The Lettuce Debate !!

[Mands]

Do I or Don't I ?? is the question.

I have had so many tell me yes to feed it every day then the same telling me not to feed it at all.

I have been feeding it (coz lettuce) everyday for months now with no problems. But, I was told again this week that it is dangerous due to getting the runs. So I am split with what to do.

So, I will throw it out there for debate. YES OR NO to lettuce?

[Sally]

Are your birds getting the runs? If not, and your birds are healthy, I'd keep on doing what you are doing.

[chirpy]

I agree! Whatever works for you works for you...! You know YOUR finches best ;)

[Mands]

Sally My birds are perfectly healthy, no problems at all.

I bought a budgie this week and the seller gave me a big lecture on lettuce, saying it would kill the bird and reduce its life span.

I told him I had finches that I feed lettuce to with no problems at all.

I seriously thought he wasn't going to sell me the budgie because of it. I promised not to feed it to his bird.

So, I just wanted to see what other breeders thought about it.

[lovezebs]

Mands
Hi Mandie.
My guys love romaine lettuce, don't know if thats the same as coz lettuce. They get big leves of it every second day or so and other greens and fruit/veg and I never have any problems with runny poops.
So I can't tell YOU what to do, but that's what I do. It makes them happy and doesn't hurt them in any way that I can see,so.....

[saulosirds]

Mands

I feed curly kale in my soft food mix but not straight lettuce, but again, if it works for you it works for you.

Rob

[wellingtoncdm]

I feed dark green leafy romaine almost daily but I agree with the others. It's important to gather information and opinions but make our own choices as to what works and doesn't. Our birds are great indicators if we watch and listen to them.

[dcompt]

I think my birds would move out if I cut off their lettuce supply. I haven't seen that it does them any harm, and for them it's clearly a quality of life issue

[lovezebs]

Mands
Watch out Mandie, the budgie POLICE is going to come and get you!!!! You evil lettuce feeding Bird Mama.

[Mands]

lovezebs You are dead right there....I felt like I had committed a crime !!!

Thanks to everyone for replying....my thoughts now are that as it has not caused my birds any trouble at all, I will continue to feed them what they love...........LETTUCE !!!

[Finnie]

I would just caution, that YOUR finches are used to it and do fine on it, but for the new budgies, maybe introduce it gradually, and watch to see how they handle it.

I was a budgie person first, and then branched out to finches, and I have found that finches are just SO different than budgies in many ways. And their poops are completely different, too.

Another piece of advice I learned here- hold off on fresh veggies for the beginning of the quarantine period, so that if you happen to see any runny poops, you won't have to wonder if it was from the veggies, or from some kind of problem. Then once you know the new bird(s) are acclimated, give the veggies and watch to see how it affects them.

I agree with the others, you should do what works best for you. I have heard of a lot of people feeding lettuce and even celery with no problems. But I would still stay away from iceberg lettuce. What you are really after is the nutrients that come from green food, so the greener your lettuce, the better for your birds. Gosh, and even for human salads!

[dutch]

Finnie....spot on...

[Mands]

Finnie Thanks.

I wont give the budgies any. But, as for my finches i give them "Coz lettuce" which i believe is "Romaine" for you. As soon as it is put in its gone within ten minutes, they absolutely love it. It is difficult when one breeder sais the opposite to another breeder when all you want to do is the best for your birds.

Thanks for the info lovely people. I feel a better about it now. No more finch police for me.

[finchmix22]

Mands
I give veggies, whether Romaine or other green leaf lettuce 2-3 times a week, unless breeding, then daily. As long as they get a varied diet of seed mix, veggies, eggfood and occasional fruits for some species, they'll be healthy and do well.

[Mands]

Heya.

My birds get a varied diet of:

Eggs with shells and egg and biscuit mix.
Cucumber
Coz lettuce
Meal worms
Soaked seed
Crumble
Spinach
Broccoli
Carrot
Grit
Plain cake or bread soaked in milk

I try to vary it from day to day. If you think of anything I should add to this please let me know