How difficult can feeding a parrot be? Isn’t it? If you are someone who really knows about parrots, you might know that feeding a parrot is not a walk in the park. There are more than 300 varieties of parrots in the world and their dietary pattern & nutrition requirement greatly vary. Feeding the wrong food to your parrot on a regular basis can have severe effects ranging from vitamin deficiency to obesity. So are grapes safe to be fed to parrots?
So, can parrots eat grapes? Yes, you can feed grapes to parrots. But make sure that you restrict the amount you feed them because of the high fructose content in grapes. In short, grapes should only be given to your parrots as a treat and not as a regular diet.
While feeding a parrot it is important that you keep them in a balanced diet. Even the slightest change in the dietary pattern can have an adverse effect on them.
In this article we will discuss in detail why should you refrain from feeding too many grapes to your parrots, alternatives to feeding grapes to parrots, and a lot more.
Let’s get going!
Diet of a parrot in its natural habitat
Before you feed your pet parrot it is important that you have an idea on its diet in the wild. Parrots are omnivorous, they will feed on everything ranging from seeds, nuts, fruits, plants, and small insects and worms. And yeah, the diet of a parrot greatly depends on its immediate natural habitat.
Before deciding what to feed your pet parrot it is advisable to know their exact breed. But don’t worry if you can’t find it. In that case, the best way would be to keep your parrot in a nutritionally balanced diet.
Which means you need to refrain from feeding any food in excess to the parrot. Be it fruits, seeds or vegetables feed them a mix of all these in equal proportion.
Do parrots love grapes?
Of course, all parrots do love grapes. The reason why parrots like grapes are because of its sweet taste and high content of fructose. Fructose can give your bird a quick energy boost and it is exactly the reason why you should not feed grapes in excess to your bird.
If you already are an owner of the pet parrot, you might know how much your parrot loves grapes. You can actually see for yourself their love for grapes by feeding them a mix of fruits including grapes. You can see that the parrot will pick gapes from the mix of fruits and munch on them.
Is it safe to feed grapes to my parrots?
Yeah, it is perfectly safe to feed grapes to your parrots, if fed in small amounts. As discussed in the earlier sections, the best way to go about feeding a parrot is to give them a balanced diet comprising of seeds, grains, vegetables & fruits.
You can surprise your parrot by giving them one or two grapes once in three days and not more than that.
Why shouldn’t I feed too many grapes to my parrot?
As discussed in the earlier sections, the diet of a parrot in its natural habitat consists of seed grains, fruits, vegetables, and small insects. This diet is going to supplement the parrot with all the vital nutrients in an equal proportion. It is important to note that while feeding a pet parrot you need to replicate its dietary pattern in its natural habitat.
Parrots love grapes and they will eat how much ever grapes you feed them. Parrots love grapes for their sweet taste as we all do! What makes grapes sweet is the high levels of fructose in them and fructose does not do too good for parrots.
When you feed excess grapes to parrots they are going to stop eating the other food that is going to result in vitamin deficiency. Along with this, chances are that your parrot is going to become obese which can be life-threatening to them.
Apart from these, grapes are known for the number of pesticides being used on them while farming. Though washing them thoroughly makes them safe for human consumption, that’s not quite the case with parrots.
Are the peel & seeds of grapes safe for parrots?
Yeah, they are safe for your parrot. It is advisable to feed your parrots seedless grapes because some parrots have a problem digesting the seeds.
Are grapes toxic to parrots?
No grapes are not toxic to parrots. The reason why grapes should not be fed in excess to parrots has got nothing to do with them being toxic. As discussed in the earlier sections, the high levels of fructose in grapes can make the parrots obese which can be life-threatening to them.
If not grapes, what are other fruits that I can feed my parrots?
As mentioned in the earlier sections, no food should be fed in excess to parrots because that can cause a nutritional imbalance to the parrot. In this section, we’ll have a look at the safer alternative to grapes.
Apples
Apples are highly nutritious fruits that you can feed your parrot. But you shouldn’t give apples to parrots as you would give them grapes. You need to cut the apple into smaller pieces and peel them thoroughly before you feed apples to parrots.
An important thing to take care of is not to feed the parrot seeds of the apple. Apple seeds can be poisonous to parrots.
Banana
Bananas are less sweet than grapes and hence they are a better alternative to grapes when it comes to feeding a parrot.
Berries
Berries are highly beneficial to birds in general and not just parrots. Berries contain a considerable amount of antioxidants and vitamins that are much needed for your parrots.
Orange
Orange is an excellent alternative to grapes, Oranges are rich in vitamins and it can boost the immune system of your parrot. The most important thing is that it is less in fructose.
Before feeding oranges to the parrots make sure that you peel off the skin properly and remove the seeds inside.
Can parrots die by eating grapes?
Yeah, sometimes grapes can be the cause of the death of parrots. There are absolutely no toxins in any of the grapes and their seeds too are not poisonous then what is killing the parrots?
Among all the fruits, grapes are known for the number of pesticides that are sprayed on them. These pesticides are very harmful to parrots. If the grape is not cleaned properly before feeding to the parrots, it can be life-threatening to them.
Apart from grapes, what all shouldn’t I feed my parrot?
Always remember that the best way to feed a pet parrot is to replicate their dietary patterns in the wild. Anything that is not available in the wild should never be fed to your parrot. This includes caffeine processed food, oily food, sugary food, and so on.
Apart from these, you should never feed the following food to your parrot at any cost
- Avocado
- Alcohol
- Chocolate
- Dairy products
- Salt
- Fatty items
- Fruit seeds
It doesn’t matter what you feed your parrot, they are going to eat it. Instead of being amazed at them eating a pizza or a hamburger, feed them healthy food.
Can I feed baby parrots grapes once in a while?
It is not advisable to feed baby parrots grapes even once in a while. In fact, even the other fruits should be fed slowly to the baby. Begin with feeding fruits that have less fructose content, for instance, banana.
Chop the fruits to small pieces and remove the feel. Feed the babies small pieces once in a while to make their digestive system acquainted with the fruits. Slowly you can move towards feeding other fruits and eventually grapes.