Cockatiels seem to enjoy fruits a lot, but can they eat watermelon? Is the fruit safe for them? Let’s find out.
Cockatiels are adorable, loving, and intelligent bird species. If you are a proud cockatiel parent, you need to take special care to offer them a varied diet, including vegetables, healthy fruits, and seeds, to have a balanced diet.
Talking about diets, one subject that seems to be a bit controversial is: can cockatiels eat watermelon?
Yes, your pet birds can eat fresh fruits like watermelon, which contains vital vitamins and minerals essential for cockatiels.
Additionally, the water content in watermelon is quite high, which helps your bird to stay hydrated. I talk more about all this in the article below.
Watermelon Nutritional Info: Is It Good For Cockatiels?
Watermelon is made up of 91 percent water and 7.5 percent carbs. It is low in calories and is highly beneficial to birds.
A cockatiel’s diet should definitely include watermelon, and it would make for a delicious treat for your adorable bird.
Sample the nutrients present in approximately 100 grams of raw watermelon:
- Calories – 30
- Water -91.4 g
- Protein -0.61 g
- Total lipid fat – 0.15 g
- Carbs – 7.55 g
- Sugar -6.2 g
- Calcium -7mg
- Iron -0.24mg
- Magnesium -10mg
- Phosphorous – 11mg
- Potassium – 112mg
- Sodium -1mg
- Zinc – 0.1mg
- Copper -0.042mg
- Manganese -0.038mg
- Vitamin C – 8.1mg
- Vitamin A – 28g
- Lycopene – 4350 g
- Vitamin E -0.05mg
- Thiamine – 0.033 mg
Vitamins
- Vitamin A: Lack of vitamin A can cause your bird’s beak and nails to grow out uncontrollably. Vitamin A is also essential for healthy vision, a good reproductive system, and healthy feathers.
- Vitamin C: This essential nutrient helps strengthen your bird’s immune system by producing antibodies. It even helps your bird’s mental health.
- Vitamin B1 or Thiamine: A deficiency in vitamin B1 can result in appetite loss and chronic diseases. So, bird owners should always include a good source of vitamin B1. Watermelon has lots of thiamine, which helps keep your bird’s nervous system strong.
- Vitamin E: Watermelon has vitamin E, which is essential for healthy skin and eyes.
Minerals
- Copper: Watermelon has copper, which is essential for good bone health in birds.
- Potassium: The juicy fruit also has potassium, which is vital for keeping the central nervous and cardiovascular systems strong.
- Magnesium: Magnesium is important for developing neurons and strengthens your bird’s bones.
- Phosphorous: This mineral is essential for having healthy bones and teeth in your bird.
- Calcium: Calcium is good for bone formation, blood clotting, and having good feathers in your bird.
Other Nutrients
Watermelon has lycopene which helps your bird in fighting sunburn and cancer. It also helps your bird have healthy eyes.
How Should Watermelon Be Given To Cockatiels?
It’s best to choose organic watermelon for your cockatiel bird, which should be free of pesticides. Let me talk more about how you can give this fruit to your bird.
Raw Form
The raw form of watermelon is the best for your bird. It is packed with various vitamins and minerals we discussed above.
You need to thoroughly wash the watermelon rind in water and then cut one slice with a knife.
Remove the rind from the watermelon slice, cut it into small pieces and feed your cockatiel bird.
If your bird does not eat the pieces for more than 2 hours, then it’s best to take them away from it to avoid germs.
Watermelon seeds
Certain dangerous seeds, like apple seeds, contain cyanide compounds that can be toxic for your bird.
Fortunately, watermelon seeds are not toxic for your bird. The seeds are a rich source of zinc and other minerals, which are good for the bird’s body.
But the seeds are a bit tough, which may cause choking in smaller birds when ingested.
So I would recommend you remove the seeds, soak them in water for a few hours, and then serve them to your feathered friend.
Watermelon Juice
You can give watermelon juice to your bird. But I always prefer to squeeze my own juice at home rather than buy packed juice preparations.
It’s easy to prepare watermelon juice at home.
Just cut a few watermelon pieces and remove the rind. Dump all the watermelon pieces into a blender and switch on the blender.
Once properly blended, take a strainer and strain the juice to remove the seeds. You can soak these seeds in water for a few hours and then give them separately to your bird.
How Much (And How Often) Should You Give Your Bird?
Watermelon is loaded with so many vitamins and minerals. But excess of anything can be bad.
If your cockatiel weighs about 100 grams, it needs almost 30 calories daily.
Fruits and vegetables should be nearly 20-25 percent of the daily intake of calories.
Watermelon should not exceed 10 percent of the bird’s daily diet. In my view, it’s best to provide one thin slice of watermelon every seven days to your bird.
Are There Any Dangers To Giving Watermelon to Cockatiels?
Watermelon is absolutely good for your bird. But overfeeding watermelon can make your cockatiel sick.
It can make the droppings red and watery, which would create a mess and might cause panic.
However, you don’t need to be worried about it – it’s watermelon juice and not red blood.
Again, watermelon has a high sugar content. If you overfeed it, your bird may develop obesity, diabetes, and other health issues.
Hence you should only give watermelon as an occasional treat to your bird.
When you give a small amount, the bird’s digestive tract will adjust to the new fruit, and there will be fewer side effects like diarrhea.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is watermelon poisonous to birds?
Watermelon is not toxic for birds. It contains various vitamins and minerals essential for birds to remain healthy and live longer.
For instance, it contains vitamin A, which is required for good vision and healthy breeding.
Likewise, Vitamin E is essential for healthy skin and feathers. But overfeeding watermelon can be harmful to the bird.
What foods are fatal to birds?
Certain foods are fatal for birds. We are listing them below.
Onion
Garlic
Mushrooms
Salt
Caffeine
Avocado
Apple seeds
Is watermelon toxic to parrots?
No watermelon is not toxic to parrots. This juicy fruit contains vitamins and minerals, which will help your pet parrot to remain healthy.
Make sure to remove the rind and seeds and only then feed the parrot. You can soak the seeds in water for four to five hours and then serve them to your bird as well.
What can birds not drink?
Humans love to have caffeinated drinks like coffee or soft drinks. But you should never allow your bird to drink as it can harm them.
You can offer your birds water or fruit juice like homemade watermelon juice.
Wrap Up
So that’s it from me! Watermelon is healthy; it has a lot of vitamins and minerals that are important for your bird.
It is low in calories, and you should definitely consider adding it to your cockatiel’s diet.
Make sure to remove the rind and seeds before offering – moreover, not more than one slice once a week.
Thank you for reading this article.
