Cockatiels can eat blackberries, yes. These birds love a variety of fruits, and they will surely enjoy eating such. Moreover, a blackberry is rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Thus, it offers not only a great but also a healthy cockatiel’s snack. Having it, along with other fruits, gives a variety of nutrients for your cockatiels.
Blackberries provide many health benefits for birds and us. Thus, you actually can’t go wrong in feeding this berry to your cockatiel.
Still, before feeding some to your pet, you may want to know more about this fruit and what it entails.
Let’s get into it!
Contents
Can cockatiels have blackberries?
Cockatiels can have blackberries, and it is not something that will cause them any harm.
Blackberries are not only ideal fruits for us. Further, it can also be an excellent snack for our cockatiels.
As I said earlier, these berries are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. For this reason, you will be offering a healthy snack to your cockatiel if you feed it some.
To understand further, take a look at these nutrition facts. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a cup (144g) of raw blackberries has the following:
- 62 calories
- 1 gram of fat
- 14 grams of carbs
- 8 grams of dietary fiber
- 7 grams of sugar
- 2 grams of protein
Aside from these components, blackberries also have the following vitamins and minerals:
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin K
- Manganese
- Fiber
- Calcium
- Iron
- Potassium
Still, although it’s nutritious, blackberries are fruits. It means each one contains quite a large amount of sugar.
Thus, all fruits, including blackberries, aren’t something you can feed in large servings.
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How many blackberries can cockatiels eat?
Although it’s highly nutritious, your pet shouldn’t eat blackberries in large servings.
Like other birds, cockatiels need a balanced diet, and blackberries alone won’t be enough. Further, this fruit contains too much sugar, and overfeeding can take a toll on your pet.
Blackberries, along with other berries and fruits, should only take 10% of their daily food. Such threats also include seeds and other food like peanut butter and bread slices.
The most significant percentage should be pellets, making up a total of 60% of their daily diet.
The second one is 30%, consisting of various vegetables such as carrots, cabbages, etc.
As a general rule of thumb, always keep a balance when it comes to feeding. For this reason, you should never feed too many berries for a day.
Further, it would be best if you didn’t feed blackberries as the only fruit. Consider getting a variety of options like apples, pineapples, blueberries, and watermelons.
Having a list of other fruits gives your bird balanced nutrition.
Risks of feeding your cockatiel blackberries
The thing about blackberries is that it contains too much sugar despite not having anything toxic.
True enough, sugar isn’t a toxic thing for cockatiels. Still, taking in too much sugar can take a toll on them.
It’s the same thing for us. Too much sugar can also lead to complications. The only difference is that we have a bigger build compared to our pet.
Thus, a small amount of sugar for us can already be too high for them.
As long as you feed berries in small amounts and not regularly, your pet should stay on the safe side.
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Do cockatiels like eating blackberries?
Blackberries have that unique flavor and taste that every cockatiel would love eating. Thus, feeding them won’t be much of a problem.
Still, as I said, it doesn’t mean you can give blackberry treats as much as you want.
As for treats, these berries shouldn’t take up more than a couple of bites. If you overfeed your pet with this fruit, you put it at risk of taking in too much sugar.
To avoid such unwanted incidents, always make sure you limit the berry treats you offer.
For a variety, you can also offer other berries aside from blackberries.
What other berries can cockatiels eat?
All the different kinds of berries that are safe for us should also be safe for our pets.
Thus, aside from blackberries, you can also feed the following:
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Cranberries
Aside from the great taste and juiciness, berries are excellent sources of antioxidants and vitamins. Such components keep cockatiels in a healthy state.
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Summary
Cockatiels can eat blackberries, and it’s a great fruit you can offer as a snack. These birds would leave to eat various fruits, so you won’t find it difficult feeding a blackberry to your pet.
These berries are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which are all essential for your pet. However, as fruits, blackberries should only remain as snacks, and you shouldn’t feed them regularly.
It would be best to maintain a healthy and balanced diet for your pet. As long as you do so, mixing in some blackberry treats should be alright from time to time.
Resources
USDA’s nutrition facts on blackberries
Image Credits:
- Photo by Nick Sarro on Unsplash
- https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/02/24/17/59/cockatiel-2095771_960_720.jpg
