# Peas



## WSteinhoff (Jan 27, 2015)

Occasionally I need to hand-feed some of my pigeon's babies. I know that defrosted peas are good for weaning but I've always used the frozen sweet peas from the grocery store. I recently read that sweet peas are toxic to birds though. If they are toxic then which kind frozen peas should they be given?


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## Ross P (Jan 10, 2015)

I do not know about peas being toxic, since I never use them and only handfeed Oatmeal, and even wean them on it. I always add a Vit./min. supplement when hand feeding anything.
Oat meal is underrated, and NOT understood by most pigeon Hand feeders, if any.


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## WSteinhoff (Jan 27, 2015)

Well in case the sweet peas really are toxic I bought snap peas and those seemed to be fine, just can be a pain getting them all out of the pods. I guess I can see outmeal being good too if you add vitamins, my adult birds get oats in their food. I normally feed a mixture of 1 cup seed mix, 1/2 cup of dog food, a few pinches of crushed oyster shells, and grind that in a coffee grinder then mix with water and some applesauce until around 2 weeks old then after 2 weeks switch the dog food and the seed around so there's more grain in it and give peas every now and then until weaned. This time though I kept the baby around my sparrow and it ended up weaning by itself at only 2 and a half weeks by watching the sparrow eat and drink.


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## hamlet (Oct 26, 2004)

Hello. Green pees, sweet pees, defrosted pees: what is the difference? I know they can get runny stool: on pees. Please quote where you read about pees. Thank you.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

I use peas and corn (sweetcorn as known here) from a freezer pack, thawed in hot water, as standard for squabbies who no longer need baby bird formula and for pigeons with eating problems (birds with active PMV for example, or very undernourished birds). Not huge in nutrients, but fine as a temporary measure.

The only 'sweet peas' I know of are a flowering plant, not used as food. The frozen peas we get have no added sugar or salt.

Fresh peas in the pod are OK, though it is surprisingly hard to find them in stores here.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

WSteinhoff said:


> Occasionally I need to hand-feed some of my pigeon's babies. I know that defrosted peas are good for weaning but I've always used the frozen sweet peas from the grocery store. I recently read that sweet peas are toxic to birds though. If they are toxic then which kind frozen peas should they be given?



Can you post a pic of the bag of peas. I think what you are talking about that sell in the grocery store are what we do use. When they talk about sweet peas being toxic, I believe they mean the plant that is called sweet pea, not the peas you buy in the market.

The plant sweet pea can be toxic if eaten by pets. Not the peas you eat.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Jay, you are spot on. I remember, reading your post, that we decided against planting sweet peas in the border along the front of the aviary 'just in case'.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Yes, I love sweet peas, the plants, but I won't plant them here either because they are toxic if eaten by pets. Too bad.


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## pigeonraiser (Mar 23, 2001)

Thanks good informative topic.


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## Roger Siemens (Nov 12, 2011)

funny i add snow peas to my pigeon mix this time of year while they are on eggs and babies, these are not fresh but more like seed peas. this is the only time of year they like them? any bady else find this true? what kinds of peas does every one else use?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Pigeon mixes have different kinds of peas in them, Canadian peas, Austrian peas, maple peas. Mine eat them all year. Particularly the Austrian peas. 
Here, we're talking about the peas you buy that have been blanched and frozen for people.
These are soft and easy for the bird to digest. Snow peas are the flat pods that you buy to put in Asian cuisine. Wouldn't think the peas would be large enough to feed.


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## WSteinhoff (Jan 27, 2015)

Sorry my internet hasn't been too great lately so I couldn't reply. My dad had said something about a poisonous flower called sweet pea (as was already mentioned) and so it made more sense for that to be it rather than the vegetable.


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

Chick peas, green peas, mung beans (green gram/Bengal beans). Soaked in water for 4 - 8 hours or sprouted and mashed.


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