For most of us, alcohol is a part of every festival and celebration. And as is the case with almost everything we have, our parrots always want a taste of it. Your parrot may even try to sneak a sip on its own if it finds a drink lying around. So you may wonder if alcohol has any negative effects on parrots.
Alcohol is bad for human health and the same goes for our parrots. Parrots can be more susceptible to intoxication from alcohol because of their small size. Alcohol is not well tolerated by parrots and even small amounts can be harmful.
The rate at which alcohol may affect your parrot’s body depends on its size. Larger parrots can usually get away with taking a few sips. They may get drunk but recover after a few hours. However, in the case of a small parrot, alcohol consumption can be fatal.
Quick Navigation
Is Alcohol Toxic To Parrots?
Alcohol consumption can adversely affect a parrot’s health. There are many downsides to alcohol, such as high calories, risk of dehydration, and obesity. Since parrots are small, having even a few sips of alcohol can lead to alcohol toxicosis, which can be detrimental to their health.
Parrot’s bodies are not equipped to process alcohol, which means they can get drunk very easily. If they consume alcohol for a long time, it can lead to various health issues, such as liver damage. So it is always advisable to keep alcoholic beverages away from your parrot.
The symptoms of alcohol poisoning can begin to show within a few minutes of consumption. Drunk parrots usually appear lethargic and lack coordination.
They may even fall from their perch or lie down on the ground. If you suscept your parrot has ingested alcohol and it exhibits these symptoms, please take them to a veterinarian immediately.
Can Parrots Get Drunk?
Yes, parrots can get drunk. In fact, even a few sips of alcohol can be enough for parrots to get drunk. An article from ABC reports that parrots are getting intoxicated by fermented fruit.
Towards the end of the mango season in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, the fruits often fall to the ground. These fruits can ferment under the heat of the sun, which produces ethanol.
This is similar to how grapes are fermented to produce wine. The high sugar concentration in mangoes yields large amounts of ethanol. The wild red-winged parrots consumed these fermented mangoes, which has the same effect as drinking alcohol.
Six of these inebriated parrots were brought into Broome Veterinary Hospital and showed signs of ethanol poisoning. It is suggested that most of the parrots who consumed the rotten mangoes died as a consequence of being inebriated.
They could have been eaten by prey or starved to death due to malnutrition. Ethanol can make these parrots lethargic which makes it difficult to fly properly, which is essential for the parrots to survive.
Why Happens When A Parrot Drinks Alcohol?
Needless to say, you should never allow your parrot to drink alcohol. If a parrot drinks sufficient amounts of it, it can have fatal consequences. However, if your parrot drinks only a sip or two, it may still have a negative effect on its health. These are the following ways alcohol affects parrots:
Elevated Blood Sugar
Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, which is twice the amount that is in carbohydrates. So if a parrot drinks alcohol, it can rapidly increase blood sugar and significantly increase its risk of obesity.
Alcohol Can Cause Dehydration
Alcohol is a diuretic, which can have dehydrating effects on parrots when they consume it. It can lead to loss of fluids from their bodies. Parrots can feel dehydrated after ingesting alcohol, which can make them drink water excessively. However, drinking water can counteract the dehydrating effects of alcohol and also dilute it in their system.
Drunken Behavior
A small amount of alcohol may not kill a parrot, but it can impair their motor and cognitive function, which can result in death.
There have been numerous cases of wild birds including parrots that get drunk on ethanol from fruits.
Because of being drunk, they lose coordination and often fly into windows and other obstacles. They may also fail to escape predators when they are drunk.
Can Parrots Drink Beer?
Parrots cannot drink beer. Although beer has lower amounts of alcohol content than other hard drinks, it is still enough to get a parrot inebriated. If you have a small parrot, you need to be extra careful with alcohol in your house.
A large parrot may still recover from a little dose, but a smaller bird will have to be taken to the vet. It also depends on the amount of ethanol in an alcoholic beverage.
The percentage of alcohol in drinks varies. Beer contains 5-7% ethanol, and wine 9%. However, other alcoholic beverages like whisky, rum, and vodka can contain vodka drinks can contain 30-90% concentration of ethanol.
What To Do If Your Parrot Drank Alcohol?
If your parrot has accidentally consumed alcohol, the first thing you need to do is to determine the type of drink it had because alcohol content can vary widely.
If your parrot has only taken a sip from something like beer or a low-alcohol-content beverage, there may not be immediate cause for concern and it may recover from the state of drunkenness.
To help your parrot recover faster, you should offer them some fresh water as alcohol can remove fluids from the body.
However, if your parrot ingested a higher-alcohol-content drink like whiskey or wine, it can be a serious matter.
Alcohol poisoning in birds can be life-threatening and you should contact a veterinarian immediately. In the meantime, do give your parrot fresh water.
