Is all Lettuce safe for parrots to eat?

[Tangie]

So I have been trying to find healthy veggies Kiko will eat, and I came upon an Organic Spring Mix. The majority is lettuce it seems, and I know Lettuce has little nutritional value, and can cause watery poops because of the high water content, but little nutritional value is better than none. He will only eat Broccoli at this point in time. It gives a list of ingredients, that I am not all familiar to.

Organic Baby Spinach, Lolla Rosa Lettuce, Green Tango Lettuce, Red Oak Lettuce, Green Oak Lettuce, both Green and Red Romaine Lettuce(I know these are safe), Red Leaf Lettuce, and Green Leaf Lettuce.

And then it also contains these baby Greens~ Tatsoi, Mizuna, Red Chard, Green Chard, Red Mustard, Green Mustard, Frisee, and Arugula. And Radicchio. And Red Kale.

Hopefully this gets answered tonight, so I can giv e him a big, healthy, Easter dinner! Oh! One last thing, what about Chinese Mung sprouts?

 

[Puck]

Paging Chef Ramsey....

Seriously, feeding my bird veggies has introduced me to so many vegetables I had never heard of. And taught me not to just bite into the ones that you don't know. I went off a list provided by the lady from Parrot Nation, all of which Whole Foods had, though I didn't know what they all were. So I took a bite out of this big purple thing that turned out to be some kind of pepper because it was super spicy! Lesson learned: do not bite into veggies without knowing what they are!!! Back to Hot Pockets for me.

No clue what tatsoi or mizuna is but they sure have cool names!

 

[Lullx]

I'm not sure about the first group of lettuces you said. I don't feed lettuce to my guys because of the low nutritional value (like you said). But that second group of greens... most of those are really good for parrots!

I know there are a few bird safe and toxic food lists floating around the web (and I think even on this very forum!).

Sprouts are also fantastic for them, just try to make sure to get as many things organic as you can. Pesticides aren't very friendly to our companions.

 

[Tangie]

Lol, Puck! I have learned that the hard way, too!

Thanks, Lullx. Sometimes I wish Kiko would be open to trying new foods, but for most all of his life it was just seeds. And then when I adopted him I managed to convert him to Pellets, Broccoli, Pumpkin Seeds, and Birdie Bread. So anything I can add into his diet that he will eat(so he wont just eat seeds) is a good thing! I searched all of the information on the websites, and they did not mention every type of Lettuce. Realistically I do not think he will try any of him, but even a nibble could be toxic. I don't think those Lettuces would be toxic, but you never know. Especially when you haven't heard of them before. The Spring Mix is Organic, as well as the sprouts. They claim on the package that they didn't use any pesticides, herbicides, ect ect.

 

[Lullx]

Tiels are tricky to get to enjoy new foods, but patience is really important.

My Lucy will usually try new food when she sees my conures eating it.
I suggest sprinkling millet or another small treat on new foods. Maybe even some of their seed! They'll get little tastes of the new food when they go to eat their comfy old favorites, and often try nibbling on the new stuff. Eventually they realize it's not going to eat them and that, hey, it's pretty yummy!

I also dramatically pretend to take a bite out of whatever I'm offering, but that's way more convincing to my conures than my tiel.

 

[Tangie]

Kiko has been eating just seeds for years, and I have had him for two, Cockatiels sure are stubborn! He does try new stuff more willingly if he is next to me. I think I will just feed him the Chines Mung Sprouts tonight. Thanks for the help, Lullx! 83