African Greysand chicken wings

Question
Dear Maggie,

  First, thank you for any help you can give. My girlfriend and I have an African Grey a little over a year old that we weaned ourselves. ( What a job) Someone told her that it was safe to give them chicken wings and crab claws to eat and that they are not harmful to them. Can you please let me know if you have ever heard that or if you know that it is not safe or healthy at all. I do not believe it is one bit, but she still keeps giving them to her and it aggrivates the hell out of me. I take them away as soon as possible.

Thank you

Answer
It depends on how the chicken wings are seasoned. I would not, for example, give a bird bbq chicken wings, because the sauses are usually high in salt.

Plain, well cooked chicken in very small amounts is ok. As is cooked fish. However, birds are not meat eaters, and meat in anything other than very small amounts is not nutritionally good for them and can cause problems (both short and long term).

Here is a copy of the items my board-certified avian vet does not recommend feeding to a bird:

Human foods
Generally, if you eat very healthfully, most foods you eat can be fed to your parrot. The following items are not recommended:

Fatty foods. High fat in the diet leads to obesity and may result in lipomas (fatty tumors), lipemia (fat in the blood), and hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease). Any greasy, oily or otherwise fatty food should be avoided. Commonly overfed fatty foods include nuts, French fries, crackers, marbled meat, peanut butter, butter, etc.
Sugar foods. Obviously, frosting is high in sugar and an undesirable foodstuff. Similarly, soda pop, candy and these types of foods are not recommended.
Dairy. Birds lack the digestive enzymes needed to break down milk sugar and milk proteins. Uncultured milk products such as milk, cream and butter should not be fed but yogurt, cheeses and dried milk can be supplemented in the diet in moderation (they are also high in fat).
Lettuce. A typical filler food, lettuce is low in everything except water. It is not recommended as a food supplement since it offers little, if anything, for the bird. If leafy foods are desired by your bird, try feeding spinach, collard greens, tops of bok choy, carrot tops or kale.
Avocado. Although higher in fat than other veggies and used in other countries to condition birds for breeding, avocado has been shown to be toxic in some birds and its feeding is no longer recommended.


You can read more of his stuff on his website at: www.EPAH.net

And here is a direct link to his diet suggestions:

http://www.epah.net/birds/lghookbilldiet.html

Here is a copy of some infomration from a highly respected bird rescue group on their "information/diet page":

"Healthy table foods, such as well cooked meat, fish and chicken, tofu, cheese and yogurt (non fat and low fat), cooked egg, corn, peas, beans, pasta, rice (brown is best), and low sugar and low sodium cereals etc., can also be offered in small amounts."

Their website is: www.mickaboo.com

I hope this helps. I would also recomemnd that you ask your avian vet for suggestions on your bird's diet.  

-Maggie