broccoli is bad?

So im a little skeptical of this. haven't read anything about it anywhere at all, so id like to ask yall about it.

so we saw our CAV today for a first checkup, our birbs healthy and had a great checkup! however when talking about his diet the vet told me to cut back on fresh food (fruits and veggies) so that its like 20% of his diet, and told me broccoli is bad for birds and we shouldn't be giving him that?

we have a caique and everything ive researched has said the total opposite. im curious if anyone else has had a vet tell them this? or if theres any information about it out there?

As part of a varied diet, any detrimental effects are minimal at best. Broccoli binds with idodine making it unavailable. But since it doesn’t make up the majority of the diet (varies diet being the key takeaway), this is not at all a concern.

So difficult to keep ahead of the latest nutritional info for Humans, much less for our parrots. Look at eggs for people - just the whites? Just the yolks? Eat the whole egg ( including shells?). Same thing with milk and any number of foods. We try to change up Salty's chop batches, add different stuff to it after defrosting the nights chop and at least 1X a week give him either squash or yams. Broccoli seems like its an innocent veggie. Stems or florrets, or both in equal measure? Who knows!! Salty boy, hows about a peanut?

I have repeatedly read that any cruciferous vegetable can be bad due to some sort of vitamin blocking impact. I think in moderation it can be okay, but kale, cauliflower, broccoli etc are all a member of the questionable family...Moderation is the key.

Don’t hit me with this! Tonight for the first time I gave my JoJo broccoli Rob and he freaked out and loved it!

They are okay in small doses I think---not daily, but they can have benefits. That is what I have gathered.

noodles123 said:

I have repeatedly read that any cruciferous vegetable can be bad due to some sort of vitamin blocking impact. I think in moderation it can be okay, but kale, cauliflower, broccoli etc are all a member of the questionable family...Moderation is the key.

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Really? I did not know this. I give my birds cruciferous vegetables every day in their chop. I’m curious to see what others have to say in this thread. I hope I’m not doing anything wrong by feeding my birds broccoli, kale, and cauliflower as they all really enjoy these veggies.

My budgies love broccoli, but they don't get it often..I give the others broccoli sometimes they eat it sometimes they don't, maybe they self regulate?

I feed broccoli as one of many veggies that is part of their chop....I’ve never heard or read anything that indicates that it’s not healthy to include. Curious what others have heard.

Ok this is much more helpful! we give our boi kale, spinach, and broccoli for the vitamin/calcium content. he doesnt get spinach as much since we alternate it with kale. but broccoli is a daily food. the vet mentioned the idodine as a reason not to feed it but didnt mention anything about moderation. we like to give our bird a variety, and realistically he may nibble at it or eat a flourette here or there. hes not a huge broccoli fan lol but i was just so taken back because even when searching negatives of broccoli i come up with nothing. every source ive read has said broccoli is safe and has lots of benefits.

Only according to my brother-in-law


Every plant of this planet has several different properties, so thats why variation comes in...

mrs.pants said:

Ok this is much more helpful! we give our boi kale, spinach, and broccoli for the vitamin/calcium content. he doesnt get spinach as much since we alternate it with kale. but broccoli is a daily food. the vet mentioned the idodine as a reason not to feed it but didnt mention anything about moderation. we like to give our bird a variety, and realistically he may nibble at it or eat a flourette here or there. hes not a huge broccoli fan lol but i was just so taken back because even when searching negatives of broccoli i come up with nothing. every source ive read has said broccoli is safe and has lots of benefits.

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I have read that it is the oxalic acid that causes issues with calcium and iodine absorption as a result of birds eating certain vegetables. Here is a link to a chameleon website in which this is discusses in detail lol. Apparently this is an issue with various reptiles, guinea pigs, birds etc.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/oxalic-acid-content-of-vegetables.215/


It appears to be things other than just cruciferous veggies--spinach is a big one (apparently), as is cabbage- broccoli contains oxalic acid, but not as much as spinach, beet greens, collard greens, chard, etc.

Here is a link that mentions avoiding these foods in birds: http://www.exoticpetvet.com/parrot-precautions.html

Broccoli isn't digestible for budgies, Bourkes, grass parrots. This is all what I know about it

Rozalka said:

Broccoli isn't digestible for budgies, Bourkes, grass parrots. This is all what I know about it

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My budgies love broccoli...

I don't know why your CAV would tell you to "cut back on fresh foods", at least as far as the fresh veggies and greens, as they are not an issue at all, considering that most parrots don't eat the whole batch of chop when you give it to them...As far as fresh Fruit, a lot of people do feed their birds and their reptiles too much (they typically think of fresh veggies and fresh fruit as one in the same), as all fruit is loaded with sugar, and that sugar turns into fat and is stored in their livers, especially in captive/pet birds that aren't flying miles and miles every day...So I do fresh Fruit only 2-3 days a week, but as far as fresh veggies and fresh, dark, leafy greens, they can have as much as they'll eat every day, because they don't each much to begin with...

***There are A LOT of different veggies and dark, leafy greens that do 2 different things that people blow-out of proportion, considering the small amount of fresh veggies and dark, leafy greens that birds/reptiles usually eat in a day (this same topic comes up ALL THE TIME, CONSTANTLY in the Bearded Dragon forums, like 20 times a day, because it's more crucial to Beardies because fresh veggies and dark, leafy greens make-up at least HALF of an adult Bearded Dragon's daily diet, and usually it's actually more than half, because after they hit 2 years-old and are done growing, that's when they naturally stop eating much live-insect protein because their bodies don't need it anymore and they just end-up getting obese, plus they get most-all of their hydration from fresh veggies and greens; my almost 3 year-old female Beardie cut herself down and now only eats live-insect protein once or twice a week, so it's ALL salad):

#1) Some veggies bind Iodine, as already mentioned, and the worry is that the animal will become Iodine-deficient (we get iodine in everything we eat because of iodized salt, but obviously they don't eat a lot of food with salt)...However, if your parrot is eating a pellet or a healthy, varied seed-mix as their daily staple, then they are getting more than enough Iodine, so the small amount of Broccoli and other Cruciferous and Goitrogenic veggies/greens that your parrot eats in a day isn't going to bind enough Iodine to cause a reduction in Thyroid Hormones. They'd have to basically be eating nothing else but Crucifers/Goitrogenic veggies/greens every day, all day long for them to become Iodine-deficient...

****And just to make a point here, Broccoli is only one of the MANY Cruciferous/Goitrogenic veggies/greens that bind Iodine. So if this was really an issue and harmful to our parrot's health and was going to cause an issue, we would be hearing about parrots suffering from Thyroid issues all the time, constantly. As of right now, I don't think that I've ever heard of a parrot suffering from an Iodine-deficiency or having a Thyroid issue or being deficient in Thyroid hormones. ****Here's just a few of the Cruciferous/Goitrogenic veggies/greens that bind Iodine:

-Broccoli
-Brussels Sprouts
-Cauliflower
-Kohlrabi
-Radishes
-All types of Cabbage
-Bok Choi and Pak Choi
-Arugula/Rocket
-Collard Greens
-Mustard Greens
-Turnip Greens
-Kale
-****SOY****

So you can see how many fresh veggies/greens that most people feed their parrots, reptiles, rabbits, guinea pigs, etc. every single day bind Iodine. If it was an issue, we would be hearing about lots of parrots suffering from issue due to Iodine-deficiency...Especially with the Soy; how many parrot pellet brands contain Soy?

***The other issue with pretty much the same group of fresh veggies, though this particular issue is mainly caused by ALL of the dark, leafy greens and not so much by the Broccoli, Cauliflower, Soy, etc., is that the all contain a very high content of Oxalates, and Oxalates bind Calcium. This is a HUGE topic of conversation and controversy in the Bearded Dragon community because daily Calcium intake is so crucial to a Beardie's survival, so much so that we have to dust their live insects in both a Multi-Vitamin powder and a Calcium powder that usually contains Vitamin D3 as well, again to encourage the binding of as much Calcium as possible from the food that they eat.

The Oxalate issue is a very frustrating one, because the very same dark, leafy greens that contain the highest Oxalate content are also the ones that contain the highest Calcium content. The general consensus for Bearded Dragons and other reptiles that are so dependent on a large, daily Calcium intake and absorption is that it's much better to continue to feed adult Dragons the dark, leafy greens every single day, get them not only their large intake of Calcium and other Minerals, Vitamins, etc., but also their water intake, and simply make sure to dust all of their live-insects in Calcium Powder w/D3, and on days when they are not eating live-insects you should sprinkle the Calcium w/D3 on their salads.

And although Calcium is extremely vital to every living creature, including humans, because every single cellular process/function requires Calcium to occur, for parrots it's the same situation as the binding of Iodine by the very same group of veggies/greens: They are getting ample Calcium from their daily staple of either pellets or a healthy, varied seed-mix, and also from their fresh veggies and dark, leafy greens, so the Oxalate content in these veggies and dark, leafy greens is not going to bind enough of the free-Calcium they are ingesting in everything they eat to cause a deficiency.

HOWEVER, this does put the importance of Cuttlebones and/or Mineral Blocks into perspective, specifically with all female birds who are laying eggs. While people always try to get their egg-laying female birds, or female birds who have just laid a clutch of eggs and are feeding a bunch of chicks directly after laying the eggs, to eat as many fresh veggies and dark, leafy greens as they are willing to eat, simply because of their high Calcium content (which is the correct thing to do in my opinion), in this specific situation with laying/feeding female birds, the extra-high Oxalate content in these very same veggies and greens could actually have a negative effect...SO...this is exactly why I always have multiple Cuttlebones and Mineral Blocks all over the cages/aviary where my breeding-pairs lived and raised their chicks, and I also fed the females Egg-Food every single day along with their pellets/seed-mix.

***The veggies/greens with the highest Oxalate content:

-Spinach*
-Kale*
-Swiss Chard
-Arugula
-Bok Choi and Pak Choi
-Collard Greens
-Mustard Greens
-Turnip Greens
-Dandelion Greens
-Endive
-Escarole
-Romaine and other dark green lettuces
-Sweet Potatoes
-Beets
-Rhubarb
-*****PEANUTS****** (Yet another reason to avoid feeding your birds Peanuts, lol)
-****Most Tropical Fruits that are native to Southeast Asia/Indonesia or Central America/Mexico, such as Star Fruit (has the highest Oxalic Acid content of any fruit), Mango, Papaya, Guava, etc.
-Grapfruit (also high in Vitamin C, which greatly enhances the absorption of Iron, so Grapefruit is just not a good fruit for birds all the way around)

*Spinach and Kale contain the highest Oxalic Acid content of any food; they also have the highest Calcium content of any veggie/green. As such, they are a hot-topic in the reptile world, especially the Bearded Dragon world...It's been widely accepted that Bearded Dragons should NEVER be fed either Spinach or Kale of any variety due to their extremely high Oxalate content...I have never fed my Bearded Dragon Spinach, and I also don't feed it to my birds for the same reason. I myself have had chronic Kidney Stones starting when I was 19; I've had surgery to remove them, and I've probably passed somewhere around 100 stones that I have been aware of passing, meaning they caused me a problem such as PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, blood in my urine, bacterial infections in either my Urinary Tract and a few times in my Kidneys, etc. (all of my stones have always been Calcium Oxalte stones)...So there is NO SPINACH OR KALE in this house anyway.

Having Spinach or Kale in my house would be the equivalent to a Vampire cooking with Garlic in their home...It is my Kryptonite, along with Black Pepper and unfortunately Tea (both extremely high in Oxalate content)...

SOOOOOOO.....Bottom line after me typing all of that out is basically when it comes to your parrots, as long as you feed them a regular, daily diet that is varied, low in fat and high in protein, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, and as long as you always provide a Mineral Block for them, then the small amount of these veggies and dark, leafy Greens that they eat isn't going to hurt them in the least, and their benefits to your parrots are endless...

EllenD said:

I don't know why your CAV would tell you to "cut back on fresh foods", at least as far as the fresh veggies and greens, as they are not an issue at all, considering that most parrots don't eat the whole batch of chop when you give it to them......

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I was a bit surprised too, he told me it should be around 20% of his diet and id been essentially giving him a 50/50 split. I read varied things but like you mentioned he doesnt even eat the whole thing. most of it ends up as food for the walls or floor lol.

anyway thank you so much for this whole post! super informative and very sensible! we feed a good pellet mix and nutriberries and he has a cuttlebone and mineral block as well.

funny i keep seeing mentions of soy being just as bad or worse get when I mentioned that I was trying to avoid pellet food with soy myvet was like why soy is very good for Birds it's very good in general and I was like hmmm IDK lol. im familiar with vets having different and sometimes inaccurate opinions with dogs but birds are more new to me in general so i wanted some opinions.

Broccoli disrupts the uptake of iodine into the thyroid which can lead to an enlarged thyroid, and goiter.



Cabbage and kale, brussel sprouts are a few other foods that are guilty of doing this too.

Joon said:

Broccoli disrupts the uptake of iodine into the thyroid which can lead to an enlarged thyroid, and goiter.

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actually those are the same thing: an enlarged thyroid is called a goiter.

Java gets broccoli regularly in his chop, and has been since I've had him. He's in perfect health, according to my vet. Everything I've read okayed broccoli so I've used it. It's spinach and chard I started lessening, mainly because he doesn't like spinach, but he will eat rainbow chard. Broccoli and carrots are usually part of his everyday chop and he hasn't had a problem with it in the 10.5 months that I've had him.

Brittany0208 said:

Java gets broccoli regularly in his chop, and has been since I've had him. He's in perfect health, according to my vet. Everything I've read okayed broccoli so I've used it. It's spinach and chard I started lessening, mainly because he doesn't like spinach, but he will eat rainbow chard. Broccoli and carrots are usually part of his everyday chop and he hasn't had a problem with it in the 10.5 months that I've had him.

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It’s not been a problem because it’s been one component of a varied diet. I give it to my Ekkie in almost every meal as well.