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Cockatoos require a wide variety of different foods to thrive. They primarily should be fed their pelleted food. However, they do need a decent amount of fresh food in their diet, including grapes.
Unlike some other animals—cats and dogs, for example—cockatoos can safely eat grapes. They are non-toxic to birds and a nutritious option for these birds.
Still, while cockatoos can eat grapes, they shouldn’t be the only things that your cockatoo eats or that take up a sizable percentage of their diet. Like humans, these birds thrive off of various foods, as these contain different nutrients. Grapes are healthy, but they contain few nutrients, not everything that your bird needs to thrive.
Here, we cover everything that you need to keep in mind when feeding grapes to your cockatoo. It isn’t that complicated, but there are a few essentials to consider before doing so.
What Grapes Can Cockatoos Eat?
For the most part, cockatoos can eat just about any grape, including seedless and seeded varieties. The seeds are not toxic to the birds, and many enjoy picking them out. The color doesn’t matter either.
The only grapes that you shouldn’t offer to your bird are canned and processed varieties. Don’t give your bird grapes from a fruit cup either, as these often have added sugar and dyes.
Canned grapes can have a similar problem. While they are soft and easy to eat, they usually have added syrups. These increase the sugar content of the grapes and make them inappropriate for birds. Extra preservatives and other ingredients may also be included.
A bit of sugar won’t hurt us humans, but birds are much smaller. Therefore, even a little extra sugar can mess up their diet. Sugar doesn’t include any necessary nutrients. For this reason, birds that eat excess sugar may not consume all the nutrients that they need. They may fill up on sugar instead.
Preservatives aren’t a problem for us, but they can be a bit much for our feathered friends. For the most part, these birds won’t have an adverse reaction. However, certain additives are toxic to birds, and some of them may be found in certain fruit cocktails.
Therefore, your goal should be to feed plain grapes to your bird. If the can says anything else, don’t get it for your pet. Typically, fresh grapes are excellent, since nothing else is clearly added to them.
How to Prepare Grapes for Cockatoos
Technically, you can hand a grape to your cockatoo, and they will be just fine with it. That said, you might wish to cut it in half to make them more manageable for your pet. Also, some parrots prefer holding fruits in their claws while they eat them. Your cockatoo might have such a preference. It might take a while for you to figure out how your bird enjoys their grapes.
You should thoroughly wash grapes before giving them to your cockatoo. In many cases, grapes will include pesticides. Since you don’t typically skin or peel grapes, these elements will remain on the surface until you wash them off.
We usually don’t have reactions to the pesticides on grapes, but cockatoos are much smaller and may be particularly sensitive to certain pesticides. When in doubt, find fruit from a source that you know doesn’t use pesticides. Depending on your area, you may be able to find some grown locally.
What Do Cockatoos Eat Besides Grapes?
Pellets should make up the majority of a cockatoo’s diet. These are formulated with their specific nutritional needs in mind and provide the extra nutrition that they need to thrive.
Many cockatoos don’t like pellets that much, though, especially if they aren’t used to eating them. In these cases, we recommend slowly working on switching your cockatoo to a pellet-based diet. It is simply better for them.
That said, we generally don’t recommend offering only pellets. About 25% of a bird’s diet should contain other food items: vegetables, seeds, nuts, grains, protein sources, and fruit.
This means grapes should only make up a small part of your pet’s meals. You should work to vary your bird’s diet as much as possible, which means feeding them other things alongside grapes. These fruits can be good to offer a few times a week, but they shouldn’t make up a significant portion of a bird’s diet.
You should always aim to have different things at each meal. This promotes a varied diet. When you offer grapes, avoid other fruits exactly like grapes. Berries are ideal because they include a variety of different nutrients. Despite their sugar content, berries are extremely healthy.
Cauliflower and similar veggies are also good options. For instance, kale is hugely different from grapes in terms of nutrients, taste, and texture. Your bird is more likely to eat a varied diet if you aim to make each meal include different foods.
You don’t have to lay out a buffet each time, but aim to have at least two different fresh foods every time you offer them to your bird. If there’s only one thing, your bird may overeat (if they like it) or eat too little (if they don’t like it).
This means grapes should only make up a small part of your pet’s meals. You should work to vary your bird’s diet as much as possible, which means feeding them other things alongside grapes. These fruits can be good to offer a few times a week, but they shouldn’t make up a significant portion of a bird’s diet.
- Berries
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Squash
- Seeds
- Carrots
You should always aim to have different things at each meal. This promotes a varied diet. When you offer grapes to your bird, avoid other fruits exactly like grapes. Berries are ideal because they include a variety of different nutrients. Despite their sugar content, berries are extremely healthy. Cauliflower and similar veggies are also good options. For instance, kale is hugely different from grapes in terms of nutrients, taste, and texture.
Your bird is more likely to eat a varied diet if you aim to make each meal include different foods. You don’t have to lay out a buffet each time, but you should have at least two different fresh foods every time you feed your bird. If there’s only one thing, your bird may overeat (if they like it) or eat too little (if they don’t like it).
Can Grapes Kill Cockatoos?
No, there is nothing toxic in grapes, so birds can eat them in moderate amounts. Of course, this assumes that the grapes are not covered in something toxic.
However, too many grapes can lead to obesity and nutritional deficiencies. These problems typically only occur when you serve a large number of grapes over a short period of time. You don’t want to feed your cockatoo a diet of 25% grapes for years at a time. That isn’t healthy. But a handful of grapes a week isn’t going to harm your bird, especially when paired with other options. You should choose to offer your pet at least one type of fruit a day; just don’t always choose grapes.
Outright, grapes cannot kill cockatoos. But if fed incorrectly, they may lead to health problems down the line.
Do Cockatoos Like Grapes?
Yes, cockatoos typically love grapes. They have high sugar content, which makes them palatable. However, that doesn’t mean you should only feed grapes to your cockatoo. Just because they love them doesn’t mean they can live off of them.
Grapes should only be provided in moderation. That said, some cockatoos like grapes too much. They may pick grapes out and avoid other foods if you provide them all the time. Therefore, we only recommend offering them a few times a week.
Grapes should be completely absent from some meals so your bird will choose to eat other things. Otherwise, they may pick out the parts that they want and leave everything else alone—or throw it around their cage.
Not all birds have this problem, but cockatoos are notorious selective eaters. That’s one reason that we recommend varying their diet as much as possible. It prevents them from becoming set on one specific food and refusing to eat anything else.
Conclusion
In moderation, grapes can be healthy snacks for cockatoos. They are high in various nutrients and can be given alongside a mostly pelleted diet.
Grapes can be a healthy snack for cockatoos—in moderation. They are high in various nutrients and can be given alongside a mostly pelleted diet.
Grapes should never make up the majority or even a sizeable percentage of a cockatoo’s diet, though. They are high in sugar and can lead to obesity. They don’t include all the nutrients that a bird needs, though they can benefit from having a few grapes in their diet.
Many cockatoos have problems with selective eating, where they pick out the foods they like and leave the foods they don’t. This is a common problem with grapes, as the high sugar content often means that these birds enjoy grapes over other foods.
Therefore, don’t provide them at every meal. Your cockatoo might start demanding grapes. Once or twice a week is good, and grapes should be always served alongside another fruit or veggie.
See Also:
- Can Cockatoos Eat Carrots?
- Can Cockatoos Eat Strawberries?
- Do Cockatoos Make Good Pets? Facts & Care Tips
Featured Image Credit: NickyPe, Pixabay
