It's good to know what kinds of things to avoid so you don't accidently harm or worse, kill your budgie. My eye doctor had a cute little budgie named Mr. Peepers. One of his assistants shared a piece of her sandwhich with Mr. Peepers in a gesture of friendship. Mr. Peepers took one bite and instantly dropped down dead to the bottom of the cage. The poor assistant was horrified. It turned out that her sandwhich contained avocado, a substance deadly to budgies. Another mistake people make is cooking around budgies with pans that contain non-stick coating. When cooking, the pans emit a chemical that is toxic to budgies, in fact toxic to all parrots, and will also result in their death.
Foods to Avoid
- Alcoholic beverages should never be given to budgies. While it might seem like a fun idea to include your budgie in your party and see the cute little guy hanging upside-down in the cage, the results can be deadly. Budgies weigh only a few grams so it wouldn't take much alcohol to give the bird alcohol poinsoning.
- Apple Seeds contain Cyanide. Make sure there are no seeds when sharing your apple with your little friend.
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Avocado are toxic to birds and other animals because of a fungicidal toxin called Persin, similar to a fatty acid and present in the bark, twigs, leaves, skin and pit. This substance can cause resporatory arrest in budgies.
- Chocolate in any form can be deadly for your bird. The caffeine in chocolate speeds up the birds heart to a very high level and this results in a heart attack.
- Carbonated AND Caffeinated beverages should be avoided at all costs.
- Birds do not have the digestive enzymes necessary to process milk so dairy items should be avoided. Birds can be given alternative items such as Soy Milk, Tofu Cheese, etc.
- Some mushrooms are deadly toxic for parrakeets, so best to avoid all mushrooms.
- One thing I discovered on my own and I have not seen in many books is the fact that you should only give your bird organic foods whenever possible. I kept having birds that had seizures and and couldn't figure out what the cause was until my sister, who like me has terrible allergies, told me that the pesticides in non-organic food disrupted her nervous system. Suddenly I made the connection. When I switched to organic foods I stopped seeing birds having seizures.
- Onions contain the chemical n-propyl disulfide which denatures hemoglobin. This will in turn destroy Red Blood Cells. Causes: Anemia, Jaundice, Bloody Urine.
- Fatty foods such as potato chips and other snack food should also be avoided. When budgies get fat they don't store fat like humans. The fat goes to their liver and eventually gives them was is know as fatty liver disease. In effect, their liver is taken over by the fat and ceases to function and of course they eventually die from this.
