Can Cockatiels Eat Blueberries?

Do you think about a healthy diet for your cherished pets? Your lovely birds are herbivores. They enjoy eating fresh vegetables and fruits. Some of them are healthy, the others are not. What about berries? Can cockatiels eat blueberries? Let’s discuss the essential nutrients your charming birds need. Amounts of blueberries and intervals to give them also matter.

What Can Cockatiels Eat?

Do you realize what your cherished pets need? Regular exercises are essential to the birds. Being housed in a large, clean and well-equipped cage, they are to spend some time outside. Human interaction should not be round-the-clock and everlasting.

Balanced diet is a must. It helps your pets be healthy and fit. Let’s start with the amounts of food. Daily feeding should not be abundant.

Healthy Diet for Cockatiels

Cockatiels commonly become fully weaned, when they are 10 weeks old. By this age, they are feathered. They fledge and start flying at the 4-5^th week of their age. Forced weaning might happen earlier, by the 7-8^th week of chick’s age. Babies usually get supplemental hand feeding.

According to the American Cockatiel Society, newly weaned birds need a balanced diet. Vitamins and minerals, including calcium as essential. Don’t forget about fresh water. Meanwhile, adult or nature birds need two meals per day. Total amount of best food for cockatiels given every time is 30-40 grams or 1.5-2 tablespoons. Why do they need this dietary regime?

What do Cockatiels Eat in the Wild?

Did you hear that cockatiels don’t eat in the middle of the day? In the wild, they rest at daytime, roosting communally. Therefore, young birds are to rest in a quiet environment. They need not less than 10-12 hours a day of rest in the cage.

As Portuguese scientists state, their environment is to be enriched by iron bead rings and wooden sticks. Enrichment has positive effect on cockatiels’ behavior. So, cockatiels are to be fed in the morning and early in the evening. They prefer eating and communicating before dusk.

So, what is the best bird food for cockatiels? In the wild, they eat:

• cultivated crops;
• vegetables;
• seedlings;
• grains;
• fruits and berries.

What does a cockatiel eat in the wild? Even though cockatiels are herbivores, they do eat small insects and grubs. So, they need tiny amounts of protein. How do they get it in captivity? Supplements of eggs, cottage cheese, fish or chicken are acceptable. Amounts are measured not in tablespoons, but grams or crumbs.

What Fruit Can Cockatiels Eat?

Feeding primarily on various plants, both in the wild and captivity, cockatiels prefer eating berries, fruits and plants. List of safe things to give them includes:

• apples;
• bananas;
• kiwi;
• peaches;
• grapes;
• pears.

Fresh greens, fruits and veggies may make up to 25% of cockatiel’s diet. Natural food is healthy and beneficial for your birds. It contains essential vitamins and minerals. Fruits are to be served in small amounts, properly washed and chopped. All traces of chemicals or pesticides are to be thoroughly washed. Soak every fruit or berry in a bowl of water for several minutes and rinse it again before serving to your pets.

Can cockatiels eat strawberries? Yes, they do. These fruits are very good, nutritious and refreshing. My birds, especially Sweetie love eating strawberries. They are packed with healthy elements, including vitamin C, potassium, manganese. Commercial cockatiel food also contains them. However, pits and strawberry seeds are to be removed before the fruits are served. They might cause allergy or sinusitis.

Can Cockatiels Eat Blackberries?

As for me, I prefer organic or locally-grown fruits. Every bird is given only a small piece of berry that is about 1 gram. Strawberries, blackberries and any kind of fresh fruits are perishable. They tend to go brown, mushy and off very quickly. So, I serve them only when I am at home and clean the cage, removing the leftovers in about 2 hours.

Commonly, blackberries are to be included in cockatiel’s diet. Variety makes it healthy and nutritious. Blackberry is an edible fruit, rich in minerals, antioxidants and vitamins. It’s low in calories. Blackberries contain only 43-64 kcal/100g.

Therefore, according to research, blackberries provide multiple health benefits both to humans and birds. They potentially protect customers and their pets from chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, inflammations and viruses.

What about the pits? You would not remove them. Fortunately, they cause no harm to your cherished parrots. However, blueberries are messy. So, let your lovely cockatiels take a bath every time after eating fruits. Clean the cage and serve fresh water.

What Do Cockatiels Eat for Treats?

Variety in diet is beneficial for birds. Fruits and berries should be available among safe and healthy cockatiel treats for training, such as:

1. Healthy veggies, like carrots, corn and broccoli.
2. Hard-boiled eggs (yolks).
3. Millet and sunflower seeds.
4. Table food.

Cockatiels live in flocks. They would love having dinner together with you. So, some table food, including cooked pasta and rice, cheese, bread, grains are acceptable. Birds shouldn’t get them every day. 2-3 times a week are sufficient.

Additionally, how would you evaluate the amounts of treats in grams? Precise scales can be used. Otherwise, prefer the best cockatiel pellets. They have all essential nutrients and vitamins included. As research shows, newly-weaned birds like both extruded food and seed mix. However, seeds are rich in fat content. They taste good, being not too healthy.

What Foods are Dangerous for Cockatiels?

An abundance of fruits is not desirable. It might lead to diarrhea, dehydration or loose stool health issues. Berries are to be given from time to time. Overeating sunflower seeds might cause kidney, liver or heart disease, obesity and other health issues.

Commonly, these foods are safe and healthy. Avoid things that are harmful to cockatiels. The list of toxic foods includes:

• avocado;
• chocolate;
• salt;
• caffeine;
• sugar;
• onions
• alcohol;
• garlic;
• honey.

Quite naturally, avoid any kind of candies and high-sodium foodstuffs. Pits of cherries, plums, apricots, and peaches are dangerous. They contain poisonous cyanide and amygdalin. Don’t let your birds eat food prepared in cookware with Teflon coating.

Overall Impression

Frankly speaking, a natural diet is beneficial to cockatiels. Your cherished birds would eat blackberries, strawberries, various healthy veggies, and fruits. However, I think it’s might be exhausting to provide such variety. Calculating the amounts of every food is an intricate task. Avoiding mess in the cage is not easy. So, if you prefer pellets, it’s a great way out. These products contain all the essential elements, vitamins, and nutrients. With them, your pets’ diet is balanced. It’s safe and healthy.