The great Chicken Bone is Good/Bad Debate

[wrench13]

Let the debate commence.

I give Salty a chicken bone like once every 2 months or so, and he loves them. So he is definitely in the Chicken Bones are Good side of the question.

 

[Owlet]

I have mixed feelings because I primarily work with dogs and as most people know cooked bones are bad for dogs because cooked bones have a tendency to splinter. However raw bones are okay because they dont splinter. I would imagine that would apply to birds too, I would be worried about the bone splintering and them accidentally swallowing a shard and it getting stuck in their crop

 

[PrimorandMoxi]

Max loves them. Primor too.
I can't imagine the splinters are any less dangerous than the splinters from a cut off of 1x pine.
They are definitely having fun getting to the marrow and not swallowing bone matter.

 

[kme3388]

Hi everyone, I understand some of us have very strong opinions on this topic. We all try to protect our feathered friends, and keep them healthy. I just think it's nice to all come together, and talk about this topic. I do feed my ekkie hard boiled eggs, give him pieces of chicken breast, and pulled pork once in a great while. He LOVES it. How do we feel about this healthwise? Do we think this is harmful, safe, or what are others feeding their feathered friends?

 

[texsize]

I grew up in a family that raised siamees cat’s.
knowing how bad chicken bones are for them
I would never give them to my birds.
I guess I have to accept that my perception of danger over this issue is overblown.
But just about anything can be/become deadly.
I watched a YT video of a woman who lost her macaw because it swallowed a piece of walnut shell.

it just seems like an unnecessary risk.
Wes.

 

[Zoruace]

Hi everyone, I just wanted to start a thread about chicken bones, eggs, or meat for parrots. I understand some of us have very strong opinions on this topic. We all try to protect our feathered friends, and keep them healthy. I just thought it would be nice to all come together, and talk about this topic. I do feed my ekkie hard boiled eggs, give him pieces of chicken breast, and pulled pork once in a great while. He LOVES it. How do we feel about this healthwise? Do we think this is harmful, safe, or what are others feeding their feathered friends?

Ive been feeding tiki eggs all her life
It was the first food she ever ate other then seeds and she is incredibly healthy
I feed tiki chicken RARLEY just sometimes as a treat maybe once or twice a month or zero times-
I never tried chicken bones tbh
Im too used to the dog rule
“it can splinter”

 

[wrench13]

CHicken meat? Oh thats a rarity, as we like too much spices and stuff on ours. Eggs like 3 or 4 times a years, egg shells only when Salty's moulting, crushed up fine and sprinkled on his chop. SO anyone else out there? Bones? WHat say you?

 

[Laurasea]

I do cooked eggs, cooked egg shells as well( weekly or twice a week) , cooked chicken ( rarely but they love it) I myself will never do bones. As I feel riskier with bacteria growth if not fed and eaten immediately. And I don't see as much beneficial nutrition wise

 

[kme3388]

I know the parrot shelter I used to volunteer at gave their cockatoos chicken bones. They LOVED them. I am unsure if there are any safety issues with them. I know some of my conures toys have sea shells with holes drilled through them. She loves them as it give her beak something to do. Does anyone know of a bird being harmed by chicken bones? Do they use them more as a toy then they do food?

 

[chris-md]

Bones no, completely unnecessary.

rare nips of chicken here and there, sure. Just have to be careful with ekkies. They’re prone to atherosclerosis, so protein should be minimized more compared to other birds.

 

[texsize]

Meat.
Bingo and Bella both love salmon, (I can’t even stand the smell). At most once a week. I hope it’s as good for avians as it is humans.

they like pork in any form (never tried pork rinds LOL)
Beef, no .
Chicken they like it but with the price of chicken so high
we haven’t been fixing chicken a whole lot.

 

[kme3388]

Bones no, completely unnecessary.

rare nips of chicken here and there, sure. Just have to be careful with ekkies. They’re prone to atherosclerosis, so protein should be minimized more compared to other birds.

Unfortunately Nico forgets often that he’s an ekkie. He try’s to steal food from my conure, and dog food! Yes, dog food, and no I’m not kidding 🤦‍♀️ He’s a thief. I try my best to keep his birdie belly full so he doesn’t go searching for food he likes vs food he should be eating.

 

[Skarila]

Probably because i also learned with cats and dogs that chicken bones can splinter we don't give it at all to our birds. I mean, bone splinter is sharper than wood splinter...right? Or harder... Dunno.

But occasional chicken meat is given as a snack to the bird, but it is like once in a full moon.

 

[SailBoat]

Regarding Chicken Leg Bones!
Over the long and many years Amazons have controlled our home, Chicken Leg Bones have been part of their diet.

Splitting them open and removing (eating) the Bone Marrow is their goal with zero interest in the Bone itself.

Like wood splinters, bone splinters are dangerous. The bone and wood splinters are always left in a pile for the Humans to remove.

From Julio on-back, they have all loved chicken bone marrow and discarded the bone and bone splinters.

 

[Farnoosh]

Hi everyone, I understand some of us have very strong opinions on this topic. We all try to protect our feathered friends, and keep them healthy. I just think it's nice to all come together, and talk about this topic. I do feed my ekkie hard boiled eggs, give him pieces of chicken breast, and pulled pork once in a great while. He LOVES it. How do we feel about this healthwise? Do we think this is harmful, safe, or what are others feeding their feathered friends?

My birds LOVE chicken and chicken eggs! birds in the wild do eat other birds' babies or eggs… (Crows and ravens for example) So im thinking it can' t be harmful for them once in a while? I can understand why we could be concerned about the safety of bones… One of my birds love chicken bones and to be honest I didn't even think of splints and their safety until now!

 

[Rattlerjake]

Let the debate commence.

I give Salty a chicken bone like once every 2 months or so, and he loves them. So he is definitely in the Chicken Bones are Good side of the question.

First lets deal with facts:
1) Wild parrots will sometimes eat carrion, young birds, and eggs.
2) Uncooked bones and the cartilage provide a good protein and vitamin source.
3) Cooked bones have relatively no nutritional value.
4) Parrots do not chew their food, they break it into small pieces to swallow, so the chance of splintering is unlikely. Also, birds, like parrots do not eat the bone itself, but remove the marrow and cartilage.

I give my parrots raw chicken bones, either fresh or dried. They love to play with them, and besides the marrow, they also like to eat the grissle/cartilage, which is good for them. Better to save the cooked chicken bones for the dog (but crush them up first while they are still wet so they don't splinter - dry cooked bones splinter).

 

[Rattlerjake]

Unfortunately Nico forgets often that he’s an ekkie. He try’s to steal food from my conure, and dog food! Yes, dog food, and no I’m not kidding 🤦‍♀️ He’s a thief. I try my best to keep his birdie belly full so he doesn’t go searching for food he likes vs food he should be eating.

Yep, I often give my parrots kibbled dog food as a treat.

 

[chris-md]

First lets deal with facts:
1) Wild parrots will sometimes eat carrion, young birds, and eggs.
2) Uncooked bones and the cartilage provide a good protein and vitamin source.
3) Cooked bones have relatively no nutritional value.
4) Parrots do not chew their food, they break it into small pieces to swallow, so the chance of splintering is unlikely. Also, birds, like parrots do not eat the bone itself, but remove the marrow and cartilage.

problem is “facts” aren’t universal to all species. Try telling this to eclectus owners or lorikeet owners, and you’d be drummed off as as not having a clue what you’re talking about. Encouraging this for these species is dangerous on its face.

That’s not to throw flames, btw. just to make the point that you can’t make universal statements like this because on the parrot world, the only “fact” is that what works for one species doesn’t work for another.

 

[kme3388]

This is a very tough debate I will say. It is hard because all parrots don't know what kind of parrot they are. They really don't care either. They want what they want, and because they want it. I am curious how different owls, eagles, and hawks digestive tracks are. I've been to the eagle center as in Minnesota we have a ton of bald eagles. I love all birds what can I say. I am curious as to why these types of bird can digest everything (and they do), but other species of birds cannot.