Breaking Some Rules Is Okay Every Now And Then

 

Blue and gold macaw

When my daughter was young and in school, I can remember a few times that I would wake her up in the morning and say:  “How about skipping school today and going to the park instead?” Or keeping her up late on a school night because I had gotten tickets to a show that was in town. Her schoolwork might have suffered a little that week, but watching her face light up assured me I was doing the right thing. It was done infrequently and these occasions built a special bond between us. She knew that I understood that life was not always all about schedules and lessons and being where others insisted we be at all times. In addition to doing what is expected of us, LIFE IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!

No matter how hard we strive to be the perfect home for our companion birds, we will always fall short. The perfect life for a bird is one that is lived in the wild. But since so many are captive bred and will never know that life, it is up to us to do everything we can to make their lives as fulfilling as possible. That includes occasionally straying from the rigidity of rules. Breaking the rules sometimes can provide a cage bound bird with a richer life.

My last post suggested 5 recipes for sandwiches we can make for our birds. There were a number of comments that rebuked some of the ingredients such as cheeses and peanut butter. At first my heart sank, but as I continued reading I got excited about how many people are aware of no-nos in a birds diet. THAT is good news!

Technically, cheese and peanuts are on the no-no list. I use the word technically because while birds are lactose intolerant and peanuts might contain a fungus that might metabolize as an aflotoxin (corn too), most birds do fine with them, and really enjoy them. I use the term no-no because they are NOT dangerous ingredients that might kill your bird. There are some birds who will not react well to those ingredients letting you know not to use them again, but the vast majority do just fine.

A good rule of thumb is that if it is not good for us, it is not good for our birds. But how many of you have eliminated french fries from your diet entirely because they offer no nutritional benefits and are fattening and artery clogging? I bet not many.  Unless your are in very ill health, you will sometimes allow yourself to be naughty and simply set limits.

When I reach into the freezer for that tub of Ben and Jerry’s that has been calling my name since I bought it, there is always a slight moment of hesitation. I know I am probably going to overindulge and eat the entire thing. I glance down at my thighs and wonder how tight my jeans will be later in the week. That hesitation takes all of 3 seconds and then I am eating and enjoying.

If we were to turn down every food that had some “bad” substance in it, we would be left with very little to eat.  Kale, for instance, a very healthy food for our birds, interferes with calcium absorption in subsequent meals. This is not a good thing, but its benefits far outweigh that drawback. It is up to us to determine when to temporarily remove it from the diet, such as during egg laying times when calcium is very important.

My point here is that we must not allow ourselves to take away the opportunities we have to make our bird’s lives better by living in fear of busting loose every now and again. I will always say that we MUST feed an optimum diet that is heavy in fresh foods, I will always say safety first, but I also will say let your birds enjoy life. They like cheese. They like peanut butter. Small amounts of these foods will not harm your birds. And if you look closely, you will see them smiling as they eat it.

Patty Jourgensen specializes in avian health, behavior and nutrition and has been working with and caring for rescue birds since 1987.

61 comments

Patsy Seo

Thanks for the advice and beautiful bird pictures. I love hearing from you. your family and your birds. I think you have it altogether and you are much appreciated for that

Patsy Seo
Cheecowah Jack

Way TO GO!!!! I have been saying this along time. My Bird never gets very much of any treat. although she did share Yule Dinner with me. and a Bite of Food is a meal for me. A BITE can never harm anyone… although it can help determined any allergies. Thanks for Sharing. I do agree. But so many people always over indulge and that is NEVER good for any BIRD. So please everyone keep it to a bite.. a bird bite that is. Happy holidays

Cheecowah Jack
Katrien

Pedro, our African Grey loves tea with milk. We sleep late every second Sunday and then he visits us in bed. He runs and plays around on the bed and enjoys a few sips of late morning tea with my husband. Of course playing on a bed and having tea is not part of his everyday routine. He is in an outside cage during the day and gets parrot food, water, fruits and vegetables to eat and drink. Breaking this routine adds quality to the lifes of owners and parrot.

Katrien
paul

hi please comment on a indian ring nek how long does it take for it to start talking and what is the best diet for them i have mine about 2 years now and all it does is mak sounds like my phone and whistles but not a word as yet and we talk and handle it all the time can any person who owns one tell me if they really talk like people say will comment on his diet as soon as a response is received

paul
Dorian Larsen

Our cockatoo LOVES chicken bones.He breaks them open for the marrow.He also loves fries. Are these items unhealthy or are they ok in moderation? Regards, Dorian Larsen

Dorian Larsen
mike cook / birdwisperer

I agree 100% if WE ate what was ONLY good us then 50% of Americans wouldn’t be over weight. I feed a well balanced diet of fruit nuts seeds & pellets. Then I share my dinner with them, what ever pasta, veggies they even enjoy a small bite of meat.

mike cook / birdwisperer
Susan

We are very careful with our lil darlings…but as a treat we do give PB :-) On wheat toast and Yes they do smile at us :-) I also as a treat only once in a while though give a lil bit of Pepper jack chez to them…They absolutely love it….LOL When I have to of them saying yum yum while eating it you certainly no they are enjoying it. Great Story…Thank you.

Susan
Peter

Our Trooper (Umbrella Cockatoo) loves to dig in to pizza occasionally. With the infrequency that we eat it, I think I can let him indulge a bit. He also likes soups, but that is more on the annoying side, as he loves to perch on the hand that holds the spoon…

Peter
Avian Vet Tech

Readers, and Chet, I’m sorry to rain on your parade, however, bending the rules frequently has its lethal consequences. There are many other decedent “happy” treats your birds could be given without threatening their lives. And quite frankly, how many of you bend the rules indulging yourselves and your birds, who are overweight and/or eat unhealthy diets? Unhealthy treats shorten your birds’ lives and cause obesity, and cause other major health problems. Just because you’re not seeing the immediate affects, does not mean the problems are not manifesting in your bird over time. I am assisting in the treatment of a parrot with serious medical problems, who was given cheese treats and other dangerous foods, because “it put a smile on his face”. There are no hanging cheese vines or bushes with cheese balls hanging on them in Africa, South America, or Australia, nor in any other place in the world. Please replace those unhealthy treats for other fun, and delicious foods that will nourish your bird’s life, not threaten it. I promise you, your bird will never miss the unhealthy people food that may potentially kill him/her or at the very least shorten his life span and compromise his quality of life. There are many, many, many other healthy food choices that your bird will love!

Avian Vet Tech
natasha smith

great job chet!!!!

natasha smith
flo harms

Hi chet I agree with you about giving small treats of people food my 70 year old lilic festive amazon eats any thing I give him furit veges pasta cheese nuts raw beans and likes them all love your e-mails all your stuff

flo harms

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