Grapes on the no-no list?

[shibatimes3]

Hi guys. We were informed by our vet that recent research as said that grapes/raisins have a toxin in them? Everyone I have spoken to around where I live has never heard of this and for most of us.... grapes are a loved treat by our fids. i would be horrified if I was giving them something i shouldn't.

[kellywess]

I give mine grapes... they love them. The toxins I believe are in the seeds.

[greencinacheeks]

yes..the toxins your vet is referring to are in the seeds. The fruit it's self is fine for birdies..mine love em!!! same goes for all seeds/pits of fruit.

[bthomas]

samba loves grapes so i just buy the seedless ones! so convenient haha

[huntress]

Grapes are OK. DONT let your dog eat a bunch esp raisins! My birds dont eat the seeds if I give them grapes with seeds.

[wildirish]

Grapes technically are safe to feed, but we dont anymore, they are mostly sugar water, very little nutrition, and too many contradicting things about them, the seeds etc.

I agree that a grape or half a grape once in a while as a treat is OK but the sugar content is high. Excess sugar can cause digestive problems which can lead to yeast infections and crop stasis (sour crop) and make your bird very ill.

This is the main reason:

You really have to be careful as to giving grapes that have been grown in Chili.
Grapes from Chile add a load of cancer causing and endocrine-disrupting fungicides to our parrots' diets. From January through April, a whopping ninety percent of the grapes sold in the U.S. are from Chile, where growers use less sophisticated pest control techniques than U.S. growers. Substitute domestic grapes in season.

This story happened a couple of years ago:
The Cape and Islands NPR Station - Bird Rescue and Adoption

[Chief's Mom]

Our grocery stores around here just started getting grapes from places other the Chile. It's like 9 months out of the year, thats the only place that grows grapes

[jimpierce7]

grapes are good in small quantities. When ever there are good ones at the store my guys get one or two a day. I love watching the way they only eat the meat in the middle.

[huntress]

WASH - Strawberries from Chili are bad too for the same reasons. tested strawberries had high levels of ddt type stuff

[Ashling]

Grapes are on the list of favorites :) But they have a high iron content as well. I feed Ash about 4 grapes a day whenever we have them. The sugar content is ok for lorikeets though.