't so trickery has to be done. I fill up an old seasoning bottom with the stuff. When the time comes to use it, I take the bottle and micro it for 30 seconds and let the bottle become room temperature. The oil is very thin and very dark red by then. I then take the thin oil and put it on pellets which absorbs the oil and they eat the pellets. When I put the bottle away, the oil turns back to orange and is very thick until using it next time. I have before and after pictures of what the oil looks like after microwaving.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/16 18:52

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The first time I gave it to my bird I made her cornbread (one of her favorite treats) and instead of butter I spread the oil on it. At first she wasn't so sure, but I started putting it on everything - including stuff I ate. (It doesn't taste bad, just a little earthy.) I always warm and soak her pellets in water for breakfast and dinner, so at night I started putting about a 1/4 tsp in the warmed up mash. She really likes that! Now she goes crazy whenever she sees the jar of oil. I think the trick was just to keep mixing it up in the food so she got some of it even if she was picky about what she was eating.

 

At room temperature (about 70 degrees F) the oil is butter soft but still congealed. If you warm it up to about 80-90 degrees, it turns to a very thin liquid. This stuff has a long shelf-life unrefrigerated, and there's no need to refrigerate it. If you do, it becomes hard as a rock and you have to melt it or else you'll bend your spoons! (Trust me on that one!)

 

Also, I always use a clean spoon when measuring out some for dinner. Since it's not refrigerated I try to minimize getting any additional bacteria (like from fresh made bird mash, which will start to decompose after a few hours) in the oil as much as possible.

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  • 3 months later...

I have bought my Yellow Nape and Sun conure Red Palm Oil and have been giving it to them on their warm mash at night. They have taken to it very well. I have also given it to my dog who is "itchy". She gets some of the veges that I chop for the birds and now some red palm oil. I will have to let you know how that works. It has only been 3 days.

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i found it at the local health food store. It was the same price on line but since it was on my way home from work, I didn't have to pay shipping! I had to call a few to find it. I know that no GNC has it. I have heard that whole foods market does. I think early in this thread there is a link to an online store that sells it as well.<br><br>Post edited by: orphan1965, at: 2009/06/18 04:56

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Ssturm: I bought my red palm oil online from

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SWU269/ItemDetail?n=4294967198&moreResultsURL=ns%3DP_Flag-SwansonItem%257c1%257c%257cP_Rank-NoOrders%26ntt%3Dpalm%252boil%26no%3D0%26n%3D4294967198%26ntx%3Dmode%252bmatchallpartial%26ntk%3DLevel2

 

Orphan: you give your dogs red palm oil? I've never heard of that before, are you sure its ok for them?

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i use red palm oil in my cag's diet as well, sometimes i give it straight from syringe but mostly i add it to his pureed baby food that i still feed nightly 2x a week, 1/4 teaspoon.....the red palm oil, i keep a small bottle ready at room temp kept in cupboard, the rest i keep refrigerated to replenish small bottle once finished, i always add RPO to baby food after the food is warmed as heating or microwaving RPO is not a good idea as high temp destroys enzymes and nutrients in it. RPO is much more beneficial than just 2 or 3 nuts a day, but the nuts are just as enjoyable for to munch on. RPO can be kept up to a year in cupboard and up to 3yrs refrigerated.

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