Coconut oil for Eclectus?

[Stevie07]

I read online that feeding coconut oil to birds is safe and good for them. Is this true? If so, how much a day. Do you drizzle it on the food? :red:

 

[Anansi]

Hey, Stevie. I've never heard of this, but I'd be very interested in the answer as well. Did the article you read say why it was good? Vitamin/nutrient content?

 

[Stevie07]

Hi~It said that it's rich in Beta-Carotene which turns into vitamin A and it's also low fat.
Here's a link that I just found in this forum....you can read the thread. Pretty interesting!
http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectu...d-my-parrot-coconut-oil-benefits-amazing.html

 

[Anansi]

Thanks, Stevie! I'm always looking into new sources of beta carotene for Bixby. I'll definitely check out that thread.

 

[Stevie07]

You're very welcome! Always new things to find out!

 

[Mike17]

I'd be wary of feeding too much coconut oil to any bird, it's very high in saturated fats. Our birds get only the oil in fresh coconut, and that, not very often. Having said that, my wife is SE Asian and she cooks with coconut cream a lot, so we are exposing ourselves to lots of nasty fats, if the nutritionists are correct. How true this is, is a matter for conjecture, SE Asians used few dairy products in cooking, yet have delicious, creamy curries, from coconut cream. As for beta carotene, I'd imagine there are many better sources, without checking possibly the orange fruits like pawpaw and mango, and of course carrots.

 

[Stevie07]

Thanks for your info Mike. I'm hearing so many conflicting things. Here is what I found online today saying that the saturated fat in coconut oil is not harmful. Please read if you get a chance. The kind that I bought is Organic, extra virgin and I would only be using a small amount drizzled on her food every other day.
Here's the article I read:
First of all, coconut oil does contain a large amount of saturated fat, but the plant-based saturated fat found in unrefined coconut is completely different than the saturated fat found in animal foods. It’s very important to understand that just as not all fats are created equal, all saturated fats are not created equal either. Just as there are “good fats” and “bad fats”, there are also “good saturated fats” and “bad saturated fats”.
Unrefined whole coconut meat, coconut milk and extra virgin coconut oil are “good saturated fats” and have a completely different biochemical makeup than the saturated fats found in animal foods. Epidemiological studies show the saturated fats found in animal foods (such as butter, beef, dairy, turkey, chicken, eggs, etc) is harmful to heart health but that the saturated fat found in unrefined and unprocessed coconut foods is not harmful (1). Even though many people have for years been lumping all saturated fats together and have been blaming all saturated fats for increasing the risk of heart disease, population studies of people living in the Pacific Islands and Asia, whose diets are naturally very high in unrefined coconut foods, show surprisingly low incidences of cardiovascular disease. In 1992 researchers reviewed some of the epidemiological and experimental data regarding coconut-eating groups and noted that the available population studies show coconut consumption does not lead to high-serum cholesterol nor to high coronary heart disease mortality or morbidity (2).
Coconut Oil