Can Cockatiels Eat Apples?

My family and I went apple picking on a nearby orchard recently.

We’ve lived close for so long and always talked about going, but this fall we decided to finally try it out.

We had loads of fun, and by the end of the day we had buckets full of apples.

We got home and we used a few of them for baking and whatnot, but we had just so many I didn’t know what to do with them all.

We always like to get help from our cockatiels with extra food, so I decided to check if apples were safe for them.

So, can cockatiels eat apples?

Yes, cockatiels love apples and they are perfectly safe! You should be careful to remove all the seeds before giving it to them, and you need to be aware of moderation, too. Apples in small amounts are good for them, but can become a problem if you feed too much.

Cockatiels love most fruits, in fact, and apples are no exception.

They will go crazy for some small bits of apple—not to mention the numerous health benefits!

Let’s look further into this question.

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Is apple good for cockatiels?

Yes, in lots of ways!

For one thing, they are packed with many vitamins that are essential to healthy growth.

Vitamin C, for example, is abundant in apples, and helps keep your cockatiel’s whole body in good working order.

Immune system, skeleton, everything. Vitamin C is a really important nutrient.

They are also rich in many essential minerals, like manganese and copper.

Again, these help strengthen bones and keep your cockatiel feeling as healthy as possible.

The high fiber and water content means that apples are overall very low in calories while still being very high in a lot of beneficial nutrients.

They won’t fill up your cockatiel too quickly.

That said, all of this is not without caveats.

Most of a cockatiel’s diet should be simpler bird feed, like seeds.

Fresh fruit is a great and important part of their diet, but you can easily overfeed them on things like apple.

Do not feed them too much, or they could become sick.

You also need to be sure to prepare them properly, as I will get into.

So, is there any danger of toxins in apples?

Are apples toxic to cockatiels?

Apples are not directly toxic to cockatiels.

As I said, they can become a problem if overfed as they are so nutrient rich, but this is no toxins.

Parts of the apple are certainly less safe than others.

You really just want your cockatiel to only be eating the flesh of the apple.

Do not let it get to any of the seeds or the stalk, or any brown part of the apple.

Apples contain very small amounts of cyanide, concentrated in the seeds, and if eaten in large quantities they can be toxic.

So, deseeding is an essential part of feeding apples to a cockatiel. So, what else should you do to prepare it?

How do I get my cockatiels to eat apples?

There are a few things you can do to prepare an apple before giving it to your cockatiel.

First things first, you should wash it.

Wherever you got it from, washing it is safer.

Then, all you really need to do is to core it, and slice it up.

Make sure it isn’t in pieces too large that your cockatiel could choke on it.

Once you’ve got all the seeds and the core, you can let them have at it.

Not all cockatiels will like apple, though.

If your cockatiel shows no interest in apple no matter what you do, you may need to think about finding a different treat.

Can cockatiels eat green apples?

Yes, green apples are perfectly safe for cockatiels.

In general, the only rule of thumb for which apple varieties are best for cockatiels is that you should look for softer varieties.

Some kinds of apple are very tough, and present both an extra chore in chewing it up and an added choking risk.

Green apples are totally safe for cockatiels.

Can cockatiels eat red apples?

Yes, red apples are perfectly safe as well.

Often, red apples are much tougher than green varieties—the famous red delicious, for example.

So, you may be better off getting green varieties, if your intention is to feed them to your cockatiel.

Green types will probably go down a bit easier and be a bit more palatable.

That said, as long as you deseed and chop it up, virtually any variety of apple is totally safe for your cockatiel.

Just remember to get rid of those seeds!

So, whatever the variety, apples are a tasty, healthy treat for your cockatiel.

You need to carefully monitor how much you give them, and be sure to prepare it properly before handing it over.

With that in mind your cockatiel will love eating apples and they will make a great addition to their diet.

Apples are a fantastic treat for cockatiels.