Do you have parrots? Parrots are fun birds to raise especially when you have talking parrots.
You should give your parrots enough feed and treats to keep them growing and happy. What do parrots eat?
Can you feed your parrots with bananas?
Bananas are one of the recommended fruits for the daily fruit mix of parrots.
Bananas give your parrots a sufficient quantity of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.
However, you should not give too many bananas to parrots.
Why is feeding parrots with too many bananas bad? Can you feed parrots with banana bread and other products made from bananas? Continue reading.
Table of Contents
Can Parrots Eat Bananas?
Parrots can eat bananas, and bananas are good for them. Parrots need a daily fruit intake and bananas are among the fruits that parrots can eat.
Let’s review the nutritional composition of bananas.
Nutritional Composition of Bananas
Check out the table below to find the nutritional content in a 100g banana sample:
| Nutrient | Composition |
| Protein | 1.1g (2%) |
| Carbohydrate | 23g (7%) |
| Fiber | 2.6g (3%) |
| Vitamins | >30% |
| Minerals | >30% |
(Source)
Examples of minerals in bananas are potassium, iron, zinc, sodium, and phosphorus. Examples of vitamins in bananas are vitamins B6, C, and D.
As you can see from the table above, bananas have a lot of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients for your parrots.
When feeding animals, you need to consider every nutrient in the feed. The most important nutrient to consider, however, is protein.
Parrots and other animals need proteins for various reasons, including growth, feather, fur, and skin production, and muscle development.
Is the protein content of bananas enough for parrots?
Nutritional Requirements of Parrots
Parrots need at least 9-20% crude protein in their diet. This means that for every 100g of feed consumed, parrots should eat at least 9-20g (according to their age) of protein.
Young parrots need protein to grow new cells and tissues, grow feathers, and become mature. Older parrots need proteins to repair tissues, reproduce, and other body maintenance processes.
This means that young parrots need more proteins than older parrots.
When you take a close look at the table above, you realize that bananas do not contain as many proteins as parrots need to sustain them, so even if parrots can eat bananas, bananas should not be the major or main food of parrots.
Considering the fact that parrots need bananas and other fruits daily, but bananas do not contain enough proteins for parrots, when should you give bananas to parrots? Continue reading.
When Parrots Should Eat Bananas
Here are some instances when you should give bananas to parrots:
- As Treats: Bananas are healthy and needed treats for parrots. Parrots need a daily dose of vitamins and minerals. Bananas have them all.
- As Reward: Parrots love bananas a lot, so if you are training your parrot on how to talk or respond to you, you can reward them with some slices of bananas.
- For Quick Energy Source: Your parrots may get tired in the summer or other warm times. To give your parrot a source of refreshing energy, give them bananas.
Remember that you should give fruits such as bananas to parrots regularly, but in moderation.
Useful Tips for Feeding Parrots with Bananas
When feeding your parrots with bananas, apply the tips below to get the best results:
- Feed Parrots with Organic Bananas: Inorganic bananas may be grown with inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. Inorganic bananas may pose a threat to parrots especially if you do not wash them properly.
- The Greener the Better: Greener bananas contain less sugar than ripe and yellow bananas. To birds, too much sugar is bad. You should give your parrots bananas that are on the greener side.
- Do Not Cook the Bananas: Cooking bananas before giving them to parrots is not necessary and can even reduce their nutrient content (as boiling can denature proteins).
- Give Parrots Fresh Bananas: You should not refrigerate a banana and thaw it for parrots. Give your parrots freshly cut/peeled bananas.
- Do Not Give Parrots Too Many Bananas: Remember that bananas are healthy treats, not the main food for parrots.
Helpful tips, right?
Other Treats You Can Give To Parrots:
Need treat ideas for parrots? Here you go:
1. Flower Seeds
Flower seeds are simply small fruits of various flowering plants. They have oils, proteins, vitamins, etc., and are healthy treats for parrots and other pets. Examples of flower seeds are:
- Sunflower seeds
- Chia seeds
- Flax seeds
Flower seeds make awesome treats for parrots.
2. Pigeon Mix
Pigeon mix is full of grains, seeds, and other ingredients. Parrots as well as other birds love pigeon mix. You should give pigeon mix to parrots as treats only though.
Because parrots love pigeon mix a lot, it can be used to train them (i.e. reward them). If they eat too much of it regularly, it will lose its value.
3. Other Fruits and Vegetables
Asides from bananas, parrots can eat other fruits and vegetables. Remember that fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals.
Fruits that parrots can eat are:
- Apples
- Bananas
- Pears
- Apricots
- Nectarine
- Papaya
- Mango
- Peaches
- Cranberries
- Pineapple
Fruits and fruit seeds that parrots should not eat are:
- Rhubarb
- Avocado
- Apricot seeds
- Apple seeds
- Nectarine seeds
- Cherry seeds
- Plum seeds
- Peach pits
Examples of vegetables parrots can eat are:
- Cabbages
- Carrots
- Lettuce
- Collard greens
- Brussels sprouts
You can give more vegetables than fruits to parrots since vegetables have fewer sugars than fruits.
Note that most fruits and vegetables do not contain as many proteins as parrots need.
Now that we know various treat ideas for parrots, what about foods rich in proteins?
Popular Food Sources for Parrots
Here are examples of foods that you can give to parrots every day.
1. Processed Feed (Parrot Pellets)
Bird mix or parrot pellets specifically made for parrots contain as many proteins as your parrots need according to their age. Most of these mixes are made with grains, fishmeal, seeds, etc. Feed according to the directions.
Do not forget to supplement with fruits.
2. Grains and Nuts
Parrots and other birds love grains. Grains are the seeds of various grass-like plants, while nuts are mostly dry seeds with hard shells.
Examples of grains for parrots are:
- Sorghum
- Millet
- Wheat
- Rye
- Maize
Examples of nuts to give to parrots are:
- Peanuts
- Cashew nuts
- Brazil nuts
One great thing about nuts and grains is that they have sufficient proteins and energy for parrots.
3. Mealworms and Other Insect Larvae
Mealworms are the larvae of the mealworm beetle. Mealworms are very rich in proteins and can contain over 60% crude protein.
Mealworms are not just a sufficient protein source, parrots really love mealworms.
Aside from mealworms, other insect larvae you can feed to parrots are:
- Black soldier fly larvae
- Grub worms
- Dried horsefly larvae
Why not feed your parrots with protein-rich insect larvae?
What are you currently feeding your parrots with?
Related Questions and Answers
Need answers to a few questions? Here you go:
1. Can Parrots Eat Plantains?
Plantains are healthier forms of bananas for parrots. Remember that plantains are greener and have fewer sugars than parrots.
While plantains have fewer sugars than bananas, they still provide vitamins and minerals to your parrots.
2. Can Parrots Eat Banana Bread?
Just like every other type of bread, parrots can eat banana bread. You should, however, give banana bread to parrots as treats or snacks, not their major food.
Banana bread contains vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates but does not contain enough proteins to sustain your parrots.
3. Can Parrots Eat Banana Peels?
Parrots do not just eat the peels of bananas, they love eating them. Parrots love eating banana peels because they are soft, fleshy, and fun to chew.
Parrots can also play with banana peels as toys.
Do not throw your banana peels away. Give them to your parrots!
4. Can Parrots Eat Eggs?
Parrots can eat boiled, fried, and other forms of cooked eggs. Even though parrots are birds and lay eggs, they are still omnivores.
As omnivores, parrots can eat both plant and animal products.
However, do not feed your parrots with raw eggs.
5. Can Parrots Eat Dried Bananas or Banana Chips?
The amount of sugars in banana chips and dried bananas is too much for parrots.
For birds, any food rich in sugar is junk food and should be avoided. The concentration of sugar in dried bananas and banana chips is too much for parrots.
Have you found the answer to your question?
Final Thoughts
Parrots can and should eat bananas. Bananas contain vitamins and minerals beneficial for parrots. If possible, you should give bananas and other fruits to parrots as treats daily.
Remember that bananas remain healthy treats of parrots, not their main diet.