Bananas are native to the budgie’s place of origin, in the wilds of Australia, so you might consider them to be likely candidates for a safe treat. But, can budgies eat bananas?
Yes, banana is safe for budgies to eat. The fruit’s soft flesh makes for an easy meal and is a good source of some key nutrients as well.
Budgies will eat just about anything you put on their plate, and it’s always fun to see them react to new flavours. Of course, you want to be sure what you’re offering is safe for them.
Understand more about how to prep a banana ready for your budgie to eat.
How Do I Prepare Banana for Budgies to Eat?
Budgies are pros when it comes to eating fruit. Plop a whole, unpeeled banana in their cage, and they will nibble away at the peel to get to the soft insides — assuming they don’t prefer the peel itself.
An important aspect of preparing bananas, or any food, for budgies, is acknowledging their personal preference. Just like you and I, not all budgies enjoy the same foods, or like them prepared the same ways.
The best way to introduce budgies to bananas is to cut a medallion 2.5 cm thick from ripe fruit, with the peel still attached, and place it into their cage to sample.
Observe which parts they seem to prefer, so you know what to offer next time.
If your budgie isn’t wild about peels, then don’t bother offering them. Peel the banana, and then cut a medallion of the same thickness as before.
You can cut the banana in different shapes and sizes but don’t set out more than your bird can realistically eat over the course of an hour or 2.
Whatever is leftover after that time will have to be cleaned up and thrown out. Limit the amount to reduce waste.
Whenever the peel is part of the meal, take extra care to scrub the banana thoroughly to remove potential pesticide residue. Buying organic bananas can reduce the likelihood of this being a problem, but you should wash them as well to be safe.
One way you should not serve bananas is in the form of store-bought crisps. These are usually full of additives and unhealthy fats. Besides, if you want to serve dried bananas to your budgie, it’s easy to make your own.
Just cut a ripe banana into slices 0.6 cm thick and place them on a baking rack. Heat them in your oven on low heat (50-90 C) for 1-3 hours, depending on how crispy your budgie prefers its food.
Remove the pieces from the oven and allow them to cool completely, and you’ll have yourself a safe budgie snack.
Is Banana Good for Budgies?
Bananas have many healthy vitamins and minerals, but they are far from being nutritionally balanced. They are made up of water and starch.
This means they contain none of the protein, and very little of the fat, that budgies need in their diet.
However, the sugary starch of their flesh is a perfect fast energy source that can keep up with a budgie’s high metabolism. Bananas are also fantastic sources of potassium, vitamin B-6, fibre, and antioxidants.
Among the other beneficial compounds, they contain is iodine. Budgies are commonly afflicted with iodine deficiency, usually due to a lack of variety in their diets. Including bananas in a budgie diet otherwise dominated by seeds can help to prevent this.
Bananas also contain the following healthy nutrients:
- Copper
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Vitamin C
Keep in mind that the distribution of these nutrients is most beneficial in the flesh, while the peel is mainly made up of the fibre pectin. Pectin has its own useful qualities, helping with the regulation of blood sugar in humans and budgies alike.
Are Bananas ok for Baby Budgies?
It’s fair to say that bananas when served in moderation as part of a balanced diet, are good for budgies. However, there is one potentially serious complication that can arise when feeding fresh bananas to baby budgies.
Because of the shape of their tiny beaks, it is common for soft foods to get stuck on the underside of their top beak.
If this build-up is allowed to remain, it can have a detrimental impact on how the beak forms, leading to the development of undershot beak.
To avoid this, clean food from the underside of the baby budgies beak after each meal. A toothpick and patience are all you need to get the job done, allowing the little ones to safely enjoy this tropical treat.