HELP! Leeks, Yes or No?

[Amy]

I was wondering whether budgies can eat leeks.

And if budgies eat eggs isn't that canniblism?

If anyone knows any good food for budgies please let me know.:)

[Bea]

Not sure about leeks, are they oniony at all because you shouldn't feed oniony things to them. Egg is actually really really healthy for budgies, you hard boil an egg and then mash it, shell and all, into the tiniest pieces you can manage and then offer it to your budgie. :) Most fruits and vegetables are safe for your budgie but some things that are BAD for them are apple seeds, chocolate, alcohol, avocado....dairy's also not that great for them because they can't digest it.

[miss_missy]

egss huh? i will have to try that

[Amy]

Thanks! I PMed Budgiekin and apparently they are very bad for budgies!

[Budgiekin]

Yes, I responded to billy and lily's PM and this is what I had said:

I am not actually sure about leeks specifically, but I wouldn't recommend feeding leeks to budgies since they are part of the onion family and onions can produce toxicosis in birds.

I thought this might also be a good opportunity to let people know that if your budgie does ingest something that is toxic (although PLEASE try to avoid this!!), you can get what's called a stomach protectant from your avian vet. It's basically a liquid that you administer to your budgie using a syringe (don't worry, it's not a needle!) shortly after your budgie has ingested the toxin. It's designed to coat their stomach so the toxins don't get absorbed as much into their sensitive system.

I have to admit, it's nice to know that this is available in case your budgie ingests an irritant (e.g. poisonous plant etc. . . .). Skyla did that once by chewing on the leaf of a calla lily (which is poisonous to birds!). Fortunately, we gave her some of the stomach protectant and she didn't have any adverse effects from ingesting the toxin.

[Amy]

Thanks budgiekin! Poor Skyla she's had a few lucky escapes!

[Mistyoriline]

Eggs are a good breeding food for budgies to:)