I keep reading everyone saying to wash the veggies or fruit before feeding (which is common sense nowadays), but for a bird, how do you wash them to make sure they are safe? I am new at this and not sure exactly how to clean things like broccoli, cauliflower, peas, potato's, carrots, and so on... I know you peel the skin from apples so they are not as important to clean, but veggies are since most skins will be eaten. Can someone please help me out? Any help will be appreciated!
JA

I generally just rinse under cool tap water. Nothing special.

One thing to remember is to wash the surface of any fruit or veggie you plan to cut or peel before you cut it. Any residual pesticides can contaminate the inner fruit while cutting if the skin hasn't been washed first.

Perfect example is that apple, or watermelon. Always wash the outside of those kinds of fruit before you cut.

Cooks illustrated recently did a study comparing, washing with water, antimicrobial soap, veggie wash or white vinegar. They found that washing with a mix of 1 part white vinegar, 3 parts water, was better at removing bacterial than the other methods. They suggest that you fill a spritz bottle with white vinegar/water mix and spritz the veggie with it, then rinse with cold water. For things like broccoli with lots of grooves, they suggest dunking it in vinegar water, then rinsing it well.
Unfortunately they did not test to see how this affected the pesticides, which I care about more than the dirt, mom always said a little dirt is good for you.

Personally, I am pretty lazy I usually just wash it under cold running water and rub until all visible dirt/wax is gone. I figure that what ever is good enough for me to eat is probably good enough for the bird.

I guess it depends how paranoid you are about bacteria and pesticides in your raw veggies.

We just wash fruits and veggies under cold water. Personally I wouldn't use anything special to wash them, like vinegar etc. they do need a little bacteria in their body or else your bird will be susceptible to more germs in the long run... just like humans. Antibacterial anything isn't good for humans, let along birds, so I don't recommend using that either.

Also, with the fruit thing, it is important to wash all fruit, including melons etc. when you cut into the fruit you are bringing the germs and pesticides into the fruit, so it's always a good idea to wash fruits and veggies even if you don't eat the skin/outside.

I just wash everything the way that I would do if I were going to eat it.

Thanks everybody! All I do for my husband and myself is wash our fruit and veggies under cold water and dry with paper towels, but I thought the birddies had to be done a special way. I glad to hear they can handle it just the way we do.
JA

I think with most fruits and veggies that running cold water over them is fine, but there are some that are much more contaminated with pesticides unless you buy organic. I won't even buy these unless they are organic. They are green beans,cucumbers and any bell pepper. I rarely buy an apple for my birds unless it is organic. If I buy conventional it is washed first with dawn dish soap, rinsed really well and then peeled. I do the same with oranges before I peel them and cucumbers. Apples and oranges are loaded with pesticide. Just thought I'd mention that even frozen green beans can be loaded with pesticides so I only buy them organic too. Birds are hypersensitive to pesticides, much more than we are
tikileahsmom

you can also sprinkle some baking soda over the produce
and scrub lightly

i never knew that about green beans
ive been grabbing some bin ones for my birds love them, yikes
thanks

98 percent of the vegs/fruits i give are organic he likes them more. I rinse them hot or under cold. Is it bad to rinse under hot water ?