Are onions okay?

missylynn

New member
Feb 23, 2011
58
0
Parrots
2 GCCs - Jinx & Bonsai
I've read all over the place that avocados, chocolate, and so on are bad. I saw one place that said no onions, but I've only seen that once. We cook with onions a lot, and I'd love to share the meals, but I don't want to cause any health problems. Thoughts anyone?
 

Abzeez

New member
Apr 26, 2011
807
1
WI
Parrots
Bean the Blue Front Amazon, Chico the Ringneck, and Ida the African grey
Onions are bad. :(
 

stephend

New member
Jun 7, 2011
432
0
Denver
Parrots
Acorn - a Yellow Sided Green Cheek Conure;
Bob - a Cockatiel;
Cricket - an American Budgie
My vet said no onion or garlic. He also said that if they are used as flavoring in human food it should be safe to share that.
 

wuvzbirdies

New member
May 5, 2009
238
0
Toronto, Canada
Parrots
Congo African Grey: Russell Peters (R.I.P. my baby)
Sorry but onions are on the no can do list for birds. As Stephend mentioned flavoring is ok but it should only be in limited quantity. Prolonged eating of onions can cause respiritory distress and eventual death. When birds eat onions it reacts with digestive juices which releases a toxic chemical. They say small amounts should be fine but I personally wouldn't take the chance.
 

c3honey84

New member
Mar 9, 2011
230
0
New Jersey
Parrots
Female Eclectus-"Roxy"
I always thought onions were no good, but guess what? Many of the cookable bird foods that are out there list onions in the ingredients!
 

mellykyitus

New member
Oct 22, 2010
668
Media
6
1
south wales UK
Parrots
Angel the blue and gold macaw, mimsy the lesser sulphur too, rocky the galah & willow the blue crowned conure.
yeah, some places say onions are ok but others say they are toxic. also angel loves pepper but i read in parrot magazine not to feed anything from the nightshade family which would include peppers!? i get so confused!
 

mrob

New member
Mar 22, 2011
207
0
New Zealand
Parrots
Gizmo:Male RS Eclectus
R.I.P Merv Hughes: Cockateil
Booger: Alexandrine
I heard raw onions were bad. Cooked onions (as an ingredient in human food) were fine as the chemical that can harm birds is broken down in the heat.....So if you want to give them a little of your dinner its ok. The again, i wouldnt be feeding them onion soup or anything lol, but say, a vegetable soup with a little onion in it im not too worried about...
 

stephend

New member
Jun 7, 2011
432
0
Denver
Parrots
Acorn - a Yellow Sided Green Cheek Conure;
Bob - a Cockatiel;
Cricket - an American Budgie
This question got me asking why onions are bad for birds, and the answer I found was that onions absorb sulfer from the soil and the onions create compounds which are harmful to most animals including birds and dogs, but if you were able to grow onions in soil free from sulfur (which is next to impossible) they would be safe for birds. I wish I could do so; a lot of my favorite foods include onion and I would like to be able to share them with Bob; I don't think he would eat them though.
 

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