birds and alcohol

[BreannPearlLang]

I know that its not a good thing to do to any pet..
but has anybody ever let their bird have a sip of beer or wine?
I was drinking a hard cider and let my 1 year conure have a taste..
she got very calm and quiet. it was kind of shocking and nice.
i definitely wont do it often..but realistically speaking, is this okay?

 

[Mudkips]

I think that tiny amounts won't do them any harm, but on the flip side we know that it doesn't take much to cause their organs to fail.
BBC News - Alcohol poisoning, not avian flu, killed Romanian birds

It reminds me of Mum's budgie. When I was growing up she would often sit on the couch with a coffee and the budgie would fly over and share it with her. It was a sweet bonding thing and we never saw any ill effects from it, but it's still not something I would suggest anyone do.

 

[DebsFlock]

Alcohol is one of the things on almost every no-no list, along with caffiene. The issue is dosage. Think of it this way, a GCC is maybe 70g while an average human is more like 70 kg. That's 1000 times the weight. So your bird drinking 1/1000 of your wine or beer is like you drinking the whole glass. It doesn't take a lot of sips to add up to a whopping huge amount.

That said, Scooter got into my martini glass once when I wasn't paying enough attention and lived to tell the tale. He's also gotten into my morning coffee more than once. I'd say a drop now and then is probably not going to do serious harm, it's just that a drop goes a long, long way when you weigh 70g.

 

[AFP520]

I personally would not risk it. People tend to forget our birds have very sensitive bodies.

 

[Mayden]

Debs is spot on.

Also, although alcohol is nice and yummy to most people, we must remember that it is first and formost TOXIC. So us drinking X amount, well... our birdies are only small (yes, even the hyacinths) and it's a depressant. Slowing down the system that much (or kick starting it with caffine) is so very dangerous so please anyone reading this, don't let your birdies sneak a drink.

I drink decafe and don't have alcohol, both because of my health. So drinks in this house are relatively safe if Merlin wants to share.

 

[Kantia]

I wouldn't risk it, but that's my personal opinion. I don't drink anyway so there is never any alcohol in the house. Tich is always very interested in my tea first thing in the morning but I won't let him have any.

 

[wenz2712]

I agree, just to be on the safe side I would advise against letting him have any alcohol at all!

 

[KatherineI]

Never ever ever. Loki is in absolute love with beer bottles (the brown glass) and he clamors to get to it, but we don't allow him anywhere near the bottle until we've washed it. Only then can he play with it.

An accidental drop is one thing, but I would never ever ever let any of my Fids have a purposeful drop of alcohol or caffeine and I do everything in my power to prevent even an accidental drink. If I'm not drinking water or milk (and even the milk it's a once-in-a-while, because I know Sugar loves it thing), they don't get any. Ever.

 

[MaraWentz]

It doesn't hurt to have taste once in a while, but over time it does shut down their organs. I wouldn't recommend it, but to each thier own. I can say that my Erin has had her fair share or ice ream, chocolate milk, soda,and a sip or two of wine and has lived perfectly fine.

 

[KatherineI]

It doesn't hurt to have taste once in a while, but over time it does shut down their organs. I wouldn't recommend it, but to each thier own. I can say that my Erin has had her fair share or ice ream, chocolate milk, soda,and a sip or two of wine and has lived perfectly fine.

Erin is also a Macaw. There's a huge difference between what a Macaw can take in accidentally and survive, as compared to a 60-70 gram small Conure/Budgie/Tiel.

 

[MaraWentz]

Well yes, that's obvious. I was more in comparing any bird to humans as a human can drink and drink and drink, and not have effects for years, as can birds as well, so to each their own risk. As I said I wouldn't recommend it. And as for the whole no-no's list. MY last RFM was healthy as could be and had about 3 sodas a day- no problem for the last 5 years or so of his life. Personally, that is a massive quantity for any bird- even hyacinths (which are about doubt to triple the size of my little Erin). EAch bird, no matter the weight or species, handles human foods differently. Some can more easily digest things, and not just due to size.

 

[DebsFlock]

People can drink sub-toxic doses and only get organ damage years later, but people can also take in a fatal dose of alcohol in one go. I think the latter is a much bigger risk with birds stealing sips, it just wouldn't take very much to get true alcohol poisoning, which typically shuts down breathing. To get the equivalent of what a long term human drinker would face, I think the bird would need to be taking several sips every day of its life.

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

i definitely wont do it often..but realistically speaking, is this okay?

Let me be blunt! NO, it is not okay! "i definitely wont do it often" implies that you have intention to occasionally let your bird have a taste of alcohol. If you love your bird then don't do it. Where does one draw the line? What's next, "hey, let's see if he likes Jack Daniels"?

He may not hit the floor but at what point does his liver shut down?!!!

 

[MonicaMc]

If you wouldn't feed it to your human infant, you shouldn't feed it to your parrot. There will be exceptions (i.e. "ok" to feed avocado to a baby but *NOT* to a parrot), but I think that's a good general rule.


The only time I liked alcohol was when I was around 5 years old, and supposedly said it tasted like grape koolaid! (I was allowed sips of beer and wine, but only on rare occasions) As an adult, I have absolutely no interest in it. I do not care for the taste of alcohol (in general), and considering how it was a contributing factor of my parents splitting up when I was younger, I don't want the mess of that in my life.


Chance of my parrots consuming alcohol? Highly unlikely. And I'd like to keep it that way.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Something that has always scared me with any of the toxic foods with our pets is that it isn't always exactly the same from one to another. My birds haven't had much exposure to anything toxic to eat (other than the random time, probably 3 or 4 times in her life that Georgie dove in my coffee mug or dove into my cocktail), but my one dog was such a little glutton. I almost lost him after he got into some chocolate. And the amount he ate "technically" should not have had a serious effect on a dog of his weight. (but did! he was hospitalized and we weren't sure he would live.)

I would never want to intentionally risk anything because you just never know exactly what amount can cause major harm. It could be 'safe' one time and the next time you could have serious consequences. And the guilt you'd feel would be just awful.

 

[BillsBirds]

I will agree that alcohol is not good for any living creatures, but, all of us like it. I am reminded of my days back in college studying Agriculture. After harvesting corn for silage feed, we'd have to fence off the silos from the animals. As the corn would ferment in the silo, the alcohol would seep out of air holes in the bottom of the silo. All the animals would smell it, and try to get to it. I've seen drunk cows, horses. pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, turkeys, etc. Even wild birds, rabbits and deer. So, while it's not good for us or them, they all like it, and will get it when they can. Do not let them have it, if possible.

 

[mcw009]

Whenever I ask Icarus if he wants a sip of an adult beverage, he says "Uh-uh!!" so clearly this is a non-issue for us.

(for the record- I'm always just kidding when I offer him booze. Especially since almost all he says is "uh uh")

 

[GoGoPedro]

I agree, I've been tempted to let Pedro have a taste of my drink, but I have never given into that temptation. I've heard of people giving parrots beer, I would never do such a thing. I always keep in mind that Pedro is very small and any little tidbit of something unhealthy is a lot to him. I'm VERY careful with sweets, ice cream, processed carbs and meat. Pedro has NEVER had even a tiny taste of alcohol, and never will. I treat him as I would my baby. Would you give your baby alcohol? Then don't give it to your bird.

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

I agree, I've been tempted to let Pedro have a taste of my drink, but I have never given into that temptation. I've heard of people giving parrots beer, I would never do such a thing. I always keep in mind that Pedro is very small and any little tidbit of something unhealthy is a lot to him. I'm VERY careful with sweets, ice cream, processed carbs and meat. Pedro has NEVER had even a tiny taste of alcohol, and never will. I treat him as I would my baby. Would you give your baby alcohol? Then don't give it to your bird.

Well said!!!

 

[DebsFlock]

Actually my mother gave my brother rum once when he was an infant and had an earache.. it used to be quite common for teething and colic...

I think it is somewhat important to make a distinction between what is potentially dangerous physiologically and one's attitude towards alcohol. I'm not going to let my birds get into my cocktails on purpose because I think the risk isn't worth it. But they are "grown up" creatures, not infants. I wouldn't give an infant parrot pellets... or put one in a cage to sleep... so I'm not sure that's the most effective rule of thumb to apply here.

Then again, I grew up drinking wine at certain holidays, and I don't think of alcohol as something particularly evil which is always somewhat naughty.