# Help, Sunny ate A LOT of peanuts!



## Annie (Nov 20, 2009)

Hi, I just got home and found an empty packet of peanuts on the floor---the kind you get at MacDonald's when you buy an ice-cream sundae. I had an opened packet that I didn't finish and I was giving it to Sunny then I absent-mindedly put it on the shelf where I put all of Sunny's things and forgot about it. When I got home I saw the empty bag on the floor with chew marks all around it. Luckily it was not a full pack. There was about 1/3 a pack of MacDonald's crushed peanuts left in it if I remember correctly, maybe even 1/2 a pack. Sunny looks fine so I hope she won't get an upset tummy from peanut overdose.....  Oh Lord why oh why was I so careless, I feel like the worst mommy in the world. Please tell me Sunny will be okay? :wacko:


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## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

I can't say for sure but I think I remember reading that unshelled peanuts are okay AND that human grade peanuts are fine, so I would just keep an eye on Sunny. Hopefully someone can confirm


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

theyre fine as a treat, i wouldnt worry.


ive had a little sparrow at mcdonalds come for the peanuts in my sundae once. we named her peanut. this story reminded me of her lol

you can even see a peanut on her beak lol










theyre fine as a very very rare treat, i wouldnt worry


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Were they salted? If they were, that would be the big concern, moreso than the peanuts themselves. 

I'm not sure how much salt is needed for salt toxicity to occur, but if you're concerned about it, the online Merck Veterinary page suggests small amounts of water given at frequent intervals until the food is out of the animal's system. 

Here's more info if you need it, but please don't let the numbers scare you -- I think it's unlikely that you'd have a worst case scenario here. http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/213200.htm


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## Annie (Nov 20, 2009)

Thanks everyone. The peanuts from MacDonald's are of course NOT salted (you expect salted peanuts from them for a sundae they sell for a little over 2 bucks? Not a chance! ) Whenever I get a sundae, which is not very often, I would always give Sunny about 2 tiny pieces and that was it, so she must have satisfied her peanut craving tonight once and for all.  Well, she will be staying away from peanuts for awhile, I guarantee it! And from now on I will be very very careful about leaving food around unattended. When it comes to food, Sunny is SUPER observant!


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## Annie (Nov 20, 2009)

DallyTsuka said:


> theyre fine as a treat, i wouldnt worry.
> 
> 
> ive had a little sparrow at mcdonalds come for the peanuts in my sundae once. we named her peanut. this story reminded me of her lol
> ...


Cute sparrow, thanks for sharing.  I was once eating outside on the patio of a restaurant and a little sparrow came by and gave me the "can you spare some food" look so I dropped rice on the ground for it. And when it finished all the rice it flew onto the back of the empty chair and gave me the "hey gimme more, I'm still hungry" look so I gave it more. I think that sparrow ended up eating more rice than I did. I, too, love to feed animals everywhere I go.


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## bubbleslove (May 27, 2012)

Its the salt that would be not too good I e if they were salted. Rather give raw peanuts and then only very limited

This reminds of the time when my daughter went to work ...... When she came home her bird had got hold of her cigarette pkt and shredded them all over the floor

U r not a bad Mommy. Accidents happen even if to tell u maybe that birds must not have ANY salt as they don't have sweat glands

Hope all will be ok


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

bubbleslove said:


> birds must not have ANY salt as they don't have sweat glands


This is not true. Birds should have minimal salt intake, but it is still an important electrolyte which is needed for maintaining healthy blood chemistry. The central nervous system depends on sodium to function -- if birds had NO salt/sodium in their intake, they would die.

ETA: That's not to say that we should be feeding our birds salt intentionally. They get enough in a normal, healthy diet. I just wanted to point out that it's not something to avoid entirely, and a tiny bit now and again as part of a treat is not a bad thing.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

isnt salt essential to laying hens? i thought some of the things ive read said that it was good for muscle tone in their uterus? but of course in small amounts. i dont think their peanuts are salted. i load mine with peanuts and ive eaten them plain... they dont have salt. theyre pretty bland


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

DallyTsuka said:


> i thought some of the things ive read said that it was good for muscle tone in their uterus?


Salt is essential for all muscle and nerve cells. Without sodium ions, the cells can't conduct the electric impulses needed for communication and muscle movement. Prolonged deficiency causes the cells to die. I would think it's especially important in laying hens both because extra muscles are needed for the hen to pass the egg, and because egg formation depletes the body's calcium/sodium balance.


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## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

Sorry, Annie, we are getting off topic, but since we are talking about it...Do they eat salt because it tastes good or would they only eat it if they need it. Like just salt? Because I have noticed it I leave the salt shaker around a few of my birds will try to eat the granules on top.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

I would think probably some of both. Humans with electrolyte imbalances crave salt, so I imagine the same would be true in birds. But it probably also just tastes good.


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## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

Willow would always rush to the shaker so I let her have a bit figuring she needed it. But not too much or too often. But I have noticed a few others do it too.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

It's probably not a bad thing to do, although I've never done it. Sometimes my birds do get tiny pieces of lightly salted crackers.


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## Fweet (Apr 9, 2012)

Elwood, a bird with more bad habits than most humans, would sprint along the desk if he saw the salt grinder. He'd waddle at it as fast as he could, tongue out & ready to beak the living daylights out of it then throw a strop of epic proportions when stopped. 
Considering his similar reactions to Doritos, chocolate biscuits & even takeaway foods where he'd screech & flap transformed into psycho-macaw determined to get at them I can only imagine he was encouraged to eat these foods wherever he was before. Ever seen a bird with Kung Po noodlebeak? Or an entire orange bird from getting IN the Doritos bag? It turned into a battle of wills to keep him away from human foods but the salt was the worst because he'd not stop, divebombing whoever was putting the salt away then pecking at the cupboard door to get at it.


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## bubbleslove (May 27, 2012)

Pellets and veg probably have a certain amount of salt. What I meant was ADDED salt. I was imagining a packet of peanuts with salt lying at the bottom of it.

Glad to hear their was none of that tho


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

dont worry bubbleslove, we just got off topic :blush: my bad

i was just curious about the need for salt.


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