[bobobubu]

Is miso bad for cockatiels? Some of my tiels adore the miso soup with quinoa I prepare for myself, but I never give them too much because I am not sure if miso can be harmful.
Also I was wondering: can they have a bit of wet chia seeds or it will make their tummy swell?

 

[placerville]

If you don't know, don't risk it. Miso does contain a high amount of sodium though. Chia seeds are good for your bird and have a lot of vitamins and omega 3. It also includes boron which is good for a cockatiel's bones.

 

[Vickitiel]

Yes, I've heard chia is acceptable. I'm doubtful about miso though, it is very salty.

 

[bobobubu]

Thank you for your replies, yes miso is pretty salty, but apart from the saltiness I was hoping someone here knew if there are other reasons to avoid it ie. toxicity; miso is fermented and my fear was that during the fermentation something is created that is actually dangerous to tiels. I couldn't find any information online.
How do you give chia to your birds? dry and mixed with other seeds, or wet?

 

[Kiwi]

srtiels told me not to give them chia seeds when they were wet because too many could block or impact the crop. So I only give them sprouted or ground.

More on that here:
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?p=384546


Edit: About the miso, I'm not sure. There are a ton of health benefits to the human system and some animal's systems from eating miso (don't think birds were used in the study). Despite the high salt content of miso, it affects the cardiovascular system differently than other high-salt foods. Consuming miso lowers your risk of cardiovascular problems instead of increasing them, it also fends off some cancers.

Still, I wouldn't let your 'tiel have miso if possible. We process foods differently than 'tiels. So I'm not sure how their body system would process the food and salt content. While the fermentation process and salt may be beneficial to us, it may not be for them because of this. I'm not sure what type of miso you have, but different types of mold (I believe one mold type was koji) and ingredients are used for the fermentation process to give it flavor. I'm not sure what types of food mold birds can have that are safe, so I don't know if that type would be ok for them.

Here is where I got some of the information and a nutrition chart for how much sodium is actually in miso.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=114

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrientprofile&dbid=37

 

[bobobubu]

Thank you, Kiwi, very much appreciated. Mine is brown rice miso, it's pretty gentle but as you say human body and bird body are immensely different. I will avoid. Shame because it was a good way to have him pick some veggies i put in it. Will think of something else.
I suspected the chia gel wasn't the best idea, thank you for confirming it! Too gluey. I never had good results with sprouting but I will try the grounding and definitely the bread.

 

[Kiwi]

Yay, glad I could help! Sorry for the late reply, I was working. :lol:

Miso means "fermented" so that would be fermented brown rice soup. Fermented with the Aspergillus oryzae mold called "koji" because it is a grain mold. Aspergillus oryzae is an edible mold and a waaay different type from the kind that cause respiratory illnesses in birds, so don't worry!! No respiratory illnesses will come from eating miso of any kind.


If they like picking out things from soup there are a few things on the forums here about mixes and things you can put in soups for birds. I kind of want to make some now.

(The link to the mix is towards the bottom on amazon, some people have good reviews on things to add to the soups. Just make sure any extras you add are bird safe!! )
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/19506-bob-s-red-mill-vegi-soup-mix.html

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=13540