Is it safe for my bird?

You type it, a fixed table answers

You type a food, plant or product the way you would say it. The app looks it up in a table built from avian and veterinary sources. No AI decides a verdict, and it works offline, so it answers wherever you are.

Each result gives a verdict, the reason, how to serve it or what to do, and the name of the source. The words follow what the item is: you feed a food, but you do not feed a ceiling fan.

What “Safe to offer” means

It means a veterinary source we trust lists the food as fine to offer. It does not mean as much as you like, and no food is a complete diet. Treats still count toward the total. See what parrots eat.

Source: Merck Veterinary Manual and veterinary schools, named on each result

“Not checked” is an honest answer

If it is not listed, that is not a yes. The app says: “If it is not here, we have not checked it. That is not a yes. Keep it away from your bird and ask your avian vet or the poison hotline.”

It also will not stretch a match. If you type a phrase and only part of it matches a safe food, the result reads “Not checked”, because the rest of your words were not checked. If part of it matches a danger, you still see the danger, with a note that the rest was not checked.

Some everyday foods have no statement at all from a veterinary source we trust. For those the app says “Not checked” rather than repeat what internet lists claim.

Why this page has no list of foods

A short web list goes out of date and reads as complete, so anything left off looks safe. The table stays in the app, where each answer comes with its reason, its source and its emergency steps. This page explains how to read it.

Pet lists written for other animals

A list written for other pets cannot answer for a bird. ASPCA plant lists, for example, are written for other animals, so never read a “non-toxic” list as safe for birds. Lab feeding studies do not settle it either: a plant that caused no illness in a few birds is not proven safe.

Source: ASPCA Animal Poison Control · Shropshire et al., JAVMA 1992 · Arai et al., JAVMA 1992

Three dangers to know before you ever search

Avocado. Eating any part of the avocado plant can lead to heart problems and death in birds. A bird that has eaten it should be rushed to the nearest emergency vet.

Nonstick fumes. An overheated nonstick coating gives off gases you cannot see or smell, and they can kill a bird fast. Read Teflon fumes and birds.

Lead and zinc. These are the most common metals that poison pet birds, and they turn up in old paint, curtain weights and galvanized wire. Swallowed metal, or the chance of it, means a prompt trip to an emergency vet.

Source: University of Illinois · Merck Veterinary Manual · AAV, Household Dangers

When a result is dangerous

A dangerous result also shows “If it already happened”: the signs that make it an emergency, numbered steps that fit what happened, and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control number. The steps differ for something breathed, swallowed or touched.

You never need the app in an emergency. If your bird has already eaten or breathed something, use the box at the top of this page and go. Beak open to breathe, tail bobbing, huddled, weak, unresponsive or sitting on the cage floor is an emergency whatever the item was. Keep the numbers ready: here is how to find an avian vet.

Source: Merck Veterinary Manual · ASPCA Animal Poison Control · Vetere et al., Front Vet Sci 2025