toxic plants

Moderator: Mods

Post Reply
zentoucan
Posts: 151
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:45 pm

toxic plants

Post by zentoucan »

I was just wondering how it was found out which plants are toxic to Parrots. Was it through accidental death or experimental trials. Then again, was it observation of wild Parrots eating. The accidental death while unfortunate serves to help prevent future deaths provided that this information was passed on. While clinical, these experiments also prevent future deaths although I sure these methods would not be tolerated today. The last would be very hard, costly and use a lot of people to do, as some species of Parrot can fly 45 kms or more in search of food. This would be a logistic nightmare. But I believe it would have been done over a very long time.

In nature, animals teach their offspring how to hunt, forage, what to eat, what not to eat. in captivity I believe that part of this being lost. This due to the offspring not being shown what to eat and what not to eat by their parents. Then these offspring becomes parents and the cycle continues. So it's up to us as pets owners to be vigilant to what we give our pets to eat and manage the environment they live in.
AJPeter
Posts: 2534
Joined: Sun Oct 06, 2013 3:17 pm
Location: Birmingham England
Contact:

Re: toxic plants

Post by AJPeter »

Is that it?

No list of toxic plants?

I know seeds of fruit are posinous such as apple seeds, and of course advocado pears.
zentoucan
Posts: 151
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:45 pm

Re: toxic plants

Post by zentoucan »

how many lists of toxic plant are available?. why would I put up another, it would just be a repeated copy and why would you want to read another list. This was more about how the list came into being. don't you ever wonder how and why, or do you just follow? sometime it's good to think outside the square.
AJPeter
Posts: 2534
Joined: Sun Oct 06, 2013 3:17 pm
Location: Birmingham England
Contact:

Re: toxic plants

Post by AJPeter »

Okay you win.

Search Toxic
zentoucan
Posts: 151
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:45 pm

Re: toxic plants

Post by zentoucan »

I don't think you have read my post properly. I know there are numerous lists of Toxic plants available and I know of most toxic plants and if I'm unsure, I can find on the internet I was wondering how the list came to be made. when and who started to keep records. how the data for these records were obtained, accident, experiment or observation. for example, did captain cook and Alexander the great keep records and were these records passed on.
zentoucan
Posts: 151
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:45 pm

Re: toxic plants

Post by zentoucan »

I'm not convince in either religion or the evolution theory, has I have never met anyone who was present or has personally seen primates become humans or met Jesus. Maybe we came from outer space. anyway going off track.
I'm was wondering what race started bird keeping and how they learnt to keep the birds healthy, what to feed them, what not to feed them.
the Alexandrine Parakeet was kept by Alexander the great and that's why the Alexandrine was named after him. Apparently he gave these birds to his Generals.
But how did he learn to successfully keep them?
Did Alexander the Great have a chief bird keeper?.
Were written instructions given to the Generals when they were given a bird?

you post is has close to a answer so far.

Just wondering.
Skyes_crew
Posts: 1946
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:49 pm
Location: Hawaii

Re: toxic plants

Post by Skyes_crew »

I would assume that Alexander the Great kept his birds fed primarily by what they were observed eating in the wild since there wasn't a petco on the corner back then. :wink:

I would also assume that most discoveries of toxic plants came from observation of accidental death. For example...when the first bird to die from eating apple seeds was reported, they most likely looked at the cause of why the seed would kill them (small amounts of cianide) and reported the seed as toxic to birds. And unfortunately there were probably many accidental deaths after most exotic birds were removed from their natural environment and placed in cages and fed man made diets. To this day birds are treated by many people as disposable pets. I don't think I want to know the particulars on how every toxic plant and tree was found. It's too heartbreaking to think about.
I am owned by my birds...and I wouldn't have it any other way :D

Image
zentoucan
Posts: 151
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:45 pm

Re: toxic plants

Post by zentoucan »

this will be one of the great mysteries of the world.
khalid
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2014 3:22 am

Re: toxic plants

Post by khalid »

the red jungle fowl,ancestral to our modern chicken, was domesticated some 5000 years ago by the indus valley civilization.that could well be the first pet bird too.
AJPeter
Posts: 2534
Joined: Sun Oct 06, 2013 3:17 pm
Location: Birmingham England
Contact:

Re: toxic plants

Post by AJPeter »

In a way Skyes_crew this was how modern medicne was discovered. The story goes that back in the 14 th century the local drug store had an apprentice who was sent out to make his living in the next town, he quickly exhausted his stock in trade and looked around for fresh supplies. He saw this plant with white flowers and red berries, so he ground up the berries and made a poultice to apply to all sorts of ail ments from backache to bunions. I wonder how many people died before he realized that the berries were posinous? Well after trying the flower and the leaves and every one died he called this plant Deadly Nght shade because he could see the white flowers in the moon light.
Having diescovered that the plant was poisinous the apothercarry he pulled it up and put in on the bonfire to be burnt later.
However there was a big battle nearby the wounded were coming in droves and in carts this young apothercary soon ran out of all his potions when a knight came in offering him a fortune to save his arm which was hanging by a thread having been nearly cut off with a sword. Well the apothercarry looked round but saw the cupboard bare, then he remembered the Deadly Night shade and reasoned that if he made a poultice from it and applied to the arm the knight would be dead before he discovered that it would not work. Well to cut a long story short all the apothercarry could find were the roots so he ground them up and applied it to the knight's arm took his payment.
Six months later the knight returned his arm totally healed but the apothercarry dropped dead before he could record the recipe, with a heart attack thinking the knight had come to get his just deserts.
Post Reply