Feeding veggies

[Learner]

Oxalic acid is the chemical that causes people to be wary of spinach in large, regular quantities.

Apparently several herbs/green-leaf vegetables contain it but it is higher in spinach.

Spinach is a good source of many vitamins and minerals. So, for humans, eaten in moderation and not too regularly it seems a useful food.

This links "Oxalic Acid in Spinach" has lots of information if you scroll / read down through it.

[Hezz]

No, Corie, I am not a fan. But that isn't a big deal. If I found out that broccoli, for instance, retarded the body's ability to absorb calcium, I would cut it from the birds' diet too. The pros have to be weighed against the cons, up to the individual to make up their own mind, but I will always let people know that spinach has this down side, calcium being so important to our birds' health.

Yes Learner, tomatoes too! Oxalic acid also binds to iron, preventing its uptake as well.

These were two things my father had to practically remove from his diet due to his gout/arthritis pain. He suffered for days after.

[james]

Hi Hezz, You are dead right about the tomatoes..........Like your father I suffer from Gout/Arthritis and dare not eat tomatoes OR ELSE have a terrible day of pain,

[Deleted]

Hezz , why do all the top breeders use it then, this debate went on in another forum with top breeders and experts debating it and the conclusion was that they would have to eat massive amounts of it for it to stop calcium obsorbtion.
I have been feeding it for ten years and in that time have had one egg bound hen.
I would love to hear Barre Shutt's opinion if he told me not to feed it i would do it in a heartbeat.

[Hezz]

As you know, Corie, I am not a breeder. So I am keeping out of that one. But remember you breeders do provide your birds with extra doses of calcium. Maybe the added calcium is provided at a level that enough to overcome the detrimental efforts of the spinach. Shrug. This is all conjecture on my part, of course.

[barrieshutt]

i have never fed spinach but if it was available i would add some to my softfood days which are every other day ..................considering a bird only eats a daily amount of food the size of its head no harm will come to a bird having small portions of spinach on top of its normal seed diet

[Deleted]

Thanks for clearing that up Barrie

[Learner]

Corie - just to say thanks for the info the other day about hard-boiled eggs.

I decided I fancied one for lunch and the 6 flappers had a share (not a lot mind you).

I chopped their chunk up, placed it in a small glass dish and sprinkled with a few veg leaves.

Within a minute or two there were 6 very excited budgies diving in. They stayed there until the lot had gone!!

Looks like I'll be having hard-boiled egg on a regular basis now

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Sorry... just realised this is off topic. Oh well.. just the once

[Deleted]

Your welcome Learner, i'm glad they enjoyed it.
I don't mind a hard boiled egg myself.

[BudgiesBuddy]

Jan 12, 2013 3:55:41 GMT @corie said:

I don't mind a hard boiled egg myself.

At the same time as birds ;D

[Deleted]

Exactly BB , one for them one for me.