Most birds love eating fruits and berries during the summer while others love insects and seeds. Parrots also love to eat a variety of fruits that you should incorporate in their diet. While it’s important to include fresh fruits in your parrot’s daily diet, you should know that not all fruits are safe for your parrot to eat. Knowing the fruits that offer good nutritional value for your parrot will help keep him happy and healthy.
So, to answer can parrot eat blueberries, the answer is yes, they can. Blueberries are among the healthiest and nutritious fruits that you can give your parrot because they contain lots of vitamins and antioxidants, but give in moderation or as an occasional snack. Overfeeding your feathered friend with blueberries can be detrimental.
Blueberries nutritional value
Blueberries are superfoods that very sweet, nutritious, low in calories, and very healthy for both you and your parrot. Most birds love eating them and every time you give your parrot blueberries he gets:
Vitamin A
Most birds don’t get enough of this vitamin in their diet so feeding your parrot blueberries is a good way of providing vitamin A in his diet. This vitamin helps in improving your parrot’s immune system, vision, growth and development, and his red and yellow pigmentation.
Vitamin C
Your parrot needs to eat foods that are rich in vitamin C every day because his body uses a lot of it daily. Vitamin C is a micronutrient that helps with the overall health of your parrot in boosting his immune system, regulating his blood sugar, removing any heavy metals in his body, and lowering his blood pressure levels.
Iron
Blueberries contain a bit of iron which your parrot’s body needs to help in the production of hemoglobin.
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is among the B vitamins found in blueberries that help your parrot’s body to convert the food he eats into energy. Vitamin B6 can help to lower the chances of getting a stroke or heart disease and also support healthy brain growth.
Potassium
This is an electrolyte and mineral that is very good at helping to keep blood pressure constant, preserve muscle mass, and reduce the chances of cardiovascular disease.
Magnesium
This mineral is very useful in your parrot’s body because it helps to properly process calcium, strengthen his beak, bones, and promote healthy skin and feathers.
Antioxidants
Blueberries are said to have the highest amount of antioxidants among all the fruits and veggies and have been shown to increase the antioxidant levels in your body directly. Antioxidants help to protect the body from free radicals that can cause damage to body cells increasing the risk of developing cancer and aging.
Can parrots eat dried blueberries?
The answer is yes, they can. However, eating fresh blueberries or fresh fruits, in general, is better preferred over dried fruit. Although the dried fruit isn’t the problem, the drying process shrinks the fruit so you need to give more of the fruit to meet your parrot’s needs and even as healthy as blueberries are, they contain lots of sugar. This means that when you’re giving your parrot dries blueberries, you need to serve him a larger portion which means a higher sugar intake and more calories.
The best option would be to limit giving dried blueberries and instead go for the fresh ones. Blueberries are very healthy, but your parrot shouldn’t eat them too often because having a high amount of antioxidants in his body will remove excess free radicals which isn’t good because small amounts help to ensure his immune system is working properly.
Can you give your parrot blueberry juice?
Yes, parrots can also drink blueberry juice. Most juices contain added sugars so you need to ensure that you’re giving your parrot organic blueberry juice and not store-bought juice that contains added preservatives and loaded with added sugars that aren’t healthy for your parrot. You could also make your homemade blueberry juice, but you need a lot of blueberries. Once you make or buy the juice, you can either give it on its own as a drink or incorporate it in the next meal to add some flavor.
When and how should you serve your parrot blueberries?
Since it’s safe for your parrot to eat blueberries as a whole, the only thing you need to do is make sure they’re washed thoroughly. You can either put the blueberries in a feeding bowl if your parrot likes to pick and eat them whole or use a skewer to serve smaller parrots. Other parrots like conures use their claws to hold blueberries when eating them so place the blueberries in an area that is easy for him to grip them. To learn more watch this.
Fresh fruits and veggies account for a quarter of your parrot’s daily diet, so you shouldn’t give only blueberries. Instead, mix different fruits and veggies so that your parrot gets different types of nutrients that his body needs from each fruit to stay happy and healthy. It’s recommended that you feed your parrot fresh blueberries once daily for at least 2 or 3 times a week. In between this period you can give him other fruits like mangoes, bananas, or apples.
Do blueberries have pesticides?
Unfortunately yes they do like many other fruits that are sprayed with these chemicals that are toxic and harmful to birds. That’s why it’s important to thoroughly wash the fruits to remove any traces of the chemicals. Unfortunately, blueberries are very small fruits unlike apples that you can easily clean, it’s not easy to wash off the pesticides because you will end up peeling the skin if you rub too hard. The best option is to get the organic ones as they’re not treated with any chemicals.
Conclusion
Parrots love eating blueberries, but just because they’re safe to eat doesn’t mean you should give excess. Remember to feed your parrot with organic blueberries because they don’t contain any pesticides which makes them safe and healthy for your feathered friend. Parrots are messy eaters so ensure that you serve the blueberries away from your furniture or carpet to avoid purple stains.
