FINCHforum

Hello everyone,

At the aviary where I work, beans (usually black-eyed peas) are added to the food mix given to passerine birds.

I do sometimes add a bit of finely-processed bean mix to my "moist mix" of bread, fruits, and veggies, but I was wondering what the community here thought of feeding beans to finches. Should they be a regular part of the diet, or only an occasional health-treat?

Thanks,

-Ember

Emberrhine

Hi Ember.

I do believe legumes, are on the 'feed in moderation' list.

Safe, Toxic, & Unsafe Foods
http://www.finchinfo.com/diet/safe_toxi ... _foods.php

I see that green beans and soy beans should be fed in moderation but Castor beans and black beans are harmful and toxic.
As for peas, not specific which:
Protease inhibitors inhibit digestive enzymes and, when present in high levels in the diet, may decrease the avian body's ability to digest proteins and lead to pancreatic hypertrophy. Although these enzyme inhibitors are present to a degree in all plants, significant levels are found in all legumes, corn, lettuce, oats, peas, peanuts, barley, beets, buckwheat, wheat, rice, rye, turnips, sweet potatoes and potatoes (in VERY high amounts). Luckily protease inhibitors are readily inactivated by cooking, so if any of the above-listed food sources are going to constitute a major part of your birds' diet, you should cook them first.

Oxalate (oxalic acid) is an organic acid makes calcium and other trace minerals unavailable to birds because it binds them. Lower levels of oxalate can cause reduced growth, kidney stones, and poor bone mineralization. Peas, beets, beet greens, lettuce, turnips, carrots, and berries have lower levels of oxalates; high levels of oxalates can cause diarrhea, poor blood clotting, vomiting and convulsions. Very high levels are found in spinach (tea also contains very high levels of oxalate, but it should not be fed to birds due to its caffeine content).

Here's a list of Nutrients & Their Sources that may be of help when deciding what foods to feed.
http://www.finchinfo.com/diet/nutrients_and_sources.php

For both your birds and yourself, it might be good to read up on lectins.

I sprout mung beans occasionally for my birds, they do not get them on a daily basis only once in a while. My grasskeets,conures love them as do my javas.

if you like to sprout there are a several in this mix from Sprout People, sprouting triples the nutritional value by 3 times.

https://sproutpeople.org/just-for-pets/bird-seed-mixes/