can parrots eat unsweetened jello cups?

[sweeties mom]

My neice is feeding her conures unsweetened jello cups. Is this safe for them?:

[maxollie]

Hi! Robin, If the jello cups have splenda or aspartame in them as a sugar substitute, I would question giving them to birds, in fact, I've never heard of anyone feeding their birds jello, but that is not to say that some do so. Personally, I don't think any foods with alot of sugar in them are good for birds. Natural sugar in fresh fruits will not hurt them. There is a website named Cockatiel Cottage, that has all kinds of information as to what you can and cannot feed cockatiels, and I would say that most of that information would be appropriate for any parrot or conure. Also, if you have a Vet, or Avian Vet in your area, I see no reason why you couldn't give one a call and present the question to the receptionist or the person who answers the phone. They should be able to get an aswer for you.

I've homed both tiels and budgies for many years, but have never fed them jello products. I hope this information is of help to you.

[Sinthea]

I would stay away from jello. I give Zeus an organic unsweetened offbrand like jello from the health food store. You mostly just want to watch the stuff in it. Sugar free sweateners tend to be as a whole, very unhealthy. Some are good, most are thought to be (at least by the doctors at my clinic) very bad. And that is for people, we all know our bird's bodies are much more sensitive than our own.

You can find a lot of goodies that are bird safe at a natural food store. I go for things labeled USDA organic.

[Marrie]

Depends what is in them. Generally you want to avoid the heavily processed, lots of artificial preservatives etc. But if it is a natural fruit snack... probably not terrible. Gelatin is boiled horse/cow/pig tissues/hides/bones with fruit juice, if naturally flavored.