Cucumber is a great addition to your budgie’s diet!
Budgies can eat both the flesh and the fruit of cucumber, and it’ll do them a lot of good! The vitamins and minerals in cucumber promote immunity, feather growth, and healthy development. But cucumber seeds are poisonous to budgies and must be removed before serving!
This article will give you a good idea of how much cucumber to feed your budgie, as well as the best way to prepare it for them.
Is Cucumber Good for Budgies? (Nutritional Value)
The flesh and skin of cucumber is a great addition to a healthy balanced diet for your budgies.
Cucumber contains vitamins such as:
- Vitamin A (promotes healthy feathers and helps your budgie resist infection)
- Vitamin C (supports good appetite and strength)
- Vitamin K (promotes a strong skeleton and immunity)
- B Vitamins (important for vitality and energy)
It also has tons of minerals, like:
- Potassium
- Manganese
- Magnesium
- Phosphorus
- Copper
- Calcium
- Iron
- Zinc
- Selenium
All of these vitamins and minerals play a role in a healthy, balanced diet for your budgie. If you feed a good balance of fruit and vegetables, you shouldn’t have to give additional vitamin supplements to your budgie.
The exception to this is a cuttlebone, which is an excellent way for budgies to get their calcium and also prevent boredom.
Risks of Cucumber for Budgies
In general, cucumber is safe and healthy for budgies. However, there are a few things you need to be careful about.
Digestive Issues
Don’t go too crazy with the cucumber. As with all fruit and veggies, you can easily give your bird too much, leading to health problems like obesity and diarrhea.
As a rule of thumb, fruits and vegetables should make up only around 20% of your budgie’s diet.
If you feed them more than this, they can have health problems such as digestive issues. (No one wants to clean up runny bird poop if they can avoid it!)
Seeds
Cucumber seeds can be poisonous if your budgie eats too many, so it’s a good idea to remove them.
Don’t panic if your bird has eaten a couple of seeds; they should be fine. However, as the seeds contain amygdalin, you should limit their consumption as much as possible. If your budgie just ate a load of seeds and you’re worried about the bird getting sick, you can call your vet for advice.
Pesticides
Pesticides are just as toxic to budgies as they are to people. In fact, they are even more dangerous because budgies’ sensitive little systems can’t cope with even a low level of chemicals.
I used to think that worrying about pesticides was a bit over the top, but then I started taking a course in microbiology. My eyes have opened!
You see, pesticides are designed to kill insects, weeds, and small invertebrates. If they are powerful enough for that, they are definitely powerful enough to kill all the good bacteria in your budgie’s gut and leaving them with chronic digestive problems (and that’s the best-case scenario!).
If your cucumber is not organic, you might want to consider peeling it, as most pesticides get concentrated just under the skin of fruit and vegetables.
The only downside to peeling your cucumber is that you’ll also be peeling away the high concentration of nutrients that like to hang out beneath the skin. You don’t have to worry about organic vegetables because no chemicals will have been sprayed on them at the farm.
How to Prepare Cucumber for Your Budgie
You don’t want to feed too much cucumber to your budgie, so I suggest slicing a few disks from the end of the fruit. If you’re feeding an organic cucumber to your budgie, you can leave the skin on. Your bird will benefit from all the extra nutrients and minerals.
However, if your cucumber comes from a mainstream farm that uses pesticides, you will want to wash and peel the fruit.
Either way, use a small knife or spoon to remove the seeds in the center of the disk, then pop the remaining flesh on a dish in your budgie’s cage.
Ensure that you remove any leftover fruit at the end of the day so that you don’t attract flies or bacteria to your budgie’s cage.
When to Feed Cucumber to Your Budgies
Cucumber is full of water, so it’s a particularly great fruit to feed your budgies in the summertime. It will encourage them to get their fluids, so you don’t have to worry so much about dehydration.
Of course, you should also give your budgie constant access to fresh water and some cooling shade in the hotter months.
FAQs
Why are fruit seeds dangerous for budgies?
Many types of fruit seeds are dangerous for budgies because they contain amygdalin or cyanide. The quantities are small enough for humans to deal with but can be a problem for birds if they eat too many.
Do budgies like cucumber skin?
It depends on the budgie. Some of them will eat only the cucumber flesh, while others will eat the skin, too. It’s best to give organic cucumber to budgies if you plan on feeding the skin. This will protect their delicate digestive system from pesticides.
Can budgies eat too much fruit?
Yes, they can. Fruit and vegetables should make up only around 20% of a budgie’s diet. More than this, they are likely to have problems with obesity or chronic diarrhea.
Final Thoughts
Cucumbers are a great source of vitamins and minerals for your budgie. Just don’t overdo it or you’ll have a pretty horrible mess to clean up!
Fruit and vegetables cause diarrhea if you feed too much of them, but they are still an essential part of a healthy diet in the correct quantity. Make sure to remove the seeds and wash or peel the skin before feeding cucumber to them. Your feathered friend will be more than happy to nibble on a nice, fresh slice.
I hope you found this article helpful, but don’t hesitate to comment below with any questions you might have!
My name is Niels Joensen, and I’m the creator of Wings and Beaks. I got my first two budgies at the age of 13, and right away, I fell in love with these beautiful tiny birds. Wings and Beaks is where I share my knowledge and passion for budgies with other bird owners.
