V8 Juice

[mjm8321]

Spicy Hot V8 Juice and a small, green Macaw met in the kitchen this morning. Anything you pou into a small expresso coffee cup, she drinks; so without thinking, I poured her a bit in the cup and into it she went. I know parrots have dry mouths, but should I be concerned with her drinking small amounts of this because of the heat of the peppers?? I can't imagine it would be and she LOVED it!

[LauraO]

At least she drank the V8 and not expresso:roll: . My lovebirds love to drink out of my coffee cup whenever I take my eye off them:x ........I wouldn't worry about the peppers. They are good for parrots and they don't have the chemical us humans do that cause the "hot" feeling of spicey things. I would worry more about the additives and the acids, but don't think the little bit your birdy drank would do harm.

[Janie]

MJ, I don't have a clue if it's OK or not but my Shy loves the hot stuff. He is the first to the dish when I put something hot (spicy) in it and sometimes the stuff is so strong that is burns my eyes and nose! Red and green peppers and some kind of peppers with little seeds that I've picked up from Cajun products at bird fairs.

I think we need a photo of Macaw dipping into the spicy V8! :D

[mjm8321]

The only reason I was concerned is that the peppers and hot stuff she usual eats is raw and in somewhat a solid form and obviously, in a liquid form in the juice.
I'd love to take pictures, but my camera is dead. Hopefully we'll be getting another in the next few weeks.

Winston, our oldest cockatiel likes to sneak sips of my tea when I'm not looking. I figure, since he's made it to 17, an occasional sip of tea isn't going to end his life.

[Z28Taxman]

Yep, they love hot peppers and they're good for them. Ditto loves chili peppers, the hotter the better. Just don't let your bird rub his beak under your nose after he eats them. :omg:


Birds don't feel the hotness of peppers. The reason we do is that the capsaicin in the peppers will bind to a protien on the nerve cells of mammals and fool the body into thinking we're in pain from intense heat. This protien in birds is different enough that the capsaicin doesn't bind to them. In fact capsaicin acts as an analgesic in birds. So they're like little birdie aspirin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsaicin

[butterfly1061]

Birds don't feel the hotness of peppers. The reason we do is that the capsaicin in the peppers will bind to a protien on the nerve cells of mammals and fool the body into thinking we're in pain from intense heat. This protien in birds is different enough that the capsaicin doesn't bind to them. In fact capsaicin acts as an analgesic in birds. So they're like little birdie aspirin.This is also the reason you can put Cayenne Pepper in wild bird seed to keep the squirrels out of it. My dad use to load up on this spice when he fed the outside birds. One whiff of Cayenne and the squirrels dance around like they're on fire. :whistle: