upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

Hello All!

Our pear tree actually produced good fruit for us this year so I am now wondering if the seeds of pears are safe for parrots. I couldnt find anything on the web as far as if they are parrot safe or not. The pears we have are small....probably about the size of a plum maybe a bit smaller. If they are not safe any info on why would also be great.

Thanks in advance for any information.
Victoria

Major toxicity per UC-Davis: http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/ce ... ox-COM.htm

for future reference, all fruit seeds should be avoided. Now, obviously, you can't avoid strawberry seeds

The toxicity list from http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/ce ... ox-COM.htm are great if you are looking at your children.
Birds are a different story. For example you should NEVER feed Avacodo to your bird, but it is good for humans.

This site has some really helpful information:
http://www.exoticbird.com/gillian/index.html

1chloe1 wrote:The toxicity list from http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/ce ... ox-COM.htm are great if you are looking at your children. Birds are a different story...

Items coded 5 on the UC Davis site are said to have toxicity for animals. Are you meaning this doesn't include avian animals? I realize we're all animals, and we react differently to things, but my qx is a serious one... do you have reason to believe code 5 doesn't apply to birds?

PS It's too bad the link doesn't work. I've reported it to Damian and Kirsten. Maybe they'll know how to get the linking program corrected.

The link works in your first post Bluebird Exotics. It is a very informative link, I am not meaning to offend.
http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/ce/king/PoisPlant/Tox-COM.htm

I just feel that the list is not complete and is not 100%
For example I looked and there is no plant listed as a 5 for animals, but I know the list includes a lot of them.
Another example. The toxic level of Apple seeds is 1 - Major Toxicity, if ingested, immediately call the Poison Control Center.
I personally have eaten apple seeds and I never went to the Emergency Room.

Don't get me wrong, I agree that the apple seed does release cyanide when ingested, but the site does not take into consderation the volume needed to get to a bad stage. I also know people that have birds that have eaten a seed and the bird is not dead, nor did it get sick. - I personally stay away because I don't want that chance.

I also wanted people to know that the list is not complete because it does not list avacodo as toxic. If you let your bird eat a small amount of avacodo, it is like rat poison and you can count your bird to the rainbow.

The site that I listed is specific to birds. Another site that has great resources for plants and such that are toxic or non-toxic to avians is:
http://www.cockatiel.org/articles/index.html

1chloe1 wrote:The link works in your first post Bluebird Exotics. It is a very informative link, I am not meaning to offend.
http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/ce/king/PoisPlant/Tox-COM.htm I just feel that the list is not complete and is not 100% ...

Thanks for responding, both here and personally. I confess to confusion. As I look now at this forum, the link in your first post and in the portion of yours that I quoted is abbreviated, incorrectly hyperlinked, and doesn't link me to anything when I click on it. Does it really work for you? If so, I wonder why not for me??? A question for Damian...

I must admit to befuddlement at seeing that, as you say, the UC-Davis list has NOTHING on it that's coded 5. Why then, I wonder, do it describe code 5? And how could I have used this site for many years for no reason but my parrots' safety without noticing this? Yet again, not questions for you, but ones I'm asking myself. I wonder if the list has been revised and items that used to be coded 5 no longer are. Apple seed aren't a good example IMO because so many good bird folks insist a few seed do no harm. Nor is avocado IMO because so many insist it's only the bruised or overripe avocado that's harmful to birds. But I've always read how dangerous poinsettia and elephant ears are to animals (other than humans), and they too are listed but not coded 5. I can't figure it out.

So, I called the 800# to request the publication noted on the site that lists plants that are toxic to animals. Since I'm not in California, the 800# didn't work for me. So, I emailed the list author and asked for the publication. I'll post a follow-up if I learn more. Meantime, I'm scratching my head and assure you I wasn't the least bit offended at any point. I wanted to understand what you were saying, so I was asking questions. I should have looked for some code 5 items first!

Thanks

PS Sunday afternoon and the link is now complete and clickable, at least in this post and yours that I've quoted. Thanks, Damian!

I keep hearing that Avocados are toxic. Yes the skin and the pits are toxic to every one. Has any one lost a bird or know of a bird lost to avocados? If so how was it fed? Avocados are loaded with good digestible fats. We have been feeding avodados to our Aracari, Jays, and other softbills . My baby aracaris are fed chopped avacodos along with other fruit and do really well on it. I also know of many Zoos that feed avocados to thier birds. Then you Have Trogans that devour the fruit whole in the wild. It is a main diet for these birds. Is it toxic to a certain group of parrots? Were did the stories begin? I have asked this question many times and one one has seem to come up with any answers, except it is toxic due to some article, or other non informitive information.
But if some one has experience with ill effect please express them.

Thanks
Damian

As far as I understand it, the 'meat' of the avocado is safe, however, the pit/skin/plant is the danger... and there's a chance that whatever is on or around the pit may leach into the 'meat' of the avocado, making it a danger. I did a short search for it and this is what I have found.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocado#To ... to_animals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persin

http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-diet-and-health/bird-nutrition/off-limit-food-for-birds.aspx
Avocado is a no-no because of the pit, which contains an oil that leaches toxin into the fruit. The toxin is persin, a fatty acid-like compound that has cardio-toxic effects. Avocado toxicity can produce lethargy, anorexia, breathing difficulty and sudden death.

In Larry Nemetz, DVM, an exotics-only veterinarian in Southern California experience, avocado seems to be especially harmful to smaller birds like lovebirds, budgies and cockatiels (which often will become very sick and die within a day or two of eating avocado), but larger parrots are also susceptible. He once treated a cockatoo that had been fed avocado for six months before getting sick from it.

http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-diet-and-health/bird-nutrition/polly-doesnt-want-cracker.aspx
Avocado Myth: Avocados are poisonous to birds.

Although some varieties and parts of the avocado are considered more toxic than others, it is generally safer to not feed your pet bird any part of the avocado plant or fruit. Some bird breeders, such as lory breeders, have fed their lories avocados without a problem. So some bird species don’t have an averse reaction to some avocado varieties. However, if you want to feed avocados to your bird, play it safe and get your avian veterinarian’s advice first.

Where does the recommendation come from to not feed your pet bird avocados? According to A Guide to Plant Poisoning of Animals in North America, avocado poisoning was first reported in 1942 in California, and its toxin — still not precisely identified — affects cattle, horses, goats, canaries, budgies, cockatiels, ostriches and other birds and animals. Ostriches have died of congestive heart failure within 96 hours of eating the fruit and leaves of avocados. Symptoms of avocado poisoning in other birds include respiratory distress and sudden death.

Have you asked any avian vets????