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Cockatiels are beautiful, affectionate, and intelligent bird species, making them an excellent choice for those who have time to devote to being a good bird owner.
If you own a cockatiel, you want to keep it in proper health, which starts with giving it a healthy diet.
If your bird consumes the right diet, it will hugely contribute to them keeping in good shape.
However, it’s not always clear what cockatiels can eat and what they can’t.
Fresh fruits are a significant part of their diet but can cockatiels eat watermelon? Is it good for them? What about the watermelon seeds and rind?
In this article, we will answer all your questions about feeding watermelon to your cockatiel.
Can Cockatiels Enjoy Eating Watermelon?
Most cockatiels unquestionably love and enjoy eating watermelons.
Watermelons are sweet, crunchy, and rich in nutrients and contain a lot of water. As long as you feed it to them in moderation, watermelon will prove to be healthy and perfect.
But, it is still possible that your cockatiel will not like it.
Fortunately, watermelons are very affordable, so you can always purchase it for yourself and give your cockatiel a small piece to see if they enjoy eating it.
If it has not eaten it after two hours, you should take it away to avoid bacteria from starting to grow.
You don’t have to force your cockatiel to eat watermelons if they don’t like it because there are a wide variety of fruits that you can feed them.
Look at this video clip; on the various fruits that cockatiels enjoy eating.
Is Watermelon Good For Cockatiels?
Watermelon is a juicy, sweet, and healthy fruit for your cockatiel to consume, which can be refreshing, particularly on a hot summer afternoon.
The fruit contains a lot of water and carbs and lots of beneficial nutrients and vitamins for your bird.
Let’s start by looking at what a watermelon is specifically made up of. This way, we can see if it is suitable for cockatiels.
- Water
As its name suggests, ninety-one percent of watermelon is water. This is a great component for cockatiels, particularly in hot summers, as it keeps them hydrated.
- Protein
Birds like cockatiels need enough proteins in their daily diet for body repair and maintenance. They also get part of their strength and energy from proteins, hence very essential to them.
- Vitamin A/Beta carotene
Watermelon contains high amounts of vitamin A which play a crucial role in helping your cockatiel maintain the proper functioning of their respiratory functions.
The vitamin is also essential in the development and maintenance of healthy feathers, respiratory and reproductive systems.
- Vitamin B5
This is a rare vitamin that helps maintain your feathered friend’s healthy eyes and digestive tract.
- Vitamin C
Similar to humans, Cockatiels require a healthy immune system to survive.
Watermelon consists of vitamin c, which helps to enhance the immunity of your feathered pet.
Vitamin C also acts as a good alternative for iron in forming red blood cells whenever necessary.
- Copper
This is another essential mineral available in watermelons. Copper is suitable for your nerve system and bone health.
- Potassium
Potassium provides essential benefits in maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system, maintaining fluid balance while also protecting and enhancing the nervous system.
- Magnesium
Watermelon has substantial magnesium amounts that enhances brain neurons, healthy feathers, and bone development in cockatiels. Magnesium also boosts cardiovascular health and muscle coordination.
- Antioxidants such as lycopene
Fruits with red pigments such as watermelons contain lycopene, a nutrient that has antioxidant properties.
Lycopene helps cockatiels fight against severe health conditions such as sunburns and cancer, which is also significant for cardiovascular health, eyes, and lungs.
Watermelon also has other antioxidants that are useful in enhancing the body cells functioning in cockatiels.
Generally, watermelon is a healthy and good fruit for your cockatiel to eat.
It is majorly composed of water and is low in calories with minerals and vitamins that will benefit your bird’s health.
Other minerals such as calcium also help facilitate blood clotting, muscle operation, feather attachment maintenance, and bone formation.
The fruit has no component that poses any threat to your bird.
To ensure your cockatiel gets sufficient nutrients, minerals, and vitamins, you should daily feed it fruits and vegetables.
Is Watermelon Bad For Cockatiels?
Feeding watermelon to your cockatiel will give it water and essential minerals and vitamins.
However, feeding watermelon to your pet cockatiel.
Like anything else, too much of watermelon in the diet of a cockatiel can be harmful.
Providing massive amounts of watermelons can turn their droppings red and messy.
If you notice this happening, it is not blood; instead, it’s the juice from watermelon, so there is no need for alarm.
Their digestive tract will get used to watermelon and won’t develop diarrhea by starting with small amounts.
More so, you probably know how eating watermelons can be messy as the juice leaks out and goes everywhere.
To reduce the mess, you should give them small pieces of watermelon rather than a whole slice.
How to Feed a Watermelon to Cockatiels (Serving Size and Frequency)
One of the first rules is always to ensure that you get organically grown watermelons for your cockatiel.
Always confirm the watermelons have not been grown using chemicals.
Once you get the watermelon, wash its rind thoroughly, and cut a piece that is large enough to feed your cockatiels.
Peel the watermelon piece to remove the rind, and you can opt to remove the seeds or leave them.
Then cut the watermelon piece into smaller pieces that are easily edible by your cockatiel.
You can either put them in a clean bowl or hand feed them to your feathery pet. Any uneaten watermelon should be removed within two hours to avoid contamination.
When it comes to the frequency of feeding watermelon to cockatiels, the watermelon should not be a regular diet for your pet bird.
According to animal experts, fruits and vegetables should only form about twenty percent of your cockatiel diet.
You should hence feed your cockatiel with watermelon once or twice a week.
The superfood for cockatiels should include lots of different fruits and veggies that you can feed your bird apart from watermelon.
Hence, you should always mix it up and remember when your cockatiel refuses to eat a certain fruit or vegetable; it does not mean you should ever try feeding it to them again.
You can also consider purchasing special food for your cockatiel from Amazon, such as; Higgins Sunburst Gourmet Food Mix for Cockatiels.
You can also feed watermelon juice to your cockatiels. However, the juice should be homemade or organic without any added sugars from the supermarket.
To prepare watermelon juice for your bird at home, you need to remove the rind, cut the watermelon into pieces, put it into the blender, and turn it on.
When the blender is finished, you will use a strainer to get rid of the leftover seeds to avoid choking your cockatiel if they are in the juice.
Can Cockatiels Eat Watermelon Rind?
The watermelon rind is the tough outer skin of the watermelon.
Cockatiels should not eat the watermelon rind. The flesh and seeds are the only components safe for consumption.
The watermelon rind contains pesticides and chemicals used to deter insects by farmers.
These chemicals are not healthy for your cockatiel consumption.
Even minute amounts of these chemicals can be dangerous to your pet birds, so it is best recommendable to remove the rind entirely.
You should also cut the watermelon flesh into small pieces, so they are easier for your cockatiel to eat.
Can Cockatiels Eat Watermelon Seeds?
Some fruits have dangerous seeds that can harm your bird.
For example, apples and most stone fruits have seeds that contain cyanide, which is hazardous to your pet bird’s health.
However, in this case, fruits such as strawberries and watermelon have seeds that are very safe for your cockatiels to eat.
They have a robust digestion system that is specialized to digest various nuts and seeds.
They do not have any harmful compounds, so your cockatiel can eat them without any worries.
In fact, they provide a good source of zinc, copper, magnesium, folate, and potassium, essential for the growth and development of your pet bird.
Some bird owners choose to soak the watermelon seeds in water for a while to soften them up.
This makes them easier for your bird to eat, but it’s not necessary.
Cockatiels can eat watermelon seeds just fine without socking them.
Conclusion
Cockatiels can eat watermelon, so that you can give it to them.
Watermelon is low in calories and is an excellent source of minerals and vitamins that will benefit your cockatiel.
However, ensure you provide it to them in moderation and mix it with other fruits.
A balanced diet with lots of different fruits, seeds, and vegetables is vital in maintaining your cockatiel’s good health.
We hope this article has answered most of your questions about feeding watermelon to your cockatiel.
If you have missed something or got any questions, please leave your comment below.
