The following is a quick look at the nutritional value or rather the lack of
it in Peanuts, also known as Monkey Nuts or Ground Nuts
Monkey Nuts are a popular treat for Parrots and many commercial parrot mixes are
full of them giving the idea that they are good for the birds simple from the
fact they are contained within the Parrot Food. When the truth is a little more
removed from that assumption than you would think.
Lets look at the nutritional breakdown of the nut, specifically at the fat
types and content;
Each nuts contains 54% fat of which 9% is saturating fat, that's the kind that
builds up on the internal organs and causes liver failure.
The vitamin and mineral content is also negligible although to be fair they do
contain calcium.
Here are a few interesting facts
100gr of peanuts provides a human with almost half of their daily saturated fat
requirement.
Now the average person weighs 68000gr approximately 170 times larger than an
African Grey.
So if you were the size of an African Grey 1gr of peanuts would provide you with
117% of your RDA for saturating fats, that is before the crisp or the chip from
the side of your plate.
I know birds have different metabolic rates to humans, but then remember most of
them sit in a cage all day and its not surprising to learn liver failure is one
of the most common causes of premature death in parrots.
The only safe way to feed peanuts is to use dry roast with no salt have had just
about all of the fats cooked out of them.
