My GCC loves milk

[HeidiGCC]

My bird loves milk. It's hard to keep her away from it. I know birds are naturally lactose intolerant because they don't have the enzyme lactase. Is it possible for her to drink lactose free milk?

[Xen]

I wouldn't even go down that route. They do fine enough with water and if you want to give her a little apple juice then that's cool too.

[Mamma_Willowe]

Ripley does too. I can't drink a glass of milk around him without sharing!! That goes with most things I eat, but if he could I think he would knock me down and take my milk away from me!! I try to do my milk drinking away from him. That way I don't have the guilt of not sharing. I have to admit though every once in a while I let him have a sip or two from my cup. I have read in other forums that it won't hurt them to have a taste every now and again. He, Ripley has never shown any adverse side effects from drinking a little milk, or licking a spoon that has been dipped in yogurt.

[ChicoConure]

My GCC loves diary too. He'll perch on my cereal bowl and lick the milk off pieces before flicking them (all over). Also yogurt and ice cream he'll try to get into. His next poop is a little watery but that's all I've noticed for ill effects. I certainly don't feed him milk as bird food though.

[anbrownucsd]

Hermes loves milk. Sometimes I will soak a cheerio in it (from my cereal or something before I eat it) and he loves it. I asked the vet, a little tiny bit doesn't hurt :-)... just not a habit.

[purpletweedy]

Thanks guys, i am new at bird owning and my sun conour logan loves milk and until now i didnt realise it was so bad for them, he loves to have everything i have and i always let him try everything and he definitly isnt a fussy eater as he seems to like everything but i will definitly be cutting his milk intake down.

[Valo's Moirana]

Originally Posted by purpletweedy

Thanks guys, i am new at bird owning and my sun conour logan loves milk and until now i didnt realise it was so bad for them, he loves to have everything i have and i always let him try everything and he definitly isnt a fussy eater as he seems to like everything but i will definitly be cutting his milk intake down.

i think that's the way to go - maybe cut back, and then phase out... milk really isn't that good for them. what about a little bit of yogurt instead (low fat, low sugar). valo loves strawberry....

[nailsrglue]

Milk is bad for birds to digest, but Yogurt and cheese (not milk cheese like kraft) are very good for the bird. Its good for thier diet to regularly have dairy in the form of yogurt and cheese.

[ROYJOY]

by giving your bird any kind of milk based food, you are giving him a tummy ache that he cant tell you about. ask any one who is lactose intolerant. lactose free milk is usually soy based, not good either.