# Milk



## Cheeky boy (Jul 15, 2014)

Whenever I have cereal or a glass of milk cheeky (my tiel) always goes for it and starts trying to drink it. I don't let him have it because I'm unsure if it is bad for him or not...? Any advice would be much appreciated  :thumbu:


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## urchin_grey (Jun 23, 2014)

Well, I'm vegan so I will start with saying I'm biased. lol

But I wouldn't think cow's milk would be very good for a bird's overall health. I mean, a cow's milk is designed to sustain a baby cow so I can't see it being a good addition to a bird's diet. Just my opinion.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Birds are lactose intolerant. a little nibble on some cheese is OK but it's better to not give them high concentrations of dairy. I don't think anything bad will happen to him right this minute but I would avoid him drinking milk. My birds also try to drink my milk. Good think I don't eat my cereal in the aviary often. :lol:


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

All birds are lactose intolerant. Their systems are not designed to process milk like mammals do. Beaker has thrown a few tantrums over me not sharing and even went as far as jumping into my bowl, and then leaving little milk footprints as he went along.

Don't give in if they keep going for it; they are persistent little boogers who sometimes don't know what's good for them


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2015)

NO, milk is NOT good. Don't let your tiel have it... not good/safe for them.

I don't even drink milk myself.... for heath reasons.... vegan all the way!


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

Like everyone has said it is bad for them.

I drink almond milk and Kiwi has attempted to drink that while I am eating. Kiwi will also do this with my soup. She will jump/fly into my bowl after a sip she will waddle off at the speed of light before I can catch her. :lol:

Sometimes having a few treats out on a plate will help keep her away from what I am eating. Usually I will have to put a lot of carrots and other veggies on a plate and then every once in a while I will eat a carrot too, just so Kiwi can see that I'm also eating it and she doesn't need to jump in my bowl. She's a social eater and whatever I'm eating she wants to eat so I can keep her at bay that way! :rofl:


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## Birdflu (Sep 15, 2014)

My bird LOVES cheese. I cant get him away from it. The moment I only take the cheese grater he comes flying because he know there will be cheese... No chance of gettin him off, unless I put him into another room, he would fight for a little piece! 
He also likes wine and certain ... herbs, and goes at it pretty intentionally, but its easier to keep him off that kinda stuff. ;-) 
I dont think its great for them (as many things are not healthy for us, but we still want it), so I think a little amount wont damage much. 
I think, let them have a little taste, as it enrichens their experiences, but dont give them loads. And watch out how they react, if they get diarrhea I would totally stop it.


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2015)

I would NEVER feed my bird cheese. That is very unhealthy for them in any amount. Considering how many tasty HEALTHY alternative "treats" your tiel will love just as much... nuff said on that one. Eating healthy tastes GREAT (I do it every single day)... no reason to feed your pets detrimental junk foods, it' s totally unacceptable IMO.

I take health very seriously... for myself and for my pets.


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

Parrots love to eat what we are eating and are so sneaky and quick about taking a bit of what we eat! It's really hard to keep them away when they are soo determined about it. The little sillies. I know Kiwi has gotten a sip of my coffee once or twice when she figured out how to unlock her cage. I didn't see it coming and then panicked because she got some! :rofl:

I think that the number one important thing is to put him in his cage when there is alcohol so he can't get to it. But if he wont go in his cage then keeping him away like you are doing is ok too.
Though if he is sneaky and gets into it too often I would place him in the cage. For a Cockatiel as small as they are, a sip or two could be a few glasses to us. I think they would have to have more than a sip or two to kill them, but I wouldn't want to risk that. As a depressant it starts to shut down their organs pretty quickly. I think this is also because they don't have a lot of blood in their bodies it doesn't take much for their B.A.C. to reach an extreme toxicity level. The reverse of this is caffeine which, at its extreme, can give them a heart attack/cardiac malfunction. :S

Cheese isn't the best for them since they can't digest it very well. If he likes the fat content in the cheese maybe try and replace it with sunflower seeds, almonds, and other nuts (not peanuts though xP). If cheese is fed infrequently (weekly/monthly) to them in tiny tiny bits... I've heard that there aren't as many problems as if they get it every day or every other day. Because then they wont develop bacteria, have as many digestive problems from the cheese, or get crop impaction. To completely avoid those problems, it is best to cut the cheese out and replace it with a healthier fat from nuts. :flowers:
Maybe whenever you are grating cheese you feed him seeds or nuts to get him used to that as a reward instead of cheese?


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