Can Cockatiels Eat Strawberries?
Can cockatiels eat strawberries? 🍓
“Are strawberries safe for birds or are they toxic?”
In short, cockatiels can definitely eat strawberries! They make for a healthy and delicious treat, but should only be fed in moderation. Fruits, including strawberries, should only make up 5% of your cockatiel’s diet.
But what about strawberry leaves & strawberry seeds?
Are they safe too?
Answers to your questions are coming up right now…
Can Cockatiels Eat Strawberry Leaves?
Just as strawberry leaves are good for us humans, they can also be consumed by cockatiels.
Most strawberry eaters discard the leaves, so it makes sense to assume they’re unsafe for our birds.
But according to The University Of Maryland Medical Centre, strawberry leaves are high in vitamin C, calcium, and iron.
So, when serving strawberries to your cockatiel, don’t throw away the leaves.
Instead, serve the entire strawberry for extra nutritional value!
There are many toxic leaves on bird-safe fruits, but thankfully, strawberry leaves aren’t one of them.
Are Strawberry Seeds Safe For Cockatiels?
Just like the fruit and leaves, strawberry seeds are safe for cockatiels to eat.
The little seeds are embedded very deeply within the strawberry, so it would be quite annoying to remove them all before serving.
Luckily, there’s no need for that.
In fact, picking out and eating the little strawberry seeds might be a fun job for your cockatiel!
Whenever I offer strawberries to my cockatiel, all he does it dig out the seeds 😂
In other words, there’s no need to modify strawberries in any way before giving them to your bird, you just need to make sure they’re clean.
Can Cockatiels Eat Freeze-Dried Strawberries?
Freeze drying is a process used to help preserve the nutritional value of fresh fruits without the use of chemicals or preservatives. Since there are no toxic preservatives, such as pesticides, freeze-dried strawberries are safe for cockatiels.
Freeze-dried fruits have a much longer shelf life than fresh fruits.
Removing moisture from within the fruit helps prevent fast spoilage…
This is why freeze-dried strawberries can be safely stored for 10 – 15 years. (Honeyville)
Even after the freeze-drying process, most fruits, like strawberries, will retain 90% of their nutrition.
Not only are freeze-dried strawberries safe for cockatiels, but they offer almost the same nutritional value as fresh strawberries.
(bird eating berry)
What Other Fruits Can Cockatiels Eat?
When deciding what fruits should make up that 5% of your cockatiel’s diet, strawberries are an excellent choice.
But there are many other fruits that are just as good for cockatiels, which include:
- Grapes
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Apples
But as is the case with ALL fruits, they must be properly cleaned before offering them to your cockatiels. Most store-bought fruits are sprayed with pesticides that are toxic to birds.
A thorough rinse under the tap will clear it off.
Unless you have a strawberry bush at home, you must wash all strawberries before serving.
Quick Overview Of A Healthy Cockatiel Diet
You now know that fruits, like strawberries, should only make up 5% of your cockatiel’s overall diet.
But what makes up the rest of their diet?
Here’s a quick overview of my vet-approve cockatiel diet:
- High-quality pellets (40% of the overall diet)
- Budgie seed mix (30%)
- Fresh vegetables (20%)
- Fruit (5%)
- Treats, sunflower seeds, millet (5%)
A weekly serving of cooked eggs is also beneficial to your bird.
Benefits Of Strawberries For Cockatiels
Although your cockatiel won’t eat anywhere near 100 grams worth of strawberries, it’s much easier to measure the nutritional value with 100 grams of any food. It also helps to compare with the nutritional level of other foods using 100 grams.
So, below is the nutritional value contained in 100 grams of strawberries:
- Water = 91%
- Calories = 32
- Carbohydrates = 7.7 grams
- Sugar = 4.9 grams
- Fibre = 2 grams
- Protein = 0.7 grams
Additionally, strawberries are a great source of vitamin C, folate, antioxidants, potassium, and manganese.
Strawberries also contain smaller amounts of many other beneficial nutrients.
Info source: Healthline.com
How To Serve Strawberries To Cockatiels
Below are a few ideas you can use to serve strawberries to your cockatiel so they’re more likely to eat and not ignore them:
- Diced strawberries – Simply chop up a few strawberries into bite-sized pieces and serve in a bowl, on a plate, or from your hand.
- Strawberry kebab – Grab a skewer (stainless steel) and poke a couple of strawberries through it to make a lovely fruit kebab! You can add other fruits and vegetables to the kebab too.
- Strawberries on a plate – Since there are no toxic parts of a strawberry, you can simply place an entire strawberry on a plate and watch your bird go for it!
Let me know in the comments if you can think of any other ways to present strawberries!
Short Summary
In conclusion, cockatiels can safely eat strawberries as part of their balanced diet. Not only can they eat the red fruit, but they can also consume the strawberry leaves and seeds. Additionally, freeze-dried strawberries are safe for cockatiels as long as no toxic preservatives are used.
Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin B9, and potassium, all of which are nutrients that will greatly benefit your cockatiel. It’s important to note that many store-bought strawberries are preserved with pesticides, which are toxic to birds.
Because of this, you must thoroughly wash strawberries before giving them to your cockatiel.
Thank you for reading!
Learn How To Feed A Nutritionally Balanced Diet To Your Cockatiel
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