Can parakeets eat cabbage? Stop poisonings parakeets
Budgies ( also known as parakeets in United States ) are the most popular pet bird, easy to care and human friendly feather friends. For every parakeet owner, there is always a concern about what to feed and its safety. Let’s find out whether or not – can parakeets eat cabbage. Whether or not raw cabbage and its leaves are safe for parakeets?
Besides seeds, parakeets need to be fed with veggies and fruits. While parakeets can eat anything you’re eating, but all veggies and fruits are not appropriate to them. Find out a list of parakeets safe fruits.
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Can parakeets eat cabbage?
Cabbage is neither toxic nor nutritious for parakeets like budgies. Parakeets may love to chew but don’t feed them too much. We don’t see cabbage on a list of good veggies recommended as good for parakeets. As per avian vet, cabbage can be avoided because it contains no nutritional value that your parakeet needs.
Can parakeets budgies eat cabbage leaves?
Cabbage leaves can be discouraged as they contain oxalic acid. Each 100 gm of cabbage contains 0.10 mg of oxalic acid. Oxalic acid – a naturally occurring substance that prevents the proper absorption of calcium. Besides cabbage, parsley, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower also contains oxalic acid though they’re also sources of vitamin A and other nutrients.
Feed your parakeets budgies limited cabbage leaves under moderation but be sure their diet includes other foods abundant in calcium.
Can budgies eat raw cabbage leaves?
Captive parakeets exhibit the same eating behaviour of wild birds, therefore give everything raw to your pet parakeet. Cooking cabbage neither reduces the effect of calcium absorption it has nor increases the nutritional value. More than that, added cooking ingredients may cause other digestive problems in parakeets. Cabbage leaves are also recommended to avoid but if you have to feed, give them raw.
What vegetables are safe for parakeets?
Cabbage is just one of the many veggies available in the garden. If you prefer not to feed cabbage, we present you a list of parakeets safe veggies to choose few from. Chard, kale, tofu, celery, asparagus, pumpkin zucchini are some. Find out more on the list below.
Though cabbage is not on the list of safe veggies, cruciferous veggies such as cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts are on the list that come from the same family as cabbage.
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How to feed cabbage to parakeets?
Cabbage fed under moderation is not harmful but you may take some precautions before feeding to your parakeets.
Most of the vegetables bought at the supermarket are contaminated with pesticides. So it is recommended to wash cabbage before serving it to your parakeet.
Don’t let your parakeet eat only cabbage all day. Provide limited cabbage under moderation depending upon the number of parakeets you have.
Remove any leftover cabbage and leaves after a few hours of serving. Bacteria gets produced in the leftovers which may create crop infection if your parakeets eat it.
We humans like to eat cabbage with salt, olive oil, or other condiments. These are not bird safe ingredients. If you have to feed cabbage or the leaves, give them fresh and plain.
Final Thoughts – Can parakeets eat cabbage
Whether parakeets can eat cabbage or not. The short and direct answer is yes they can eat cabbage with some conditions. Cabbage and its leaves are neither toxic nor nutritious for parakeets. If your parakeet loves and you prefer to feed cabbage, provide only limited under moderation. Get some fresh cabbage and wash them properly before serving.