Can Budgies Eat Blueberries? The Benefits And Risks

Blueberries are well known as a superfood for human beings. But can budgies eat blueberries?

While it’s not a good idea to feed pet birds too much of any fruit, blueberries are a tasty and healthy addition to a balanced diet. Budgies will happily devour these sweet little fruits until the juice is running down their beaks and trickling down their feathers, so you might want to cut the blueberries into smaller pieces to avoid a mess. 

This article will tell you how to safely prepare blueberries for your feathered friends. I hope you find it helpful!

The Benefits of Feeding Blueberries to Your Budgie (Nutritional Value)

The list of vitamins and minerals in blueberries is as long as my arm!

Here are some of the most concentrated nutrients that your budgie will benefit from in those sweet little berries:

• Vitamin K (great for wound healing, as it allows for the coagulation of blood)
• Vitamin C (supports healthy immunity)
• Manganese (helps process and metabolize other vitamins and minerals)

Fruit and veggies should not make up more than 20% of your budgie’s diet, and that should include many different kinds of foods, not just blueberries. 

Don’t forget that budgies also need constant access to fresh water and plenty of balanced pellets to stay healthy. 

How Many Blueberries You Should Feed to Your Budgie

You could cut a few berries into quarters and pop them around the cage for a pair of budgies to enjoy. 

Don’t do this every day, though, as your budgies will need to eat different fruits and veggies to get a full range of vitamins and minerals. 

Risks of Feeding Blueberries to Your Budgie

There’s nothing inherently dangerous about feeding blueberries to your budgies, but here are a couple of things to be aware of. 

Pesticides 

Wash blueberries in advance to remove as much pesticide residue as possible. 

Organic blueberries are ideal. 

Why bother with organic fruit and veggies? Well, the pesticides that are sprayed on most fruit and vegetables these days can kill small birds surprisingly quickly. It’s better to be safe than sorry!

Digestive Issues

Too much fruit and vegetables will probably trigger digestive problems like diarrhea. To avoid a smelly and unpleasant clean-up operation, keep fruit to no more than 20% of your budgie’s diet. 

If your bird’s poop starts getting a bit runny, you can remove fruit and veggies from the cage and leave the budgie with their balanced pellet mix. If that still doesn’t help, you’ll want to call your vet for advice. 

Spoiled Fruit

Cut fruit will spoil pretty quickly at room temperature. 

To avoid mold, bacteria, and flies, you should remove uneaten blueberries at the end of the day and dispose of them properly. (Preferably in your compost heap if you fancy giving Mother Nature a helping hand!)

Spoiled fruit can make your bird feel sick, so it’s better to give a small amount and top up if necessary instead of providing them with a load of fresh food that ends up being wasted. 

How to Prepare Blueberries for Your Budgie

To prepare blueberries for your budgie, just give them a good rinse and then cut them into halves or quarters. 

You can give whole blueberries to your budgie if you prefer, but your bird is more likely to make a big mess and cover themselves in blueberry juice. (I mean, it’s cute, but kind of annoying to clean up afterward!)

What About Dried Blueberries?

Fresh fruit is better for your budgie than dried fruit. 

This is because fresh food tends to have lower sugar content, plus you don’t have to worry about any weird preservatives that could trigger digestive problems for your bird. 

Alternatives to Blueberries for Your Budgie

Budgies need a wide variety of fruit and veggies. 

Here are some more ideas for suitable fruit that you can feed your pet bird:

• Strawberries
• Mangos
• Papayas
• Raspberries
• Gooseberries
• Tomatoes (but no green tomatoes or green leaves/stalks)
• Watermelon

If you have any doubts about a specific fruit or vegetable, it’s a good idea to check online or in a budgie-keeping book. It takes only one mistake to do serious damage!

Foods to Avoid

You want to avoid citrus fruits like lime, lemon, and oranges. These have a high level of acid, which can make your budgie feel poorly. 

Avocados are poisonous to budgies and shouldn’t be given to them under any circumstances!

You should also avoid dairy products (milk and cheese) or processed food (like chips, pizza, bread, and crackers). 

Some people feed the occasional bit of grated cheese to their birds as a treat, but budgies have trouble digesting dairy, so you should do this only once in a blue moon. 

Raw meat and poultry can be really dangerous, so you’re better off letting your bird get their protein from the balanced pellet mix.

Here is a list of food to avoid feeding your budgie.

FAQs

Is it ok for budgies to eat apples?

Yes, budgies can eat apples. You might want to cut the apple into chunks and hang it from the cage bars for enrichment. Just make sure to remove any seeds because these contain cyanide and are poisonous. 

Can budgies eat loquat?

Yes, budgies can eat the flesh of loquat. They shouldn’t eat the pit, though, so it’s a good idea to remove this in advance. 

Final Thoughts 

Blueberries are a delicious and nutritious fruit for humans and budgies alike! If you feel like sharing with your bird, just wash the blueberries and cut them into little chunks.

A balanced pellet mix should still make up around 80% of your budgie’s diet, but a mixture of healthy fruit and vegetables like blueberries, spinach, and mango can contribute to the other 20%. 

Don’t be surprised if your budgie makes a mess in their enthusiasm; they just can’t help themselves!