As fall begins and summer is winding down to an end, you may be enjoying the last fresh vegetables available at locally grown farmer’s markets.
One of the vegetables that always seems available at farmer’s markets and is usually enjoyed over the summer is green beans.
Though you can still purchase green beans year-round, there is something extra fun about buying locally grown produce.
Now that you have stalked up on your fresh vegetables to enjoy, you may be wondering what you can share with your parrot, which vegetables are safe, and which are actually good for them to eat.
Knowing that fresh vegetables are an essential part of your parrot’s healthy diet, you may be considering the green beans, and wondering if your parrot can eat them.
To answer this question, yes. Parrots can eat green beans, and they are actually a yummy and healthy addition to their diet. Vegetables and fruits are a very important source of nutrients and vitamins for parrots. Green beans especially are a great source of fiber for your bird and are packed full of many other essential vitamins and minerals.
This article will delve into the benefits of green beans, why exactly they are good for your parrot’s diet, the possibly surprising way they can help an anxious bird, whether or not parrots can get raw, frozen, cooked, or canned green beans, and how often you should serve your parrot green beans.
Let’s get into it!
Why are green beans good for parrots?
There are actually more than 130 different varieties of green beans you could feed your parrot!
Green beans are a nice crunchy, low-calorie vegetable.
They are packed full of key ingredients that your parrot needs.
Vegetables generally are a very important source of nutrients for parrots, and there are many safe options to feed your feathery friend.
Green beans are a great choice because they are a rich source of vitamin A, C, K, folic acid, and dietary fiber.
Though many vegetables are a great and healthy addition to your parrot’s diet, green beans, in particular, contain high amounts of chlorophyll, hence the deep green color.
Chlorophyll stimulates the immune system, gets rid of bad odors, and can reduce inflammation and bacterial growth in wounds.
If you have a bird who likes to pluck its own feathers, adding green beans into their diet may help health some of the wounds left by plucking, and keep any infection away.
Feeding your parrot a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables can help to reduce many bad health conditions that may affect your bird.
Several studies show that including more plant food in diets, such as green beans, can help lower risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
The younger green beans, ones that haven’t quite grown into maturity yet and are still rather small and soft, are a great source a vitamin C.
Vitamin C is highly recommended for any parrot who are in stress or are easily stressed out.
This may be surprising, but it is recommended to feed them fresh green beans if you have an anxious or nervous parrot.
Vitamin C helps adrenal glands stay healthy, which helps produce hormones in your parrot that will help it deal with stress and feel calmer.
Birds naturally make vitamin C, but supplementing their diet with vitamin-rich vegetables like green beans can always help if they are in especially stressful situations like moving, having changes in their schedules, or new family members such as other pets are being introduced.
Can parrots eat green beans raw?
Yes, parrots can eat green beans raw.
Some birds may quite enjoy eating raw green beans, especially if they can shell the green bean and remove the pods.
Many parrots love to take the “peas” out of them and enjoy the “stick” shape of the pod which they can easily hold as they eat.
Be sure to thoroughly wash and clean any green beans before serving them to your parrot.
As well if you can find organic green beans that is the best route because they will not contain the synthetic fertilizers, chemicals or preservatives that non-organic green beans may have come in contact with.
Organic foods all together have much more beneficial nutrients and less pesticides.
What about frozen green beans?
Fresh vegetables are always preferred when feeding your parrot, compared to frozen vegetables and this rule applies to green beans.
That isn’t to say that you can’t give your parrot frozen green beans, as they may enjoy the extra crunchy texture of the frozen beans.
However, frozen vegetables may not have the same density of nutrients that fresh vegetables do, but you can still give your parrot frozen green beans occasionally without any issue.
The texture of frozen green beans will be much softer when they thaw out because when water freezes it expands the ice crystals within the vegetable itself.
When the green beans thaw out you will find that your parrot has a much mushier snack.
Can parrots eat cooked green beans?
Yes, your parrot can enjoy its green beans cooked.
In fact, if you are unsure that the green beans you have are free of pesticides or anything else that may be harmful, thoroughly washing and cooking them will ensure they are safe and healthy.
Most people cooked green beans before serving them to their feathered friend if their beak is not equipped to handle the shelling.
By cooking green beans, they will be softened up and much easier to eat.
If you do prefer to cook them, try to avoid cooking them until they are mushy, as they can lose nutrients in the hot water, instead aim for lightly cooked or steamed.
Are canned green beans safe?
Though many canned beans, including canned green beans are likely safe, it is advised that you drain the liquid and very thoroughly rinse the beans.
With any canned good, sometimes the can is coated on the inside with plastics that your parrot may be sensitive too, as well there are often preservatives that could soak into the green beans.
Additionally, many canned vegetables can have a much higher salt content than other foods.
Vegetables are usually a salt-free food, but canned vegetables tend to be much higher than normal in sodium because salt is very often used to preserve the vegetables within the can.
Just as too much salt isn’t good for us, too much salt is not good for parrots.
If you have a small bird it would be best to avoid taking any chance with a food that could contain high salt content.
Even a small amount of salt is potentially toxic to a small bird due to the delicate electrolyte and fluid balance in a small bird’s body.
In larger birds, if salty vegetables are eaten in high quantities, they too can become ill.
The result will be your bird over drinking water, and if they have too much salt in their system for a long time there could be more serious health issues such as kidney failure, cirrhosis of the liver, and even heart failure.
Rinsing canned vegetables very thoroughly, and then drying them will most likely reduce the salt content and make them safer for your parrot to consume.
With all of this in mind, it is still most likely safe to feed your bird canned green beans, but it is always best to air on the side of caution and ensure they are very clean before you feed them to your parrot.
How often should parrots eat green beans?
Green beans are a great addition to a bird’s healthy diet.
If you offer your parrot fresh food twice a day you can include green beans.
Because green beans are a fairly low-calorie vegetable you can feel free to add them to your parrot’s meal without worrying that they will gain weight by eating too many, though of course, everything in moderation!
For smaller birds it is important to chop the beans up into smaller more manageable chunks.
To summarize, parrots can safely eat green beans, in fact they are a great healthy additional to their diet.
There are many benefits to eating green beans such as, they are high in nutrients like vitamin A, C, K, folic acid, and dietary fiber.
As well because of the dark green color, green beans are a great source of chlorophyll which is known to stimulate the immune system, get rid of bad odors, and can reduce inflammation and bacterial growth in wounds.
You can feed your parrot raw, cooked, or even frozen green beans, but raw or lightly steamed is best.
Try to avoid canned green beans, but if you do want to use them be sure to thoroughly rinse and dry them to avoid the high salt content in canned vegetables.