Oddly enough I love the taste of raw Belgian endives, I love the crunchy texture and bitterness they provide and is something I always through into a salad.
While I was making a salad the other day, I was cutting up my endives and my parrot seems rather interested.
That’s when I thought to myself, can parrots eat endives?
I know they can’t have some fruits and vegetables, so I did my homework.
The answer to this is yes, parrots can eat endives. Vegetables like endives are an important part of a parrot’s balanced diet and they should be eating the right amount every day. Endives are extremely low-calorie and can aid in weight loss. It holds a good amount of vitamin K, which can lower the chances of high blood pressure and other related diseases.
In this article, we’ll look at the benefits of feeding your parrot endives and the different types of endives you can feed them.
It’s important to know what you can and cannot feed your parrot.
Some fruits and vegetables can have a toxic effect on their immune system and should be avoided.
Most importantly, they should be having a balanced diet to increase well-being and lower the chances of infective diseases.
Can Parrots Eat Curly Endives?
Endives are part of the chicory family, the three main culinary vegetables are the Belgian endive (my favourite), curly endives and the broad-leafed endive.
Parrots can eat all types of endives as they provide a great amount of nutritional benefit and can be used in their daily balanced diet.
Just like Belgian endives the curly endive is a low-calorie vegetable and has a good amount of vitamin K.
Vitamin K holds a lot of great benefits and it helps to make various types of proteins which assist in bone structure, strength and healthy bone tissue.
It also builds proteins which are required to reduced blood clotting and various other artery related diseases.
In some cases, parrots may prefer curly endives over Belgian endives.
Belgian endives typically have more of a bitter taste which can be unsettling for a parrot to consume.
If this is the case, I recommend you try curly endives as they’re less bitter or some of the alternative vegetables mentioned below.
Can Parrots Eat Endive Seeds?
As mentioned above endives are part of the chicory family and chicory type seeds and are the most common form of seed found in bird mixture.
A lot of the time, parrots would rather eat endive or chicory seeds rather than the raw vegetable as this family of vegetable is commonly known to have a bitter taste.
Any bird will become dissatisfied if given anything bitter and although the nutritional benefit from seeds is slightly different it’s still a great option of seed to feed your parrot.
But there are a lot better seeds which you can feed your parrot.
It’s been proven that barley, buckwheat and canary seeds are some of the best seeds to have in your parrot’s diet.
Most of these seed types come from the grass family and are some of the cheaper seeds you can purchase.
Why Endives Are Good for Parrots
As mentioned above, endives hold great nutritional benefit when it comes to a parrot’s diet.
But what are the benefits of endives and why are they good to introduce into your parrot’s daily routine?
Fat burner
Endives are considered a natural fat burner and can help with a weight loss process.
It one of the lowest-calorie vegetables available that has roughly 1.6 calories per 10g.
Depending on your parrot’s sex, breed and size that’s a great number of calories per 10g of vegetable.
If your parrot is overweight, I recommend you introducing a vegetable like endives to encourage the parrot’s immune system to burn fat quicker.
Blood sugar levels
High blood sugar levels in birds can have the same effect as it does to humans.
If a bird has high blood pressure it can lower the flowrate through to essential arteries and lower blood supply to vital organs such as the heart, kidney and central nervous system.
If high blood sugar levels aren’t treated correctly as a long-term diet change it could lead to much worse diseases and issues.
Putting your parrot on a respectable diet right after ownership is an important process.
Giving a parrot the correct diet from when they are a chick will keep them fit and healthy throughout their life.
Digestive system
Endives are also great for a parrot’s digestive system.
They have a high level of fibre and can improve the way the bird’s digestive system breaks down each food consumed.
This will make them feel more comfortable and healthier as the important foods are broken down correctly to maximize the nutritional benefit from what consumed.
However, fibre doesn’t just optimize the way foods are broken down.
It also lowers the risk of many types of blood-related illnesses like heart disease and blood clots.
Egg binding
Both curly and Belgian endives can decrease the chances of egg binding happening to female parrots.
Egg binding is when a female parrot is having issues with laying their eggs and can become critically ill if not removed over a certain amount of time.
This vegetable also holds a good amount of vitamin B and this can encourage the parrot’s nerve tissue to increase protein production and also fat and carbohydrate metabolism.
Which can ultimately help with laying an egg.
If your parrot is experiencing egg binding at any point in its lifetime, seek medical help from a veterinarian right away.
At the vet’s, they may be able to massage the egg out of the parrot.
Immune system
Including endives in a balanced diet for your parrot can make them have a stronger immune system, in birds they typically call this an avian immune system.
Having a stronger avian immune system can decrease the chances of your parrot catching infectious diseases and allow them to have more of a “barrier” when it comes to bird-related illnesses.
Bone strength
All birds including parrots have a very unique bone structure.
They’re very light and allows parrots to fly with ease, they’re also hollow to allow more oxygen to be absorbed while flying.
It’s important that your parrot has good bone strength as it’s the structure of their body and will decrease the chances of brittle and broken bones.
Typically, bird bones are denser than most ordinary mammals.
They need dense and strong bones to allow for uneven and safe landings. It also helps reduce the stiffness of bones when flying.
As you can tell, endives can hold a great amount of value when it comes to feeding it to your parrot.
However, like anything you feed your parrot it must be done in the correct doses.
Although it would be great just to feed your parrot one food, this just isn’t the case.
You’ll need to provide your parrot with a balanced diet and must have a variety of food which include nutrients they need.
Too much vitamin K can actually have the opposite effect of these benefits so make sure do your research on how much your parrot should be consuming each day.
Other Vegetables Like Endives to Give Your Parrot
If you’re unable to get hold of endives, there are other alternative vegetables which share close to the same amount of value.
The first one is arugula, arugula is considered a superfood and has high amounts of vitamin K, C and calcium.
All of the nutritional benefits in arugula can be benefited by your parrot and is available at most supermarkets.
Next is watercress, it an extremely low-calorie vegetable and provides great nutrients like vitamin A, C and K.
Vitamin A is great for your parrot’s bone development, respiratory system and eyesight.
Vitamin C is a great supplement for when birds are showing signs of stress.
Radicchio can also be used as a replacement for endives.
However, it can be more bitter than the standard Belgian endive or curly endive.
Although it shares similarity to endive with great vitamin K and low calories per 100g, your parrot may think it’s unappetizing through the bitterness which comes along with it.
Lastly is chicory leaves, they are one of the best fats burning vegetables available and can be used to increase appetite.
It also has high levels of manganese (Mn) which can help with the “mechanics” of a parrot and ultimately lead to helping cellular and brain reactions stimulate.