[PowerBBS]

Originally Posted by Odysseus

Since the thread is begun I will ask this here.

Just recently my wife got herself her third hamster. The other two passed away and no not after only a couple weeks. One made it more than three years. Well, we unwittingly fed it almonds among other things trying to learn our new hamsters favorite foods. Well, it started feeling poorly so we looked into it and lo and behold one of the foods we tried WAS bad for the poor little guy. Almonds have cyanic acid that is bad for our hamster. Not fatal, but too much for the little guy to be comfortable for a time.

Just curious if anyone has found that with their bird the cyanic acid is hard on them too?

You know that's an interesting question. I give my birds roasted shelled unsalted almonds as treats. I even see whole unshelled almonds in many Parrot Seed mixes of many brands.

Since you asked, i went out on a search and believe it or not, I found almonds are not recommended for birds. I found a huge list of stuff on a site.

First, i'll quote what the site says, then I'll give you the URL so you can verify it yourself. Turns out it's an avarian website too....

Foods & Plants Toxic to Birds

The below is not a complete list. It is recommended that you consult with a vet, if in doubt.

Please note that the items marked with an * are especially toxic to birds and can be fatal.
Toxic foods are foods that can cause allergies and/or health problems in birds. Anything high in sugar or salt is inappropriate, as are fatty foods. More serious are things such as chocolate, which is toxic to many pets. Caffeinated or alcoholic beverages are also dangerous.

- Acorns
- Alcohol
- Almonds (plant-pan allergen profilin can cause serious reaction in some birds)
- Alocasia
- *Amaryllis Bulb
- Angel's Trumpet (some species), seeds, leaves
- Apple Seeds (small quantities ok)
- *Apricot (seeds, wood)
- Arrowgrass
- *Autumn Crocus
- *Avocado (leaves, seeds, stem, skin)
- Azalea (entire rhododendron family)
- Baneberry
- Bayonet
- Beargrass
- *Begonia
- Bird of Paradise
- Bitter Almonds*
- Bittersweet
- Black-eyed Susan
- Black Locust
- *Bleeding Heart
- Bluebonnet
- Bloodrot
- Box
- Boxwood
- Bracken fern
- Buckeye
- Buckthorn
- Burning Bush
- Buttercup (Ranunculus)
- Caffeine
- *Caladium
- *Calla Lily
- Canada Yew
- Candelabra
- Cactus
- *Castor Beans
- Ceriman
- Cherry (seeds, wood)
- Chinaberry
- *Chinese Sacred or Heavenly Bamboo
- Chocolate
- *Choke Cherry (unripe berries)
- Christmas Rose
- Chrysanthemum
- Clematis
- Coriaria
- Cornflower
- Corydalis
- Crocus bulb
- Croton (Codiaeum sp.)
- Crown of Thorns
- Cyclamen bulb
- Daffodil
- Daphne
- Datura
- Deadly Nightshade
- Death Camas
- *Delphinium, larkspur, monkshood
- Dicentrea
- Dieffenbachia
- *Dumb cane (Dieffenbachia)
- Easter Lily
- Eggplant
- Elderberry (unripe berries)
- Elephant Ear
- English ivy
- Fig (Ficus)
- Euonymus
- Evergreen Ferns
- Ficus
- Flax
- Four-o'clocks (Mirabilis)
- Foxglove (Digitalis)
- *Garlic (safe for birds in SMALL amounts)
- Golden Glow
- Gopher Purge
- Hellebore
- Hemlock
- Henbane
- Holly berries
- Honeysuckle
- Horsebeans
- Horsebrush
- Horse Chestnut
- Hyacinth bulbs
- *Hydrangea
- Iris corms
- Iris Ivy
- *Jack-in-the-pulpit
- Japanese Yew
- Java Beans
- Jessamine
- Jerusalem Cherry
- *Jimson weed
- Jonquil
- Jungle Trumpets
- *Kalanchoe
- *Lantana
- Larkspur
- Laurel
- Lily
- Lily-of-the-Valley
- Lily Spider
- Lobelia (some species), all parts
- Locoweed
- Lupine species
- Malanga
- Marigold
- *Marijuana or hemp (Cannibus)
- *Milkweed
- *Mistletoe berries
- Mock Orange
- Monkshood
- *Morning Glory
- Mountain Laurel
- Mushrooms
- Narcissus, daffodil
- Nettles
- Nectarine (seeds, wood)
- Nightshade
- *Oak
- *Oleander
- *Onions (toxic to birds, small amount ok)
- Peace Lilly
- *Peach (seeds, wood)
- *Pencil cactus plant
- Peony
- Periwinkle
- Peyote Cactus
- *Philodendron (all species)
- Pimpernel
- Plum (seeds, wood)
- Poinciana
- Poinsettia (many hybrids, avoid them all)
- Poison Ivy
- Poison Oak
- Pokeweed
- Poppy
- Potato (green seed balls, green tubers; plant, leaves and stem)
- Precatory beans
- Privet
- Rhododendron
- *Rhubarb leaves
- *Rosary Pea
- Rubber Plant
- Schefflera (umbrella plant)
- Scotch Broom
- Schefflera
- *Shamrock (Oxalis sp.)
- Skunk Cabbage
- Snowdrops
- Snow-on-the-Mountain
- Spindle Tree, Euonymus (some species), leaves, fruit, bark
- Spreading English Yew
- Spurge (Euphorbia sp.)
- Staggerweed
- Starleaf
- Star of Bethlehem
- Sweet Pea - Lathyrus latifolius - L.: Although no records of toxicity have been found for this plant, the seed of some species in this genus contain a toxic amino acid that can cause a severe disease of the nervous system known as 'lathyrism' if they are eaten in large amounts (although small quantities are said to be nutritious)[65, 76]. Great caution is advised.Plants For A Future - 7000 useful plants
- Tansy Mustard
- Tobacco
- Tomatoes (leaves and stem)
- Tuffroot
- Tulip
- Virginia Creeper
- Walnut hulls
- Water Arum
- Weeping Fig
- Wild Call Wisteria
- Wild Calla
- Wisteria
- Yellow Calla
- *Yew

Here's the link: Foods & Plants Toxic to Birds