Can Cockatiels Eat Arugula?

I was making a salad for lunch the other day, and I tried something I’d never had before: arugula.

I’ve never been all that adventurous with the food I eat, but I’ve been trying to change that recently.

That means trying a lot of new stuff.

Probably the person who’s most interested in my new diet is my cockatiel.

He is always interested in what I’m eating, and I wanted to share some arugula with him, but I wasn’t sure it was safe.

So, I decided to look into it.

Can cockatiels eat arugula?

Yes, cockatiels love arugula! It’s a healthy, nutritious and tasty leaf that they will enjoy. Fresh vegetables are a key part of your cockatiel’s diet, but they are only a small part. Arugula should therefore be fed in careful moderation, as anything more than this could cause digestive trouble.

So, as long as you keep moderation in mind, arugula is a really great choice of snack for your cockatiel.

They will love it, it will be easy for them to digest and is packed with all sorts of great health benefits.

Read on to find out more.

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Is arugula good for cockatiels?

Yes, in lots of ways!

For one thing, arugula is rich in fiber, which is a cornerstone of a healthy cockatiel’s diet.

Fiber is essential to healthy digestion, and helps keep their gut clear and open.

Arugula also contains a huge amount of healthy vitamins.

Vitamin C acts as a powerful antioxidant which supports the immune system against disease.

It also helps your cockatiel to absorb iron from other foods, which is another essential mineral to blood health.

Vitamin K also helps with blood coagulation, and finally vitamin A, another powerful antioxidant.

Arugula is also rich in many essential minerals, such as calcium and potassium.

Calcium is really important for the health of the skeleton, as well as nerve, muscle and tissue function.

Potassium is really good for heart function, helping blood to flow easily and muscles to contract normally.

So, arugula is not short of health benefits for your cockatiel.

Not to mention that cockatiels, almost without exception, love any leafy greens and will go mad for them.

Are there any downsides, though?

Though they are so healthy in many ways, knowing to feed the right amounts is really important.

Is arugula bad for cockatiels?

Arugula is not inherently bad for cockatiels in any sense.

As I have explained, there are countless health benefits.

Arugula is very nutrient rich.

However, for this very reason, moderation is one of the most important things to be aware of.

If you feed your cockatiel too much arugula, it will quickly become a problem.

All those extra nutrients will have nowhere to go and no energy to be broken down by the body.

This will cause bloating, pain and indigestion.

While fresh vegetables are an essential part of a cockatiel’s diet, they should only be fed in relatively small amounts.

Their main feed should still be mixtures of seeds, with vegetables acting as an occasional treat.

So, in other words, as long as you only feed them reasonably small amounts, arugula will never be bad for your cockatiels.

Can cockatiels eat raw arugula?

Arugula is almost always eaten raw, and this is certainly the way your cockatiels will prefer it.

It will much more closely mimic food they would find in the wild—they wouldn’t find any cooked food in the wild.

Raw arugula will contain 100% of the nutrients and will have a great taste and crunch.

Your cockatiel will absolutely prefer it this way—not to mention that it’s much more convenient anyway.

Raw arugula is definitely the best way to get this tasty, leafy green to your cockatiel.

But, can it be fed cooked?

Can cockatiels eat cooked arugula?

Cooked arugula recipes are not very common—if you’ve ever tried to fry spinach, you know how much leafy greens reduce in cooking.

Arugula is even smaller, so it isn’t often cooked.

There is no special reason to give your cockatiels cooked arugula.

They won’t prefer it this way, it will lose a lot of its nutrients, and it may well have been cooked in some kind of oil that won’t be good for them.

So, you don’t need to bother cooking your arugula.

They will much prefer it raw, and it will be much healthier for them this way.

Conclusion

So, it’s best prepared raw, but it comes with all sorts of great benefits and your cockatiel will love the taste.

Fresh vegetables are an essential part of your cockatiel’s diet, and leafy greens are always a great choice to get this food to them.

They will love it, it’s easy for them to digest, and it’s pretty easy to get hold of.

If you’ve been stuck for ideas for new snacks for your cockatiels, look no further than arugula!