Pesach: Feeding parrot chicks
Question
The chicks I raise eat only a specific type of food—a hand-feeding formula powder designed for chicks. This mixture contains, among other ingredients, ground grains from the five species of grain, along with additional components. It is mixed with lukewarm water to form a porridge, which is then fed to the chicks.
What is the halachic status during Pesach?
On one hand, this is a chametz mixture prepared before Pesach; the chametz is not recognizable and seems not to be fit for human consumption. On the other hand, feeding the chicks provides benefit to their owner, which may be considered deriving benefit from chametz.
To the best of my knowledge, there is no such formula available that is certified kosher for Pesach.
Is it permissible to feed them during Pesach? If not, would it help to include both the formula and the chicks in the sale of chametz, and then feed them as one caring for a non-Jew’s animals—and, if the non-Jew does not ultimately buy them, to repurchase them along with the chametz after Pesach?
Thank you very much.
Answer
Greetings and blessings,
The issue of feeding parrot chicks during Pesach is indeed complex, since they require specialized food, yet it is problematic to feed animals such food on Pesach.
From my investigation for this year (5786), the commercially available formulas contain primarily grains such as wheat, oats, and corn, along with other ingredients. Corn, of course, poses no issue, but the other grains do. Additionally, in many cases, the mixture is technically fit for human consumption—it is simply unappealing in appearance, but not inherently inedible.
In practice, there are three possible solutions:
1. Alternative permitted mixture
One option is to prepare a porridge based on permitted grains such as corn, rice, and millet, and feed that during Pesach. (Note that I am not a veterinarian, but these ingredients do contain significant starches and proteins that may meet the chicks’ nutritional needs.) Even for those who refrain from legumes (kitniyot), this is not an issue, as the prohibition was not applied to animal feed.
2. Render the mixture inedible before Pesach
Another option is to grind the mixture very finely before Pesach so that no recognizable pieces remain (not necessarily as fine as flour, but close), and to add vitamins intended for parrots, along with routine medications. In this way, the food becomes unfit for human consumption.
3. Prepare completely before Pesach
A third option is to grind the mixture well before Pesach, prepare the porridge in advance as well, and then refrigerate or freeze it. During the holiday, one may take it out and use it.
In all cases, this food should be handled only with utensils designated for the animals, and these should be washed and cleaned in an area completely separate from any Pesach utensils or kosher-for-Pesach food.
The last two options must be completed before Pesach; they may not be prepared during the holiday itself.
As for relying on a non-Jew, this solution works only if both the parrots and the food are actually sold to the non-Jew, and the non-Jew is the one feeding them—since one may not make use of a non-Jew’s chametz during Pesach.
With blessings of Torah and the Land,
David Eigner
Torah and Land Institute