Uncooked Quinoa in Veggie Mash, Bad Idea?

crazyforfeathers · Jun 25, 2018

I tried something new and put uncooked commercial quinoa in a huge batch of veggie mash. I read in several articles that said it was okay to do so. Later today, I happened upon another article that advised to always cook quinoa before serving to birds because of a coating called saponin.

Has anyone given their birds uncooked quinoa before? I'd hate to throw away that huge batch but I will if it's dangerous.

chris-md · Jun 25, 2018

I don’t think it will hurt, exactly, but saponins are indeed a thing with quinoa. If they aren’t washed and cooked properly they have a bitter taste similar to soap. That’s the saponins.

Feeding uncooked quinoa not a practice I would personally endorse.

crazyforfeathers · Jun 25, 2018

Thanks for the information. I read that in humans, saponin might cause indigestion. Google search shows a variety of answers. Some articles state that wild birds won't touch it because of the bitter saponin. Other articles state is okay if fed uncooked.

If I'm honest, I really wish I could keep this batch. It's a 3 month supply (frozen) and I spent 5 hours making it. Exhausting! But if there's a chance at all that my birds would get sick from it (indigestion, punctured digestive track or crop if that's even possible), I will throw out.

Uncooked Quinoa in Veggie Mash, Bad Idea?

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