For your budgie to live a happy and healthy life, it is important that he is fed a nutritionally balanced diet. One question that is often asked is, can budgies eat bread? We’ll discuss that below as well as what your budgie needs to eat for a healthy diet, and what your budgie should not eat.
Can Budgies Eat Bread? Budgies can, in fact, eat bread. An organic wholemeal loaf with no added salt is the suggested bread, and only given in moderation. Avoid feeding your budgie salt as this can cause damage to your budgies kidneys.
There aren’t really many nutrients in bread, therefore it isn’t really the best choice of food to feed your budgie regularly. Feeding them bread regularly can, unfortunately, lead to malnutrition since bread is filling and will likely cause your bird to think that he is full.
If you do decide to give your budgie bread, it should be organic wholemeal bread since it is healthier, and it should be given to your budgie in crumbs. Some veterinarians suggest that budgies should be given no more than the size of their beak a week.
Healthy Diet
Your budgie needs a balanced diet of carbohydrates, proteins, fat, vitamins and of course, water in order to live a healthy life. A healthy diet for your budgie friend should include a mixture of grains, fruits, and vegetables, with the occasional snack treat of course.
Typically a budgies diet should consist of 50-60% grains, 10-20% of veggies, and 5% fruit. Specific vitamins and minerals may be more important at various stages throughout your budgies life, an avian veterinarian can help you better assess your bird’s needs.
Good Foods To Feed Your Budgie
Listed below are a few items that are good in nutrients for your budgie friend. Give these foods to your budgie uncooked so that they retain their nutrients, and make sure to wash any fruits and vegetables that you are giving you budgie in order to remove any chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides.
- Birdseed mix
- Cooked rice
- Parsley
- Dandelion
- Wormseed
- Kale
- Peas (green, chick, black-eyed)
- Sweet Corn
- Pumpkin
- Raddish
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Oats
- Quinoa
- Apple
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Kiwi
- Mango
- Strawberries
- Melons
- Banana
You can also give your budgie small pieces of well-cooked chicken, fish or lean meat, and scrambled eggs for extra nutrients and protein, but this should not be done often. In the wild birds eat insects which is where they gather some of their protein, but birds in captivity are not required to eat a meat protein unless they are molting or nesting.
Even then, between the seeds you give your budgie, the treats and the fresh fruits and vegetables, feeding him chicken, fish, lean meat, or scrambled eggs is not a necessity.
Some good treats to include in your budgie’s diet include millet spray, cheerio’s, cornflakes, nuts, and lightly salted popcorn. These are treats and should not be given to your budgie daily.
Bad Foods To Feed Your Budgie
Eating with your budgie is a great way to socialize and bond with him, however, there are some foods that your budgie should not have, even if we, as humans, enjoy them. Below is a list of some food items that your budgie should not be given.
- Apple seeds
- Eggplant (green part)
- Avocado (Toxic to your budgie)
- Beans (Many raw beans are toxic to your budgie, so it is best to just avoid them)
- Cheese
- Crackers
- Dairy Products
- Chocolate
- Raw fish or meat
- Potatoes
- Rhubarb
- Green Tomatoes (Toxic)
- Salty Items (Salty popcorn is okay on occasion as a treat, but too much salt is harmful)
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Garlic
- Fruit Pits
- Caffeine
- Fatty Foods
This is just a general list of foods that your budgie should not eat, this is not a complete list. Before giving your bird friend a new food please, please, do your research to be certain that you are not giving him something that may be toxic to budgies.
Most importantly, use common sense when offering your budgie new food, for example, do not feed your budgie pizza or other junk food just because you think that it tastes delicious and that he will enjoy it. Can he eat the pizza? Sure he can.
Will it cause him to be sick and possibly die? Yes. Again, it is important to research foods before giving your budgie new food and be smart about your food choices.
Keeping Your Budgie Healthy
You should treat your feathered friend as a small child; offer him a small variety of foods daily to see which he prefers. Keep in mind, just because your budgie doesn’t eat the apples (or another item) today, it doesn’t mean that he won’t eat them tomorrow.
Budgies can be picky when it comes to food, so when you introduce new foods to your budgie friend it is best to give them the same food for at least a week so that they have enough opportunities to try eating it.
Don’t forget, like a small child, your budgie friend needs its fruit and veggies cut up into small, manageable, bite-sized pieces. Unlike a child, it is alright if your budgie plays with his food because it helps keep them interested, curious and active. They may throw the fruits or vegetables around a bit as a way of examining the items.
Plus, it is kind of cute to see your budgie play with his food.
Remove all uneaten fruits and vegetables after a couple of hours to prevent your budgie from getting sick. It is perfectly acceptable to try again with a different batch of fruits and vegetables a few hours in between your first attempt, but just make sure that the fruits and vegetables are fresh and have been rinsed with water.
If your budgie is on a seed only diet then they could become obese so it is best to start them on fruits and vegetables as early as you can. If your budgie is refusing to try the fruits or vegetables that you are offering him then you can try starting them off by offering them as treats.
If offering fruits as treats doesn’t work then you may have to remove seeds from your budgie’s diet for a few days only offering him fruits and veggies.
Eventually, your budgie will grow hungry and eat the fruits and vegetables, once he does you can begin mixing the seeds and fresh fruits and veggies together ensuring that your budgie is getting all of its required vitamins and minerals to live a healthy life.
Be sure to keep your budgie active in order to prevent him from becoming lazy and obese. Leave plenty of toys in its cage and be sure to interact and play with your budgie daily so that he receives plenty of exercise. And make sure that you are giving your budgie plenty of fresh, clean water on a daily basis.
Related Questions
How much should I feed my budgie? This depends solely on your budgies metabolism, activity level and, appetite. Feed your budgie daily, but experiment with how much your budgie actually eats out of what you offer him to be certain. Check to make sure that he isn’t kicking half of his food to the bottom of his cage.
What do budgies eat in the wild? In the wild budgies eat a variety of seeds (grass seed), berries, nuts, insects and vegetation. Budgies originate from Australia so any fruits or vegetables that they eat in the wild is usually sun-dried.
