Bingo is going to the doctor

[SailBoat]

Please STOP and reconsider the dangers of rice!!

Rice can and does continue to expand and it can continue to expand as the Parrot eats it!

 

[texsize]

Please STOP and reconsider the dangers of rice!!

Rice can and does continue to expand and it can continue to expand as the Parrot eats it!

I wondered about that.

I knew a guy at work who had been stationed on an aircraft carrier.

He had said they would feed seagulls uncooked rice wadded up in bread as a way to kill them.
Never knew if he was telling the truth or BS.
But seagulls and aircraft do not mix well.

Also heard alka seltzer was used.

Like I said rice is off the menu.

 

[bug_n_flock]

Not sure how true the rice thing is. When in a pinch with the creek flooded and out of poultry food I fed rice to my ducks, geese, turkeys, chickens, etc for at least a week. Did cooked, and uncooked. Neither was great for them don't get me wrong, it was an emergency situation, but none died, and the ducks even started laying eggs for the first time during that time.


NOT SAYING FEED RAW RICE TO PARROTS.

Just saying I don't think rice in general is as hazardous as people think. 100% cook rice before giving it to parrots.

I also seem to remember back in the days grocery store small parrot mixes routinely would have raw rice. Not saying that stuff was any good at all, but if it was deadly I think it wouldn't have been in there.

 

[texsize]

What about uncooked pasta?
I know people give that to parrots and pasta swells and absorbs water..

 

[bug_n_flock]

Yup pasta soaks up water and swells. Freedom likes raw pasta but I don't often give it to her just because I don't usually get the shapes she likes lol. Dried fruits n veggies also absorb Alot and swell. When I worked in the parrot shop as a teen I'd always be surprised how full and how quick I'd get full snacking from the bulk bins if I skipped breakfast or lunch or whatever.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I would never feed my birds uncooked or undercooked rice, pasta or any other such thing that swells with water while cooking. But I'm not going to stop giving them these things fully cooked as a small part of their diet.

 

[bug_n_flock]

So no dried fruits n veg then?

 

[bug_n_flock]

Ever try boiling millet n see what it does? How about pellets?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Millet seed swells but not as much as rice grains or pasta when cooked. I just soaked my budgie seed mix for a couple days and sprouted it and it didn't get much bigger like cooked rice does. Not sure what would happen if i tried to cook millet like rice but it wouldnt cook inside my birds' bodies and neither would rice or pasta. One cup of uncooked rice can absorb over two cups of water and turn into well over two cups of cooked rice at boiling temp. Pasta is similar.

A good question is how much would rice and pasta swell at a birds body temp vs water boiling temp. Not that much I assume.

Dried fruits don't swell like that. They swell a little and get softer. I've dehydrated apples and vegetables and they shrink some for sure but not that much.
Not sure how much pellets expand in water, but I'll experiment. Inquiring minds wanna know, right?

 

[bug_n_flock]

I mean, who is out there giving a cup of anything to a bird and expecting them to eat it all. Really. Even my Big Mac don't have space in her for a proper cup of anything at a time. "the dose makes the poison" as they say in science and medical circles. I'm not advocating feeding exclusively dried items but to exclude some but not all because "they absorb water and swell" is silly.

Again I'm not saying feed raw rice to captive parrots! But cooked is totally fine in moderation.

Also I disagree about the dried fruits and veg not absorbing much. Some of the worst stomach discomfort I personally have had was when I ate a whole large box of raisins. And let me tell ya, I'm lactose intolerant so I'm no stranger to quite extreme abdominal pain.

I just think the whole "don't feed rice or pasta"/dried pasta because it will kill them" thing is false. Yes, if you trick a seagull into overindulging it will be bad. But so would be tricking them into eating too much dried carrots. And dried carrots are a common bird treat. That's all I'm saying.

And I've boiled bird seed before, it swells up like quinoa or rice shrug.

But this is all suuuuper off topic and we should probably start a new thread to discuss further.

How's Bingo today?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

One more- what's rice shrug?

 

[texsize]

I mean, who is out there giving a cup of anything to a bird and expecting them to eat it all. Really. Even my Big Mac don't have space in her for a proper cup of anything at a time. "the dose makes the poison" as they say in science and medical circles. I'm not advocating feeding exclusively dried items but to exclude some but not all because "they absorb water and swell" is silly.

Again I'm not saying feed raw rice to captive parrots! But cooked is totally fine in moderation.

Also I disagree about the dried fruits and veg not absorbing much. Some of the worst stomach discomfort I personally have had was when I ate a whole large box of raisins. And let me tell ya, I'm lactose intolerant so I'm no stranger to quite extreme abdominal pain.

I just think the whole "don't feed rice or pasta"/dried pasta because it will kill them" thing is false. Yes, if you trick a seagull into overindulging it will be bad. But so would be tricking them into eating too much dried carrots. And dried carrots are a common bird treat. That's all I'm saying.

And I've boiled bird seed before, it swells up like quinoa or rice shrug.

But this is all suuuuper off topic and we should probably start a new thread to discuss further.

How's Bingo today?

Bingo gained 5 grams today so any increase is a positive.

I keep trying different foods. Gave him a slice of apple today, been a few months since I’ve done that.
Going to try and cook some Carrots he like em when they are soft.
I want to try giving him some corn on the Cobb.
Been years since I done that… with good reason.
I nearly cut the end of my thumb off chopping it into manageable chunks.

He keeps trying to do things.
Stuff he’s not really psyicaly able to do.
Climbing the drapes.
He wants to be in the window but if I put him there he starts climbing up. If I put him on top of the curtains he try’s to climb down.

I have rearranged his perches in his cage.
Lowered some and wrapped them with self adhesive bandages for improved stability.

I keep looking at his poop and overall it’s normal so I don’t understand the problem.
If there is any trend it’s more watery or watery more often and less solids but not ….. it’s not that different from any of my other birds.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

My birds love corn on the cob but it's so hard to cut into chunks. I make a deep cut in the middle and wrap both ends in paper towels and break it into pieces. Works better when it isn't as fresh.
I have bird skewers that I put big chunks of corn and other things on.

 

[texsize]

My birds love corn on the cob but it's so hard to cut into chunks. I make a deep cut in the middle and wrap both ends in paper towels and break it into pieces. Works better when it isn't as fresh.
I have bird skewers that I put big chunks of corn and other things on.

I had to go to the ER and get 3 stitches, one through my thumbnail.
It took 6 months before I could bring myself to even Handel the knife.
I have a much better appreciation for those suffering from PTSD even if in a small way.

The thing is whenever I make a mistake I have to find the WHY .
If I can’t find the mistake and take steps to correct there is a good chance of repeating.
Obviously my thumb ended up in between the knife and cutting board but I don’t know how I did something so stupid.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Me too! I cut the very tip of my thumb off cutting vegetables so I can relate. It was amazing how much it bled . They sewed it back on and told me if it fell off anyway it would probably grow back. I said "Like a lizard?" It's still numb a few years later.

I watched videos online after to learn how to use a big kitchen knife without amputating anything. The trick is to hold the thing you're cutting like a claw with fingers pointing down and knuckles, not fingertips, toward the flat side of the blade.

 

[bug_n_flock]

One more- what's rice shrug?

"... Like quinoa or rice, *shrug*" might have been a clearer way for me to have written that. Lol sorry I'm just on a cell fone and idk what emojis show up if I put them or not, and I tend to use those a fair amount.

Glad to hear Bingo has gained 5 grams, that's definitely a victory glad to hear that for sure

 

[rheashard2]

Please STOP and reconsider the dangers of rice!!

Rice can and does continue to expand and it can continue to expand as the Parrot eats it!

I heard this way back in the '80's. Someone, somewhere wanted to ban throwing rice at weddings. The claim was; dry rice, swelling, danger to birds etc. Then after CAG, I looked into this multiple times. Brown or wild rice mix is my birdie favorite. I looked into this because I was experimenting w degrees of rice doneness. I didn't want thawed mush that neither of us would eat. A bird has a rapid and stronger then human digestive system. Wild birds get dirt, rocks, grit mixed up with their food routinely. Wild birds eat an untold amount of rice causing a problem with growers. Birds aren't dumb. If flock members were getting sick/dying from a food source they'd abandon it ASAP. Rice, wheat, peas, corn etc all swell with moisture but rice is labeled the bad guy. My CAG and I love rice. I'm more concerned about the calorie intake.