Fid loves chicken; Should I let him eat it?

[ilaurya]

Ok, this is kind of disturbing, but apparently Riven's favorite food is chicken.

A friend and I were sitting around eating a bbq chicken pizza, and Riven was perched on the back of the chair next to me, eating with us. (He loves pizza, so that's standard procedure.) Normally I just give him little pieces of crust with sauce and cheese, but I wasn't paying attention and gave him a piece with some chicken on it. OMG. It was like I had given ice cream to a child. He finished the chicken, discarded the rest of the pizza that he was holding, and scooted over to try to snag the chicken off of the slice I was eating. To confirm that it was the chicken he was going after, I gave him another piece. The chicken was definitely what he wanted.

I know it's probably not harmful to him to let him eat poultry, but I can't shake the thought that it's birdy Cannibalism. Does anyone else's fid like chicken/turkey, and do you let him/her eat it?

[Monica]

None of my birds do! They turned their noses up at it! LOL But thoroughly cooked chicken, even cooked chicken bones, are fine to feed ocasionally to your birds!

[Alika]

Oh, my 'zon absolutely adores chicken! She also likes potroast in small amounts on special occassions. And all my fids enjoy cooked egg from time to time.

As long as there is no dressing on the meat and it's thoroughly cooked, I see no problem in offering some occassionally. It's a great source of protein, and most of the books I've read recommend that you feed your bird as much of what you eat as is safely possible.

Keep in mind, though, that parrots' digestive systems aren't exactly designed to handle large amounts of meat, so it really should only be an occassional thing. My birds get it maybe twice a month, and when they do get it, they only get a little bite of meat in the mist of a medly of veggies and breads.

[Rue]

Ever's favourite food is pork chops...and since I discovered that, I've also discovered that she'll eat any kind of meat!

Now I feed her a wee bit of whatever meat we're having at dinner...I just make sure it's well cooked (ie. if we're having steak for example)...

[TooLover]

All of mine absolutely love chicken, and chicken wings are a huge hit here! They love to chew on the bones and get the marrow.............

[FairLight]

Abbie, my CAG asks for chicken by name!
She has a few bites and that is enough.
It is an excellent source of protien and a yummy treat too.
I haven't tried wings yet-sounds like something Abbie would like!
:o)
I always pick up grilled chicken in the twin pack at Costco for her.
She also gets broccoli and carrots with.

[kathleen]

Originally Posted by ilaurya

I know it's probably not harmful to him to let him eat poultry, but I can't shake the thought that it's birdy Cannibalism. Does anyone else's fid like chicken/turkey, and do you let him/her eat it?

I'm a little squeemish of the chicken thing too but thought that about eggs also. I try to give my quaker eggs but he/she doesn't seem to like them. It must be the way I am making them.

[Samm]

Zoe, my TAG...loves chicken! We had baked chcken breasts for supper tonight, she ate a pretty good size piece. Also leg bones are good, like Laurie said, they like to crack them open and get the marrow.

Liver is one of her favorites too, I gave her a piece one night, as kind of a joke, just to see if she would eat it.....it disappeared in a minute and she was asking for more.

Its very safe to give them whatever you eat (in moderation of course)
except avocado, chocolate, apple seeds...for that matter the pit of any fruit is probably a good idea to stay away from.
Anything else anyboby can add to NOT give them?

[Alika]

Originally Posted by Samm

Anything else anyboby can add to NOT give them?

Rhubarb and onion. Also, mushrooms show up on some lists, but I'm not sure if it's just because some mushrooms are poisonous or if it's because all mushrooms are poisonous... I'm quite sure there are types of mushrooms that our fids can eat, but I avoid them for the uncertainty.

Supposedly, parsley might be toxic to ducks, so it shows up on some lists, too.

Then, obviously, caffeine and alcohol are no-no's.

[paultheparrotlover]

Originally Posted by ilaurya

Ok, this is kind of disturbing, but apparently Riven's favorite food is chicken.

A friend and I were sitting around eating a bbq chicken pizza, and Riven was perched on the back of the chair next to me, eating with us. (He loves pizza, so that's standard procedure.) Normally I just give him little pieces of crust with sauce and cheese, but I wasn't paying attention and gave him a piece with some chicken on it. OMG. It was like I had given ice cream to a child. He finished the chicken, discarded the rest of the pizza that he was holding, and scooted over to try to snag the chicken off of the slice I was eating. To confirm that it was the chicken he was going after, I gave him another piece. The chicken was definitely what he wanted.

I know it's probably not harmful to him to let him eat poultry, but I can't shake the thought that it's birdy Cannibalism. Does anyone else's fid like chicken/turkey, and do you let him/her eat it?

I have to ask. Though it may be pointless, why it is that the people on birdboard generally do not approve of the feeding of Morningstar Farms products because of the additives, yet never hesitat to endorse the feeding of meat- which, unless organic, is no doubt laced with steroids, antibiotics, e-coli, BSE, salmonella, etc.