We all love our budgies and want to ensure they remain in good health. The best way to maintain your budgies health is to make sure it has a balanced diet of vitamins and minerals it needs.
However, finding suitable fruits for your budgie can be tricky because we’re so scared of feeding them something that may make them ill or worst case, poison and kill them.
Below I have listed what I believe to be the best fruits to feed your budgie, how to prepare the fruit and what benefits it will provide your budgie to help keep it healthy.
What Vitamins & Minerals Do Budgies Need In Their Diet?
Birds are a living animal and like all others, they require a balanced amount of vitamins and minerals via their diet to ensure that they remain healthy and able to resist infection and illness.
Here is a list of vitamins and minerals budgies need:
- Vitamin A (Fruit & Dark Leaf Veg)
- Vitamin B6 (Growth, Muscle Control)
- Vitamin B12 (Muscle Formation)
- Vitamin D3 (Sunlight)
- Vitamin C (Citrus Fruits)
- Vitamin E (Nuts & Seeds)
- Vitamin B (Regulate Energy from Food)
- Thiamin (B1, Nervous System)
- Riboflavin (B2, Growth, Cartilage Formation)
- Niacin (Growth, Feather Quality)
- Folic Acid (Reproduction, Immune System)
- Calcium (Bone Health)
- Copper (Blood, Collagen Formation)
- Iron (Blood Quality)
- Manganese (Bone Structure)
- Magnesium (Bone, Liver Health)
- Phosphorus (Bone, Cell Membrane Health)
Fruit Budgies Love, How To Prep & Nutritional Benefits
Check out fruit that budgies like, how much to give them and how to present it to them and the benefits they will receive from it nutritionally. Not all fruits are equal…
Banana
Is Banana ok for Budgies?
A small amount of banana is perfect for your budgie as an occasional treat and at such a low price of just $0.10 each (£0.15p), it can be bought especially or just taken from your fruit bowl.
Each banana will ensure your budgie receives its dose of potassium, vitamin B for its energy, a small amount of fibre and antioxidants to fight free radicals to keep your bird healthy.
How to Feed Banana to your Budgie?
To feed banana to your budgie you should peel it first but it has been known for budgies to peck away at the banana skin, however, my personal preference is just to fully remove the skin.
Slice the fruit wide enough to poke between the bars of the cage so your budgie can eat it as it desires, feed it from your hand depending on how tame your bird is or place it in its food dish.
The banana must be fresh, ripe and firm but certainly not hard (un-ripened) and definitely not mushy (over-ripened). Mushy bananas may cause choking.
My Advice
The first time, feed your bird just a few small bites and see how it reacts because not all budgies are alike when it comes to trying new foods.
Should your budgie like banana then its worth introducing it into its diet to maybe once a fortnight because don’t forget there are many other fruits you can try too.
The banana shouldn’t be left for any longer than a couple of hours and certainly not overnight. The banana will go off very quickly in warm environments and become very sticky.
Strawberries
Do Budgies Like Strawberries?
Many budgies love these bright red berries. They are a great occasional treat, and their tiny seeds won’t pose any troubles for you little bird’s digestion.
Strawberries are quite healthy, offering a good dose of vitamins C and K, along with fibre, folic acid, potassium and manganese. They are also rich in phytonutrients, which will bolster a budgie’s immune system.
How to Feed Your Budgie a Strawberry
Make sure to wash your strawberries thoroughly to remove pesticide residue. The greens are okay for a budgie but cut them off along with the stem if they look wilted.
You can halve the strawberry or cut it into bite-sized pieces and serve them on a dish. Or, you can skewer the berries on a spike and place them in different places around the cage. Experiment to see what your bird prefers.
My Advice
Buy organic strawberries only if you plan to feed them to your budgie. Non-organic varieties have a reputation for being heavily treated with pesticides, and sometimes the chemicals are within the flesh where you can’t wash them away.
Only serve strawberries once a month. Besides their high (for a budgie) sugar content, they contain salicylic acid, which is not good for your pet to consume in high amounts.
And, don’t worry if your budgie rejects strawberries. The red coloring throws some birds off, and budgies have their own tastes. Just remember to clean up the leftovers after a couple hours or so.
Watermelon
Will Budgies Eat Watermelon?
This juicy summer treat is usually a hit with the budgie crowd. The soft flesh is easy for budgies to peck apart, and full of water to help with hydration and keeping cool in the heat.
These large melons also contain plenty of welcome nutrition. Vitamins A, B-6, and C are present, along with the minerals potassium, calcium, and magnesium.
How To Feed Your Budgie Watermelon
The most important part of prepping this fruit is to remove the seeds. Besides being a choking hazard, they are toxic.
A small cube of watermelon flesh is more than enough for your budgie to enjoy. If you have a melon baller, scoop out a sphere to give it more of a berry appearance to your curious budgie.
My Advice
Some people will serve watermelon rind to their birds, but I advise against it. While it’s not toxic, parts of it can be too tough for a budgie to break down, creating choking hazards.
As for the seeds, I know I have ended up eating one myself when I thought I had picked them all away.
It’s no big deal for a person, but such an oversight could be deadly for our feathered friends. I opt for seedless, organic watermelons for this reason.
Limit watermelon to once a week as your budgie’s fresh fruit option.
Grapes
Are Grapes OK for Budgies?
Grapes are bursting with sweetness, which budgies like just as much as we do. The thin-skinned variants are easy to peck into, and the pulpy insides make for a high energy treat.
These juicy morsels offer health benefits too. They have plenty of potassium, as well as fibre, vitamins A, C, and B-6, magnesium, riboflavin, and thiamine.
How to Feed Your Budgie Grapes
As always, rinse the fruit first to remove any pesticides. Then, you can offer them many ways. Whole grapes should go onto skewers as part of a fruit kebab, to keep them from rolling away.
You can also feed your budgie whole grapes by hand, but if you want to sit them inside the cage on a dish, halve them first. Remove any seeds if they are present.
My Advice
Just like with watermelons, it’s better safe than sorry when it comes to seeds. Choose seedless, organic grapes if you’re buying them to share with your budgies.
You should also avoid serving muscadine grapes. Their very thick skins can make it difficult for budgies to get into them. And, if your bird happens to peck a piece of skin off, it can be hard to swallow.
For a similar reason, remove the stems from the grapes before offering them up. You don’t want your little one mistakenly gobbling a bit of twig.
Read this…> Do Cockatiels like grapes too?
Apples
Do Budgies Like Apples?
Whether their skin is red or green, the crisp, pale flesh of apples is well-loved by budgies. So long as special care is taken when preparing them, they can be a healthy part of your bird’s diet.
Apples can be as much as 86% water, which means they aren’t especially dense with nutrients. However, they do contain significant amounts of vitamin C and potassium, along with many antioxidants.
How to Feed Your Budgies Apples
Apples are yet another fruit with seeds that are toxic to budgies. Take special care to remove all pips from any apple pieces before you serve them to your birds.
Wash the skin thoroughly, and remove the stem. Apples are versatile fruits, and can be served in a variety of shapes. Halve them and put them on a dish or on a spike.
Use food clips to secure slices to different areas of the cage, or simply offer wedges by hand. You can buy dehydrated apple bits as well, which will last longer in storage and in the cage.
My Advice
Fresh apples will start to go off fairly quickly once the flesh is exposed to air. Remove leftovers from your budgie’s space after 2-3 hours.
As with other fruits, I recommend you choose organic varieties to lessen the potential pesticide exposure. Otherwise, really scrub those skins — or simply peel the apple completely.
Besides the seeds, I find the tough fibers of the core should be removed as well. Not only are they too tough for the budgie to break down, but pieces can have sharp edges that might cause internal damage.
Blueberries
Will Budgies Eat Blueberries?
Blueberries usually go over well with budgies, as the little berries are much like what our birds would eat in the wild. This is fortunate because blueberries have a ton to offer.
This superfood is full of antioxidants, more than just about any other fruit or vegetable. If that’s not enough, it’s a great source of vitamins C and K, manganese, and fibre.
How to Feed Your Budgies Blueberries
Rinse the berries and remove any stems. You can feed them to your budgies whole if they are small enough. The budgie beak is made to eat things in this form, so you can do this worry-free.
You might want to cut very large berries in half, just to make them easier to handle. Toss a few fresh berries in with seeds to give your budgies a surprise.
My Advice
Budgies aren’t always the cleanest of eaters. Sometimes they like to play with their food. Blueberries are quite soft, and their juice can leave stubborn stains, and I’ve seen birds make quite a mess eating them.
I suggest cutting berries down to bite-sized pieces to avoid this. Even if they are already small, it can be worth it to do this to lessen your cleaning job.
Likewise, mixing these pieces with seeds gives the juices something to drip on other than the cage lining. I find budgies will enjoy their seeds with occasional blueberry flavoring.
Cherries
Are Cherries OK for Budgies?
Sweet, firm, and tart, cherries add a welcome flavour to both sweet and savoury dishes and are just as tasty on their own. Budgies think so too, and this fruit is likely to please your pet’s palate
It will also provide them with important nutrients like vitamin A, potassium and copper. Its many antioxidants, like lutein and zeaxanthin, will help reduce inflammation in your bird.
How to Feed Cherries to Your Budgies
Remove the pit from this fruit before serving it to your budgies. It is toxic and it could choke your bird. Twist off the stem as well, and rinse the fruit thoroughly.
Cherries can have fairly tough skin, so chop them into little pieces to save your pet some trouble. Serve them alone as a rare treat, or mixed in with other feed to add variety to the usual meal.
My Advice
Don’t be surprised if your budgie seems suspicious of cherries when first offered, especially if the fruit is bright red in color. Red is the color of danger in the wild, and many birds instinctually shy away.
Mixing small bits of cherry with other foods helps with this, and may be your best bet when introducing this fruit into your budgies diet.
Like other sweet things, make sure to limit this offering to once a fortnight or so. Too much sugar causes obesity and diarrhea in budgies.
Grapefruit
Can Budgies Eat Grapefruit?
Grapefruit’s powerful flavour can be hit or miss with budgies, but those that like it tend to love it. Luckily for them, these hefty fruits are packed with phytonutrients and antioxidants.
Citrus fruits are the best natural sources of vitamin C, and grapefruit is no exception. It also has vitamins A and B-6, along with potassium, magnesium, and calcium for bone and beak health.
How to Feed Grapefruit to Your Budgies
Grapefruits require careful preparation. You need to peel them, but you also need to get rid of all the seeds. Be methodical — the seeds contain traces of cyanide.
You can cut the flesh into cubes or wedges, and place it on a dish, food clip, or spike. As with other fruits, feel free to hand feed your budgie this treat.
My Advice
Grapefruits are strongly acidic, so you don’t want to serve it, or any other acidic food, more than once every 10 days or so.
Keep the servings small as well, or you’re likely to cause digestion issues for your bird.
Kiwi
Is Kiwi OK for Budgies to Eat?
If you’re looking for a fruit with seeds that are safe for budgies to eat, the kiwi fits the bill. This furry fruit is a great choice to fill your budgies fruit allotment.
Kiwis have amazing amounts of vitamin C. They are nutrient-dense and contain calcium, magnesium, iron, fibre, potassium, antioxidants, and even serotonin to help your pet sleep.
How to Feed Your Budgie Kiwi
Rinse the skin, and scrub it to cut down on the density of the fuzz. The hairs, called trichomes, are safe for the budgie to eat, but too many in a mouthful might be tough to swallow.
Kiwi halves are fine for budgies to dig into. Slices are great to hang with food clips near perches, and you can never go wrong with small chunks. Try them all, budgies love variety.
My Advice
Usually, I recommend erring on the side of caution with fruit skins due to pesticides, but kiwis are different. They are often pesticide-free, or so lightly treated that you can trust a rinse to get them clean.
Buy them organic, and you should have no issues feeding them to your budgies, skin and all.
Peaches
Do Budgies Enjoy Peaches?
The sweet and succulent peach is a staple of summer for humans. Budgies must too, as they have no issue digging into these juicy fruits.
Peaches are rich in nutrients, with vitamins A, C, E, and K, and minerals like copper, manganese, niacin, and potassium. Fresh, they are also filled with antioxidants.
How to Feed Peaches to Your Budgies
Rinse the skin and remove any leftover bits of stem. Cut the peach open and take out the pit.
From there, it’s best to offer the peach in small pieces set in a dish. The juice is so sticky when it dries that you don’t want your budgie getting it coated all over its beak and nares.
My Advice
Some people don’t bother removing the peach pit, thinking it’s too large and tough for the budgie to bite into anyway. I strongly advise against this.
Budgies will definitely play around with the pit if you leave it, and they can scrape bits and pieces off. Just that small amount can be toxic enough to kill them. Never give your budgie a peach pit.
Apricots
Do Budgies Like Apricots?
Apricots may look like the smaller twin of a peach, but have a tart flavour all their own that your budgie may prefer. The nutritional profile of this fruit also differs.
Apricots are high in antioxidants, including flavonoids, which are beneficial to your bird’s heart health. They also have vitamins A, C, and E, along with a healthy dose of potassium.
How to Feed Your Budgie Apricots
Apricots are simple to prepare. After the usual thorough rinsing, cut the fruit in half to get to the pit. Similar to peaches, the pit of the apricot is poisonous to your bird and needs to be removed.
After that’s done, cut the fruit down to a reasonable serving size for your budgie. Apricots are a little firmer and less juicy than peaches, so putting them on skewers or clips won’t be as messy.
My Advice
If your budgie doesn’t take to fresh apricots, you can try serving the dehydrated version instead. Dried apricots lack the antioxidants, but still contain the other nutrients.
Choose unsweetened varieties and without sulphur if you go the dried route. And, as I always say, buy them organic to minimize the presence of potential contaminants.