Although there are usually less and less Trick-or-Treaters going door to door in neighborhoods these days, there are still plenty of fun activities that include sweet treats. If you do still get a few of those tricky visitors at your door, be sure to keep your bird safely away from open doors, scary costumes, and boisterous children (and sometimes even the adults).
Even if ghosts and goblins aren't coming to your door for some Halloween goodies, if you have kids in your home, they are probably going to bring some treats home from school fall festivals, or trunk or treat gatherings, local retail celebrations, or even other family members who enjoy sharing those sweet treats.
Not to mention all the leftover goodies you may have after all the Trick or Treating is done has to go somewhere.
It is very important to remember to keep the sweets from becoming birdie treats. Sometimes I hear comments that chocolate must not really be toxic to birds because their bird ate a chocolate chip cookie, or some other chocolate treat and was fine. I do cringe when I hear those type of comments. Yes, chocolate really can be toxic, and even sometimes deadly.
However, it is true that not all chocolate is equal in the level of toxicity. The dark cocoa found in Dark Chocolate Squares, Bittersweet, and Baker's chocolates are usually the most toxic, as well as also containing caffeine which is also not good for your bird and can also cause harm.
Chocolate in any form should not be fed to birds to keep your bird safe. Yes, Bittersweet, Baker's and Dark Chocolates are more toxic than Milk Chocolate, but are you willing to take the chance that your bird has no problem? It's not just chocolate treats either. Those yummy sugary candies are big no-nos too. One candy corn may be a great sugar treat for a child, but that's a whole lot of sugar for a bird, especially a small bird.
There is a very dangerous new sweetener in some foods that is deadly to other household pets as well. It's name is xylitol. It's a substitute sweetener used in some sugar-free products, low carb products, some peanut butters, ice creams, and even some vitamins and supplements. It has also been found in some Benadryl liquid products. In this day and age is really is important to become a label reader for safety.
Even a small amount of xylitol can cause seizures, liver failure, and even death in dogs, cats, and other pets quite quickly. Sometimes it also goes by the names of "wood sugar", "birch sugar", and "birch bark extract". Don't be fooled, no matter the name, it is still xylitol and still very deadly.
So keep the people treats for the people, and if you want your bird to share in the Halloween fun, pick up a few birdie treats, or even better, bake up some healthy bird treats of your own.
Happy Trick or Tweeting!
