Pet Birds and Plants, Part II – avoiding toxic species

Hello Sara,

Thanks for your comment and interest in our blog.

You make an excellent point. Toxins are never 100% effective, and there are one or more predators that can feed on every poisonous plant or animal. In fact, many such predators concentrate and store toxins from their food, and use these to toxins to thwart their own enemies. For example, monarch butterflies are rendered unpalatable by toxins contained in the milkweed plants that are consumed by their caterpillars; millipedes and other invertebrates are the source of dart frog skin toxins.

I had intended this article as a general warning to bird owners who might not be aware of potential problems in this area. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of knowledge on the subject – just last week while consulting for a museum, I noticed that someone had used a potentially toxic vine as a decoration in a new conure exhibit (I removed the plant before the bird was placed into the exhibit).

I usually suggest that people research the particular species they intend to keep with regard to various topics. I think it would be a good idea for me to do likewise with subjects such as the one covered in this article in the future.

Thanks again for your time and interest.

Best regards,
Frank

Hello Chris, Frank Indiviglio here. Thanks for your interest in our blog and sorry to hear about your birds.

Although daffodils do have a strong scent, all available research indicates that the plant is toxic only if consumed; extracts made from the bulb are also used to repel insects, but the scent of the flower is likely not the cause of your birds’ deaths. Also, toxic fumes would probably have killed the third bird as well.

A sudden, complete change in diet for 2 days as you describe could actually be a quite severe shock to the system of a small bird with a very high metabolism. If there was also noise from the construction in the rest of the house, the resulting stress could definitely have left the birds more susceptible to the problems caused by the change in diet. The surviving bird may have been able to cope more effectively…such would not be unusual.

The immune and other protective systems of birds weaken very quickly in response to stress. In zoo situations, a simple move to a new exhibit often leaves a bird open to a fatal infection by Aspergillosus (a fungus) that is always present in the environment and causes no problems at all to un-stressed individuals.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Thanks for your interest in our blog.

Of the plants you mention, dandelion (leaves and flowers) is safe. Unfortunately, the others do not appear on any lists of either safe or potentially toxic plants for birds.

I’ll be writing an article in the future on the use of the bark, branches and leaves of various trees…I’ll see if I can turn up anything on the other plants you mention and will include anything I find in that article. You can subscribe to RSS feeds on this blog if you would like to be alerted when new articles are posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Thanks for bringing up this interesting point.

I’m assuming you are referring to chickens? Unfortunately, although it likely is often true that what they at would be safe for parrots, such cannot be relied on entirely.

Chickens have evolved to feed on an entirely different, and usually more varied, diet than most parrots, and, as regards Amazons, they are also originally native to a different continent (Asia). Plants that chickens feed upon could, in rare cases, be toxic to other species.

Enjoy your birds, Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.

Thanks for your interest in our Blog. You can subscribe to ThatBirdBlog via RSS feed here.

Good luck and enjoy…I look forward to your future comments.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.