Can Cockatiels Eat Strawberries? (Do They Like Them?)

I was baking a cake the other day and my cockatiel seemed very interested in what I was doing the whole time.

I needed to get him out of my hair while I was busy, so I decided to give him a strawberry in the other room to keep him busy.

He had never eaten a strawberry before, and it was great to see him enjoying it—he loved it!

After all, who doesn’t love strawberries?

But I did get wondering if it was totally safe, as I’d just given it to him to keep him busy.

So, I decided to look into it.

So, can cockatiels eat strawberries?

Yes, strawberries are totally safe for your cockatiel and they will love them. They are sweet, juicy and tasty, and fresh fruit is a really important part of your cockatiel’s diet. They are very high in sugar, so moderation is really important—don’t overfeed them!

So, one way or another, strawberries make a great treat for your cockatiel.

They are really tasty, not to mention filled with all sorts of health benefits!

As long as you keep moderation in mind and don’t go crazy, strawberries make a great addition to your bird’s diet.

Let’s look further into this.

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Are strawberries good for cockatiels?

Yes, in countless ways!

The most important thing to mention, simply, is that your cockatiel will love them.

They will love the taste and they will enjoy eating them—fruit is a really important part of your cockatiel’s diet, and strawberries are a great choice.

Specifically, strawberries are high in fiber.

Fiber is essential to your cockatiel’s overall digestive function, and prevents pain and indigestion in the rest of its diet.

Fiber is really important.

They are also rich in many vitamins, such as vitamin A and vitamin C.

These vitamins serve a variety of functions, but in general they keep the immune system functioning properly as well as keeping the blood nice and healthy.

Strawberries are also a great source of many important minerals, like iron and potassium.

These minerals serve a wide variety of functions in the body, such as strengthening blood and bones.

Getting these nutrients into your cockatiel’s diet is essential, as they can be hard to derive from seed-based feed.

All of this said, strawberries are very high in sugar, so there are a few important caveats to get into.

Are strawberries bad for cockatiels?

Strawberries are not bad for cockatiels, but you should be aware of some important advice on feeding them to your cockatiel.

First and foremost, moderation is key.

As I said, strawberries are so high in sugar that any large quantity will be problematic for your cockatiel.

Small amounts are fine.

Furthermore, the very fact they are so nutrient rich means that your cockatiel only needs to eat a small amount to get the full benefit.

Any more and the nutrients will become too much.

So, as long as you keep moderation in mind, your cockatiel will love eating strawberries.

Change them out for something else throughout the week—only feed them strawberries perhaps once a week.

This will be plenty.

Can cockatiels eat strawberry seeds?

Yes, the seeds are totally safe, you will be glad to hear—deseeding a strawberry certainly doesn’t seem like an enviable task.

But, indeed, it is virtually impossible to eat a strawberry without eating the seeds.

Indeed, your cockatiel may even be able to taste them fully given their size, and cockatiels do love seeds!

So, don’t worry, the seeds are totally safe for your cockatiel and indeed not without their own health benefits.

But what about those harsh stalks?

Can cockatiels eat strawberry stalks?

The simple answer is that they just won’t, most of the time.

Certainly, if they have a whole strawberry in front of them, their first impulse will not be to go for the stalk.

When they’ve finished the strawberry, they may turn on the stalk and start nibbling.

However, they probably won’t eat much of it.

That said, there’s no reason it isn’t safe—you can remove it if you like before giving it to your cockatiel, but there’s no special reason to do so.

Cockatiels are smart, mostly, and they know which part of the fruit is the good bit.

Conclusion

So, pretty much any part of the fruit is totally safe for your cockatiel.

Naturally, they’re probably going to avoid the stalks in favor of the juicier part of the fruit, but you can rest assured knowing all of it is safe.

The main danger is overfeeding—strawberries are not only incredibly sweet but incredibly nutrient rich.

This means that you only need to give a cockatiel a small amount before it has all the benefits it needs.

As long as you keep this in mind, strawberries are great for your cockatiel.