Dog biscuits for Parrots. Are these safe???????

[lovemytiels]

Just wanted some imput please. I recently read somewhere that some people give small dog biscuits to their birds for extra protein & I must admit I was a bit gobsmacked when I read this . My question is are they safe for birds to eat as I know most of them are loaded with salt & other things which certainly are not in my opion good for birds. If birds are feed a good diet why would you give them dog biscuits. Do they need the meat & would this then give parrots say like ringnecks a taste for meat? I have read that you can give small amounts of chicken to birds & that some birds do supplement their diet in the wild with bugs & things Bit confused on this one. Cheers Anna

[hillcresttiels]

Hi Anna I am all for anything that will provide protein for our birds, we have a lot of birds out there who are terrible feather pluckers which i associate with lack of protein/calcium/iodine. If the birds eat it then its fine with me as i do believe they dont specifically taste like meat, although salt(iodine) intake is not all bad for parrots and can also assist with feather plucking.

Frank

[kim1]

It's a fairly common practice for larger parrots I've been told, it is about 1 tbls of dry dog biscuites for every 1 and a half cups of seed, I now give my birds this (for the last 12 months) and some love it and others don't touch it, I had a feather plucking hen stop plucking after a couple of weeks of this and she used to really go for it, so I put it down to the dog food,although it could have been a coincidence I guess. also I have noticed the aviary birds go for it , but the handraised birds don't so I'm guessing the handraised birds must not need as much protein as they are always sharing our dinner ( spaghetti bog is their fav)

[kim1]

here is a link that may be usefull, shows some foods that can be fed, www.prettybirds.net/Diets.htm
notice that dry dog food is recomended as a sup for small psittacines such as ringnecks etc. hope this is usefull

[kim1]

PS I don't really think there is enough fruit and veg in the diet shown , but it gives an idea of some other things to try.

[Smiley]

I have been feeding some of my parrots them for years..Bonnie I use..and some times the ones that are shaped like bones..they came in a mix of shapes...forgot the name of them ones...

[lovemytiels]

Thanks everyone for your advise. Thought I was going mad when I read about this. but if it can help some birds stop feather plucking, then that is a bonus. I was thinking I might give some to my h/reared Indies, some of the ones shaped liked a bone as they are very destuctive in the cage no matter what I put in their cage to amuse them. Might keep them quiet for 5 minutes LOL. What about dried pig ears, would that be okay too for larger birds say like ringnecks. Cheers Anna

[kim1]

I imagine the pigs ears would be ok, my birds have rawhide chews and they spend ages trying to pull them apart, they are almost idestructable.

[petiel]

I give pigs ears and raw hide strips to my Alexandrines and ringnecks. They put the pigs ears in their water dish to soften them up. My birds love the home brand dog biscuits from Action.

[Brad]

there is a good post in the lory forum by fischer about dog biscuits.

aussiebirds.proboards27.com/index.cgi?board=necter&action=display&thread=1109831129

[kim1]

As I said in the other post, I emailed a couple of vets and was told the protein in dog food is of little value to birds as it is animal and not plant based (although I don't understand what difference that makes) and the vitamins and minerals are of little use to birds fed a healthy diet, so I'm not going to bother feeding mine these again, However I must add,it seems to be that some have the impression that the dog food is fed as a major part of the birds diet, that is not the case as it really is only a treat more than anything, a bird would be lucky to get a couple of small peices in a week, I can't see how that can be any unhealthier than what some of our handraised birds pinch from our dinner plates, All things in moderation.

[AussieBirds]

I don't think ill be giving my birds dog biscuits, I can't imagine why you would want to in the first place when your birds are getting good healthy vegies and fruit I would be more inclined to give my birds a slice of whole grain bread or an Arrowroot Biscuit, which i do any way, rather than dog biscuits. I can understand the theory regarding plant based protien as against animal protien and while some parrots do eat meat, Kakarikes like a bit of chicken, I think they are mostly herdivorus ( spelling). I think ill stick to good old fashioned fruitand vegies with a side order of sprouted seed and a slice of wholegrain bread for desert ;D ;D ;D

John

[lovemytiels]

Thankyou everyone for you imput. So from the various posts there are mixed views which is good. I beleive I feed my parrrots a very good mixed diet & they don't seem to be lacking in anything so might leave the dog biscuits alone. I did however buy my ringies rawhide chews & they got stuck into it straight away. Kept them quiet for hours LOL & beleive me that is definately a good thing. Also bought a pig ear to try them on but phew they stink, so not quite sure if I will give them this as they like to give kisses to us & pig ear breath would not be very nice ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D. Cheers Anna

[jill]

I'm abit sus about them them, but now and again I give my alexanders a large dog biscuit to keep them quite, they don't really eat it but love the challange of trying to shred anything thats hard, and it does keep them in one spot and quite for a while..I only give the plain ones and avoid anything with bacon, because when I was young my uncles gave my grandmothers galah some pork rind which she firmly toled them not to but ignoring her fed him the rind and he lost every feather on his body and none grew back....I wish they made rock solid bird biscutes for parrots..

[kim1]

It's been amazing how much this subject has been debated, it's brought on heaps of comments in both areas that it was posted in, I think it's terrific and I've learnt things I would not have if it wasn't for this. I have given my birds dog food for ages because I thought it was good for them, only to find out they don't need it any way, Now I have to stop Ollie pinching it out of the dogs dish.

[jill]

I was reluctant until I was watching Harry's practice and he said they were good for birds..The thing that concerned me was the higene level in which they are made, pluss all the adatives and by porducts. My uncle used to deliver meat to PAL and he said they were immaculantly clean, he said the benches and floor were spotless, so we buy them..But it's not often I'll give the birds one, I've been buying large nuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, crack them a tiny bit and that keeps them and there high in protene pluss it keeps them entertained longer than the dog biscutes.

[petiel]

I dont give my birds the dog biscuits for food. I know my birds get all the protein they need in the food I give them. My birds get dog biscuits for a treat to help their beaks and to play with.

[kim1]

the nuts are a good idea, as a treat I put them in my birds toy Kong, they spend most of the day trying to get them out, it's all about trying to keep them busy and happy