Apples are an important staple of virtually everyone’s kitchen.
The old reliable—you can’t go wrong with apples: they’re tasty, healthy, and packed with nutrients.
It’s exactly the kind of thing we might want to share with our conures—but is this safe to do?
Can conures eat apples?
Yes, conures can eat apples in moderation. They make a great treat that your conures will love. But they should only be an occasional treat, and not a constant part of their diet. You need to make sure they get a good variety of snacks and treats in their diet—apples will be just one part of that.
The simple answer is yes, then, conures can eat apples.
But fresh fruit, while healthy, is incredibly nutrient-rich from a parrot’s point of view, so they only need a small amount to be satisfied.
It’s up to you to make sure they get the right variety.
Let’s find out more.
Are apples good for conures?
Yes, they are, in lots of ways!
Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, your conures are bound to love them, and will enjoy this tasty snack.
Don’t underestimate the value that this can have for your conures overall mental wellbeing, and the knock-on effects this will have on its general health.
They need regular and varied treats to keep from getting bored.
Beyond that, though, apples are packed with nutritional benefits for your conure.
One of the great things about apples is that they are a good source of fiber.
Fiber is a really important part of a conure’s diet, aiding digestion and helping to keep their gut moving smoothly.
They can never really have too much fiber!
Apples are also a great source of vitamins and minerals.
In particular, they are rich in vitamin C.
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant.
Over time, your parrot’s cells will develop oxidative damage from what are called free radicals.
These attack and degrade the body’s cells over time, unless they are prevented from forming by antioxidants.
The fruit is also a great source of potassium.
Potassium has a varied role in bodily health, but most importantly they help benefit the health of your conure’s heart.
Apples can help to reduce the risk of blood sugar problems, heart disease, and cholesterol, in part thanks to their potassium content.
So, plainly, apples are great for your conure and have tons of health benefits to speak of. But there are always caveats when it comes to food items like this—so let’s look at those caveats.
Are apples bad for conures?
No, apples are not bad for conures, in and of themselves.
They aren’t toxic or poisonous and won’t do your conure any harm to eat them in the short term.
However, you’ve got to think about their diet as a whole.
Apples are incredibly nutrient-rich, so your conure really only needs to eat a small amount of them before it has gotten all the benefit it can from them.
If your conure eats too much apple, then it will become overnourished.
This can lead to gut problems and digestive issues, which can cause severe pain and discomfort.
So, as I said, you must consider their diet as a whole.
Most of what they eat will be seed-based feed.
This is a simple, staple food that will make up most of their nutrition—and it’s very simple.
Apples are comparatively complex.
Because of this relative nutritional complexity, apples are somewhat tough for conure’s to digest, comparatively speaking.
So, when they eat too much, a lot of it will end up sitting undigested in their gut, which can lead to diarrhea and gut pain.
So, moderation is the most important thing—so how often can my conure eat apples, and how much?
How much apple should I give my conure?
At most, you should feed your conure apple once or twice a week.
A couple of slices of an apple per conure will be plenty.
This will get them the full range of benefits without overloading them on the complex carbohydrates in apples.
Swap the apples out during the rest of the week for other treats, such as other fresh fruits and vegetables.
This, again, ensures that they get good variety and balance in their diet.
This is not only important for their health, but their mood, too.
Conures in the wild will get plenty of variety in what they eat—without this, they will become bored and unhappy.
But there are many parts to an apple—are they all safe?
Can conures eat apple skin?
Yes, your conure can eat apple skin no problem.
The skin does actually, as is the case with many fruits, contain a higher concentration of vitamins than the flesh of the fruit does.
So, you might even say the skin is better than the flesh.
However, in reality, the flesh contains an overall higher nutritional content.
It’s just purely when it comes to the vitamins that the skin is more nutritious.
So, the flesh is overall still the best part.
And, of course, your conures will certainly prefer the flesh.
They will certainly eat the skin, but they won’t ignore the flesh for it.
They will just have to go through the flesh to get it.
What about the stems?
Can conures eat apple stems?
Your conure is unlikely to be interested in the stem of the apple.
It’s tough and lacks any great amount of nutrition.
They might pick and pull at it, but they’re unlikely to be all that intrigued by it.
They might turn on it once the rest of the apple is gone.
But as I said, I would probably cut the apple up before feeding it to the conures.
They will have a much easier time with it if it’s cut up.
If you do cut it up, then you would have no reason to give them the stem.
Just let them eat slices and forget the stem. It doesn’t contain a great deal of nutrition in any case.
Can conures eat apple seeds?
You may be surprised to learn that there is a potentially deadly secret hiding in the seeds of an apple.
Apple seeds, like the seeds of many other fruits including cherries, contain trace amounts of cyanide.
While the amounts are so low that it is generally not a problem for even the smallest creature to eat a couple, my advice would be that it just isn’t worth the risk.
While they would most likely be fine unless they ate a very large amount, you’re always better safe than sorry.
Don’t let your conure eat apple seeds.
Can conures eat apple cores?
The core is, again, almost definitely going to be too tough for your conure.
They may continue to pick at the flesh from the core, but you’re really better off just giving them sliced pieces than letting them at the core.
After all, the core is where the seeds are housed, and you want to avoid them eating the seeds.
The core is mostly just tougher fiber and seeds, so don’t let your conure have the core.
Can conures eat red apples?
So, what about the multiple different kinds of apple?
There are countless varieties available today, and countless more have gone extinct over the years.
So, what about red apples in general?
Are they safe for conures?
Yes, they are!
Most apple varieties are roughly comparable in terms of nutrient content.
There’s unlikely to be anything in one that you wouldn’t find in another.
Red apples are perfectly safe, and though some may be higher in sugar and moderation be even stricter, they’re all totally safe.
Can conures eat green apples?
Yes, conures can eat green apples, too.
Green apples are great for your conure, and ideally you should swap between different kinds of green apple when you are feeding them their treats.
The main difference between apple varieties is their taste, and you may well find that your cockatiel loves certain kinds of apple and prefers them to others.
Experiment and try different things—if you find one your conures really love, you’ll know about it!
Your conure can eat apples without any trouble, then.
They make a great and healthy snack and a perfect addition to their diet.
It’s just important that they are only one part of a wide and balanced diet, and not the go to feed.
As nutritious as they are, your conure will only need to eat a small amount before it’s gotten most of the benefit that it can from it.
Keep that in mind and you’ll be fine.