How often should birds be fed kale?

Frumpydumple · May 8, 2014

I have heard feeding birds too much kale is bad.

So how much is too much?

MonicaMc · May 9, 2014

When I make mash, I most often include kale, although kale is usually just one of 10+ ingredients!

I think it's probably fine in moderation. I know it shouldn't be fed as the only vegetable, but other than that I can't say how much is too much.

Mattroma · May 9, 2014

kale has an acid in it that blocks calcium absorption. try to offer other foods along with it that provide calcium.

Kiwibird · May 9, 2014

A couple times a week in a chop mix, or once a week if your birds like it in leaf form should be fine. Kale and other dark, leafy greens are healthy, just in small doses. In fact, no fruit or veg should be fed more than a couple times a week. They need variety!

Dinosrawr · May 9, 2014

It's actually not recommended to eat anything high in calcium along with kale because of how it "blocks" calcium. But, in truth, kale is actually a source of calcium in itself, even if low (only about 10% of our own nutritional intake). Like others have said, it's perfectly fine to feed, but it shouldn't be the only vegetable provided or in excessively high quantities. Having some in a mix every now and then is completely fine

it's also super healthy for you, too!

Just a quick edit: when I give it to Avery, I normally take one leaf and chop it up. It doesn't take much. Especially in my "finer" chops, I take at most 3 leaves because she's so small and it's only her I'm feeding.

MonicaMc · May 9, 2014

I don't know if this is true, but from my understanding, oxalic acid (that's found in parsley, kale and spinach, to name a few things) does not block the absorption of calcium from other foods, it only blocks absorption of calcium from itself unless you cook it and break down the oxalic acids.

Frumpydumple · May 9, 2014

Should kale be cooked or fed raw?

MonicaMc · May 9, 2014

I feed the majority of vegetables raw, although if you want, I'm sure that you could cook some of them if you wanted to.

EnglishMuffin · May 10, 2014

I don't know if this is useful, but i know that in humans, doctors advise combining calcium-rich acidic greens (kale, collard greens and spinach) along with orange foods, since they complement each other for maximum calcium and iron absorption! Not sure whether the same principle works in birds, but since orange foods are so good for them anyway it can't hurt to try ^_^

How often should birds be fed kale?

Frumpydumple

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