There is no arguing that peanuts contain a host of essential ingredients such as fiber, unsaturated fats, protein, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. So this is probably a possible answer to his question: are peanuts good for pet birds? It would be good to think about feeding them to your pet because there are also some possible negative responses.

Peanuts are actually seeds, not nuts and they grow underground, they are from the vegetable family. Its environment is moist, warm and dark, which provides the best conditions for the growth of mold and mildew. Actually, those traces of a mold called Aspergillus Flavus cause the problem with peanuts. The toxic substance, aflatoxin, is in fact produced by Aspergillus Flavus. Aflatoxins are known to cause serious liver damage in humans and animals and are known to be carcinogenic (cancer causing). The level of toxicity depends on the amount of toxin ingested at one time, age, size, accumulation of the toxin, etc.

If officials find contamination after inspecting all peanuts for sale in this country, they reject them. The USDA and FDA determine safe levels of aflatoxin in human food and, if the product is unsafe, ban its marketing. But this safe trace amount of aflatoxin in pet food is not very clear, especially for creatures as small as birds.

So the question: are peanuts bad for your pet birds? It still remains unanswered for all pet owners. Some of them continue to feed their pet birds peanuts, of course the quantities are not large and they announce that they have not found any ill effects. They assume that peanuts have high energy nutritional value and because their birds love them and have fun, they outweigh the risk.

If you have decided to feed peanuts to your pet bird, neglecting the risk, there are a few precautions to avoid deadly aflatoxins:

1) Learn about recent research on peanut consumption in pet birds.

2) The risk of aflatoxins in dried and heated peanuts is lower, so it is better to feed your pet unsalted roasted peanuts.

3) To reduce the risk of growth of Aspergillus Flavus, if you feed your bird raw peanuts, you must ensure that they have been grown, stored and shipped correctly.

4) Do not give your pet birds more than 2 or 3 peanuts a day

5) Valencian or Spanish peanuts contain less aflatoxins, so use them if possible.

6) Human grade peanuts are less contaminated than bird seed mixes or animal feed.

7) Buy your peanuts from reliable, quality sources you can trust

Carefully consider the risks and benefits of using peanuts as food for your pet birds and the decision is up to you.