Next time you make yourself a fresh pina colada or slice up some pineapple to go with your cottage cheese, don’t hesitate to feed your parakeet a little bite of pineapple. Pineapples are a very nutritious and tasty treat to feed your parakeet, but they must be fed in moderation because of their high sugar content.
To learn more about how to feed your parakeet pineapple properly and other fruits and veggies to feed them, keep reading. In this article, we give you a rundown of what to feed your parakeet, including pineapple.
The term parakeet isn’t a taxonomical reference to any genus or family of parrots; the parrots sometimes referred to as parakeets span multiple genera.
Examples of parrots generally termed as parakeets include budgies, cockatiels, ring-necked parrots, and nose-ringed parrots.
Are Pineapples Good for Parakeets?
Many fruits are safe for your parakeet. Pineapples are no exception to this rule; they are considered safe for parakeets. They also offer some nutritional benefits. Pineapples contain several vitamins and minerals which are beneficial for your bird. With that being said, they’re also high in sugar and are mostly water. Therefore, they should only be fed in moderation.
Do Parakeets Like Pineapple?
Just because pineapple is healthy for parakeets does not mean they will enjoy eating it. Anyone with children knows this fact to be true. So, do parakeets like pineapple?
Although some parakeets may prefer other fruits, the birds as a whole love these delicious fruits. Even parakeets that are often hesitant to new food often find themselves gobbling down pineapples. You should not have any trouble feeding pineapple to your parakeet because they love the taste.
How to Feed Your Parakeet Pineapple
Even though pineapple is nutritious and tasty for your parakeet, you must be careful about how much you feed the fruit to your bird. Pineapple is high in sugar and water, which can result in gained weight and diarrhea.
Instead of just giving your parakeet a whole thing of pineapple, it’s best to serve pineapple in moderation. Only feed parakeets fruits two or three times a week. It can be a great idea to give pineapple as a treat once during the weekdays and once on the weekend.
Make sure to introduce pineapple to your parakeet slowly. Some birds maybe more hesitant to try new foods simply because they don’t know what the food is. You can start by mixing pineapple into your parakeet’s regular food once a week until they get accustomed to it.
No matter when or what day you feed your parakeet pineapple, make sure to only feed fresh pineapple to your bird. Prepackaged pineapple is often kept in a syrupy mixture to preserve the fruit. Additional sugar is not good for your bird.
What to Feed Your Parakeet
Since you can only feed fruit to your parakeet twice a week or so, much of its diet will come from other food sources. In the wild, parakeets eat seeds, berries, veggies, and fruits. Most often, they find their food on the ground.
When keeping a parakeet as a pet, you want to replicate the wild diet as best as possible. Luckily, parakeets are common enough birds that finding the right food isn’t very difficult.
The most important part of your parakeet’s diet is seed. Most parakeet pellets incorporate various types of seeds that are all safe for parakeets to eat. Between 75% and 80% of your parakeet’s diet should come from commercial pellets made primarily from seeds.
The remaining percentage of food should come from vegetables and fruit. A little bit of dark, leafy greens should be fed to your parakeet daily, and more tasty vegetables and fruits should be fed as occasional treats.
Bananas, mango, orange, strawberry, tomato, carrots, spinach, kale, and asparagus make great fruits and veggies for your parakeet.
What to AVOID Feeding Your Parakeet
There are certain foods that you should not feed to your parakeet. Some are simply not healthy for the bird, whereas others are downright harmful and poisonous.
Some of the most important foods to avoid feeding to a parakeet include avocado, onions, garlic, alcohol, and foods containing caffeine.
If your parakeet gets ahold of any of these poisonous items, it’s best to get in contact with your vet as soon as possible. Even a little amount of these foods can be dangerous since parakeets have such small bodies.
Additionally, don’t feed parakeets meat, animal products, processed food, or candies. Even if these foods don’t kill or injure the bird immediately, they are far from healthy.
Final Thoughts
If you find yourself chopping up a pineapple for whatever reason, it is perfectly safe to give some to your parakeet. Not only will your parakeet likely love the pineapple, but it has numerous nutritional benefits for the bird. If you feed the pineapple in moderation, it makes a delicious treat for your parakeet.
Featured Image Credit: manfredrichter, Pixabay
