Tomatoes...what's the real deal?

[Kalidasa]

There is a lot of conflicting information regarding tomatoes and parrots. I've never served them, but yesterday, while eating a chalupa, a chunk of tomato fell on my plate, which was quickly snatched up by my conure. He flew off with it in his mouth, perched high up on his play gym, and played with it, and ate a little.
He's eaten more acidic foods than tomatoes with no adverse reactions...including orange and a few sips of OJ here and there.
So, is there a final definitive word about tomatoes, or is it just simply still speculative?

 

[Kiwibird]

Small amounts of tomatoes aren't acutely toxic to parrots, but they shouldn't eat a lot of them. The occasional nibble of something with tomato is ok, but it shouldn't be offered regularly or as part of their normal diet (if that make sense).

We occasionally give Kiwi a little pasta with marinara sauce on it or a little bit of pizza that has some sauce (I make homemade pizza, he doesn't get to eat Dominos lol) or a tiny piece of chip with some salsa. He likes it, and suffers no ill effects. However, those are RARE treats, and I wouldn't make raw or cooked tomatoes a regular part of his diet. Citrus and acidic fruit, on the other hand, he gets about once a week. He loves pineapple and will eat orange. Citrus is simply acidic, so shouldn't be fed daily but is ok to be a more regular part of their diet. Tomatoes actually have something in them that's hard for a parrot to digest, so I wouldn't recommend a nibble of a tomato food more than once a month (MY OPINION, I know some people don't allow tomato at all).

 

[weco]

The problem with tomatoes is that they're part of the nightshade family and contain alkaloids which some birds can handle (in small amounts, infrequently) but I have never seen an alkaloid meter telling which specie can have how much of what type of tomato.....and.....yes, some of you have been feeding your feathered friend(s) raw or cooked tomatoes for years, but isn't that like playing Russian Roulette at the expense of an animal that does not know better ? ? ?

 

[veimar]

I have awesome homegrown tomatoes, but none of my parrots never touches even a cherry! So they probably feel they are not too good for them.

 

[Kiwibird]

I guess you could look at MANY things captive parrots are exposed to as playing "Russian Roulette" since NO ONE feeds them the exact diet they would eat in nature. From my understanding, the leaves and stems of tomato plants that ARE acutely toxic but the fruit is not toxic in small quantities. I've also never seen direct evidence of a parrot becoming sick from ingesting a SMALL AMOUNT of tomato on an infrequent basis, but I have seen fear monger websites that list just about everything but pellets as "potentially toxic" for a parrot to consume:20: Not saying there aren't some outright toxic foods or things you should plain never feed a bird, but I think some foods like tomato, dairy, sugary/salty things... are the birdie equivalent of fast food or alcohol are to humans- not going to kill or even harm you if consumed in moderation, every so often, but if you consume it on a regular basis in large quantities, it becomes a serious problem. JUST MY OPINION.

 

[hacatta]

I have awesome homegrown tomatoes, but none of my parrots never touches even a cherry! So they probably feel they are not too good for them.

here too,i didn't knew at first that they couldn't have them,and i don't like them either so i had about 10 kilos last year to give away,they wouldn't even look at it.

 

[Birdman666]

Maggie gets an occasional small bite of tomato, and every once in awhile, a cherry tomato. (SHE INHALES THOSE!) As long as it's in moderation it shouldn't be a problem. None of my other birds seem to like tomatoes.

I've never seen a bird that wouldn't go for spaghetti with tomato sauce on it...

Normally we give them plain pasta, but every once in a great while they'll get it as a treat. (Or pizza crust with a little tomato sauce on it.)

It's not toxic to my knowledge, just the plant leaves. It's just not especially good for them.

 

[Timothy]

Well. I don't give tomatoes regularly, but i do on occasion. We order pizza once every 3 months here (it's fattening) And if Maya doesn't get her's she will yell. She is a junk food bird unfortunately. She mostly likes the crust anyway. And the sausage and mushrooms. Mmm and peppers... I want pizza now :/

But i have not had any bad side effects from a slice of tomato here and there when i have a hoagie or a piece of pizza.

 

[Timothy]

I guess you could look at MANY things captive parrots are exposed to as playing "Russian Roulette" since NO ONE feeds them the exact diet they would eat in nature. From my understanding, the leaves and stems of tomato plants that ARE acutely toxic but the fruit is not toxic in small quantities. I've also never seen direct evidence of a parrot becoming sick from ingesting a SMALL AMOUNT of tomato on an infrequent basis, but I have seen fear monger websites that list just about everything but pellets as "potentially toxic" for a parrot to consume:20: Not saying there aren't some outright toxic foods or things you should plain never feed a bird, but I think some foods like tomato, dairy, sugary/salty things... are the birdie equivalent of fast food or alcohol are to humans- not going to kill or even harm you if consumed in moderation, every so often, but if you consume it on a regular basis in large quantities, it becomes a serious problem. JUST MY OPINION.

Just wanted to touch on this. Your absolutely right, and thats why i describe Maya as a junk food bird cause she loves these things. But you need to be very careful of salt because they cannot rid themselves of salt like we can. They can overdose.

Maya will still get a potato chip once in a blue moon. I like to buy her the salt free veggie chips.

 

[Mike17]

Given that a lot of people give their birds chili and capsicum, and these fruits are closely related to tomato, perhaps we should be narrowing down the "dangerous" compound that's in tomatoes and not in chili? I suspect the listing for tomatoes as a potentially dangerous food comes from the green parts (which also applies to potatoes, including green bits on the tubers) and a leftover from medieval times when tomatoes were not eaten after their introduction from the New World, but grown as an ornamental (it does make one wonder though, what did the Italians have in their pasta sauce prior to discovery of the Americas?).

 

[Colorguarder08]

Given that a lot of people give their birds chili and capsicum, and these fruits are closely related to tomato, perhaps we should be narrowing down the "dangerous" compound that's in tomatoes and not in chili? I suspect the listing for tomatoes as a potentially dangerous food comes from the green parts (which also applies to potatoes, including green bits on the tubers) and a leftover from medieval times when tomatoes were not eaten after their introduction from the New World, but grown as an ornamental (it does make one wonder though, what did the Italians have in their pasta source prior to discovery of the Americas?).

Most likely milk/cream like alfredo and other similar sauces.

 

[Kalidasa]

Given that a lot of people give their birds chili and capsicum, and these fruits are closely related to tomato, perhaps we should be narrowing down the "dangerous" compound that's in tomatoes and not in chili? I suspect the listing for tomatoes as a potentially dangerous food comes from the green parts (which also applies to potatoes, including green bits on the tubers) and a leftover from medieval times when tomatoes were not eaten after their introduction from the New World, but grown as an ornamental (it does make one wonder though, what did the Italians have in their pasta source prior to discovery of the Americas?).

Haha weren't tomatoes called "the devils apple" for the so-called aphrodisiac properties they possessed?

 

[Kiwibird]

Haha weren't tomatoes called "the devils apple" for the so-called aphrodisiac properties they possessed?

Perhaps THAT is why they're not recommended for parrots Especially in the spring:54:

 

[Kalidasa]

Haha weren't tomatoes called "the devils apple" for the so-called aphrodisiac properties they possessed?

Perhaps THAT is why they're not recommended for parrots Especially in the spring:54:

Lol! It was considered dangerous, wanton, and unseemly to eat, or even discuss eating them back in the day (from what I've read long ago). I know for sure I don't want unseemly, wanton birds!

 

[Kinny]

well this is an interesting thread! I've only ever heard of the tomato leaves and stalks being poisonous/toxic.. I must research this!!!

 

[goalerjones]

Tomatoes ok, vine = nightshade = dead

 

[Matt_95]

We've had SC2s eat entire crops of our tomatoes. Bits of the vine where pulled apart but it didn't look like they actually ate any of it.

 

[weco]

We've had SC2s eat entire crops of our tomatoes. Bits of the vine where pulled apart but it didn't look like they actually ate any of it.

It's believed that, like in Australia, where native species consume substances other species might find toxic, there is something in the natural species diet that counteracts the toxicity of a given substance, much like the clay licks of Central and South America...just like the bacteria/gut flora found the different waters in different parts of the world...our bodies are used to the bacteria native to where we live, but move to another part of the world and our bodies must acclimate themselves to the new local bacteria before our systems return to normal.....and like Matt_95 (Sorry for the misspelled name Matt) mentions, a bird or flock of birds may simply tear apart a plant or series of plants, without really ingesting any dangerous substances from the plant(s).....

In the end, it is always a judgement call on our parts.....especially when it is we humans who offer a potential/suspected toxic item/substance to the animals/pets in our care.....we humans have different immunities and/or allergies to different things/substances we encounter.....I have two stepdaughters, one is lactose intolerant and the other cannot eat red meat.....but.....unlike we humans, allergy tests for our pets is not something we run right down to our veterinarians to have performed, rather, allergic reactions is something we find in passing and in some cases, actually too many cases, after the passing of the animals we are charged with caring for ! ! !

 

[Tangie]

I don't really need to worry about this with Kiko, because he will not eat any veggie or fruit other than broccoli. Unless it's in birdie bread, but he only eats that because he doesn't know he is eating it. Strangely enough, the one thing that he will do ANYTHING for, is a small piece of barbecue potato chip. I give that to him once or twice every year.

 

[Flboy]

This is a very old thread, but good information over the potential issues with tomatoes!
I am interested in what the latest thoughts are.