Red Palm Oil

[tkirsch9368]

I have heard ppl talk about RPO, I am sorry to say I dont know what it is? Is it only for birds or do you find it with the other oils like veggie and corn oil? How much do you give to a grey, Amazon and Conure? I will try anything that will help her. Even if it dont help him but it is good, please let me know.

[cloudy]

red palm oil is made from the palm nut which is a staple diet of greys in the wild, you can get it at health food stores....if you dont have it in your country you can order online. my grey gets 1/4 teaspoon twice a week, smaller birds half of that twice a week. i give it straight to him by feeding in syringe with or without pureed baby food, you can feed it on toast drizzle over veg etc.....

[maggy]

Please people be wary of buying red palm oil for your birds, the increased market for the oil has made it a cash crop in some underdeveloped nations, so much so that they are cutting down and devistating the jungle to provide arrible land for RPO crops. This habitat destruction has resulted in massive destruction of food, habitat and lives of the Orangutans who are native to these jungles. These beautiful cousins of ours are already under habitat stress simply because of the increase in human numbers, but the RPO demand is hastening this immensely. Apparently we humans have been using it increasingly in many of our foods, especially mass produced cooked goods, cakes, cookies etc. So kind people if you can find an alternative, PLEASE use it, an orangutan and her kids will thank you.

[chapala]

Yes, red palm fruits are a part of the natural diet of wild Greys (fewer and fewer in number unfortunately due to trapping for the pet trade). Wild Greys fly and burn a lot of calories in comparison to our pet Greys. Rpo is a fat, so high in calories for pet birds. It does provide beta-carotene (precursor to Vitamin A), but lots of beta carotene with far fewer calories can be provided in any diet with lots of fresh vegetables and a little fruit such as carrot, collard greens, broccoli, mustard greens, sweet potatoes, peas, mango, cantaloupe, papaya, apricot, nectarine, peach. Also, rpo does not contain essential fatty acids. Flaxseed or chia seed are both excellent sources of Omega 3 fatty acids, and can be fed either whole (if your bird cracks and eats the seeds as mine do) or fresh ground in a dedicated coffee grinder. I personally no longer feed any rpo to my birds.

[Maggie F.]

Now I am really confused. My vet has me giving my plucked CAG with red palm oil because it can help her skin, has a good amount of efas and anti-oxidants to help her get rid of toxins in her body and vitamin e to help her heal. I am confused about the fatty acids cuz Reta says there's none and my vet says theres a good amount. I asked about flax seed oil and he says it doesnt have as many benefits and I would need to give vitamin e and beta carotene along with flax seed oil. All oils are fats. I am so confused. I want to do what's right for my plucker.

[chapala]

You can follow your vet's advice, or do your own research and draw your own conclusions. A small amount of rpo certainly won't hurt your bird (around 1/4 tsp.).

I prefer flax or chia (hemp as a third choice) for the high Omega 3 fatty acids. It is my understanding that rpo does not contain essential fatty acids, but saturated vegetable fat with vitamin E and beta carotene. I like to feed the actual seeds, flax or chia (hemp also is good), and it works well if your bird will crack and eat the seeds. My Grey does, and even our Macaw will crack and eat little flaxseeds. 1/2 tsp. seeds per day for a Grey that is around 500 grams. You don't want to feed both rpo and flaxseed - too much fat.

[Maggie F.]

Chia is high omega 3? I make sprouted chia muffins. You use the sprouted chia jelly instead of oil. But I don't know if cooking messes with the quality, but it cuts the fat. My birds love them.
What exactly is Omega 3? A fatty acid, but what does it do? Sorry, I should research more, but with two teens thrust into my home suddenly, there's not much time for weeding through the chemistry to understand it.
1/2 a tsp of flax seed for a grey, ok. But I won't feed that while he's on the palm oil. The red palm oil really seems to help. I'm afraid to upset the balance of what I have gained with him, but don't want to do harm.
Thanks for the info Reta.

[tielfan]

I am confused about the fatty acids cuz Reta says there's none and my vet says theres a good amount.

All oils are pretty close to being pure fat.

[chapala]

Omega 3 essential fatty acids are not found in all fats. Omega 6 efa's are in plentiful supply in most diets, so Omega 3 is the one that generally needs to be supplemented. The essential fatty acids are polyunsaturated, so liquid even at cold temperatures.

Here are a few articles about essential fatty acids and Omega 3:

Omega-3 fatty acids

WHFoods: omega-3 fatty acids (scroll down for info)

Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University

Red palm oil on the other hand contains several saturated and unsaturated fats - the saturated fat content is the reason it is semi-solid at normal room temperatures. According to the Palm Oil Group (selling palm oil) and other sites, rpo has 10% linoleic acid which is an Omega 6 fatty acid, abundant in most diets, but no Omega 3 essential fatty acids which are often deficient or out of balance with Omega 6 in both human and parrot diets. Rpo does have beta-carotenes as mentioned previously, and vitamin E.

Certified Organic Red Palm Oil - Palm Oil Group, Ltd.

CEDRUS GROUP INTERNATIONAL S.A.L - MARISKA PALM OIL (scroll down to "other minor nutrients")

[Maggie F.]

Thanks for the links!