Cockatiels are playful, friendly, and social little birds. As a pet owner, it is your responsibility to provide your bird with a balanced and nutritious diet.
If you’re wondering if cockatiels can eat bread, know that yes, they can safely consume certain types of bread, though it isn’t recommended as a dietary mainstay for them.
Cockatiels enjoy eating toasted bread because it is crunchy and dry. You can also feed whole wheat bread to birds because it contains whole grains and other nutrients. However, a cockatiel’s primary carbohydrate source should be commercial pellets or a pellet-and-seed mixture, not bread.
But how much bread is safe for your cockatiel? Which types of bread are ideal for your pet? Read on to find out more!
Giving Bread to Your Cockatiel
Cockatiels love to eat bread, especially toasted bread. They love that it is crunchy and dry. But does that mean the bird should eat bread as a snack as humans do? No.
Cockatiels should eat bread in limited quantities, probably once or twice a week. Why? Because bread is rich in carbohydrates. When your bird eats lots of carbohydrates, they may develop digestion problems.
In addition, bread is inherently unhealthy for cockatiels (even though it isn’t toxic in most cases) because bread expands whenever it is soaked. If your cockatiel drinks water after having some bread, it’ll likely expand in their crop. The result is a bird that’s too full to eat more, but one that didn’t get good quality nutrition.
Besides, bread has very little beneficial nutritional value for cockatiels. Conventional bread (also known as non-fortified bread), for example, is stripped of vitamins and minerals during production and processing. This means that the bread will fill the bird’s stomach without providing as much nutrition as a pellet would.
In addition, conventional bread features additives, preservatives, salt, and sugar, which can harm your pet bird. Here’s why.
Does all that mean you should give up the idea of feeding bread to your cockatiel for good? No, but you do need to look for higher-quality bread.
Feeding your cockatiels the wrong mixture of seeds can be dangerous to their health, so we recommend checking with an expert resource like The Ultimate Guide to Cockatiels, available on Amazon.
This excellent book will help you balance your cockatiels’ food sources by understanding the value of different seed types, dietary supplements, fruits and vegetables, and cuttlebone. You’ll also find tips on everything from housing to health care!
Healthy Bread for Your Cockatiel
These breads are somewhat healthier for your bird.
Bread You Should Avoid Feeding Your Cockatiel
If possible, avoid feeding these to your bird.
Giving Bread to Baby Cockatiels
It is okay to give adult cockatiels small pieces of bread as a snack. What’s not advisable is giving bread to baby cockatiels. They have very specific nutritional requirements that can’t be met by bread. They should be offered a formula specifically designed for them. They’re also often syringe-fed, and bread can’t be offered via a syringe.
So, should baby cockatiels eat bread? No, they should not.
Tips to Remember When Feeding Bread to Your Cockatiel
What’s the Cockatiel’s Ideal Diet?
It is clear that even though cockatiels can eat bread, it should only constitute 5% of their diet. How about the other 95%? Here is a breakdown of a cockatiel’s diet.
Pellets should be your cockatiel’s primary diet. They are nutritious and aid in the overall health of your pet. Seeds are also well-balanced and aligned with the cockatiel diet in the wild.
Fruits and vegetables are a great natural source of vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates. Cockatiels are picky, and you will need to experiment to find your bird’s favorite fruits. You can try berries, papaya, melon, or kiwi.
You can also include occasional protein sources like insects, mealworms, and lean meats. In addition, include nuts and clean water.
Foods to Avoid With Cockatiels
Here is a list of foods you should never feed your cockatiel.
Conclusion
Yes, cockatiels can eat bread. However, it should only serve as a bird treat and shouldn’t be a mainstay in their diet, as it isn’t particularly healthy. The bread should be free of additives, such as sugar or salt.
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Featured Image Credit: jlkramer, Pixabay
