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Parakeets can eat about every fruit available in the market safely. Everything in the exception of avocado from watermelons, bananas, apples, oranges, and others.
But can parakeets eat mango? Fortunately, mango is also in this group. Mangoes are tropical fruits known as stone fruits.
This implies that they have a hard seed in the middle. On the outside, they have thin skin whose color could be orange, red, or green.
The inside contains soft, juicy yellow flesh. Most parakeets like eating mangoes.
In this article, we will answer all your questions about feeding mangoes to your parakeets.
Can Parakeets Enjoy Eating Mangoes?
Yes! Most parakeets love mangoes and will joyfully gobble down a good amount at the smallest opportunity.
However, some parakeets may react differently to different fruits. The best way to know whether your parakeet wants mangoes is including some in their diet and check if they will eat it after some time.
They are selective eaters, so you should not be disappointed if your parakeet does not want to eat your mango.
Instead, you should wait for them to try it out at their own time. Most parakeets, however, love a tasteful mango treat.
Mango Health Benefits For parakeets
Mangoes are not only tasty but also highly nutritious. It is low in calories and full of nutrients that will be beneficial to your parakeet.
Some of the nutrients found in mangoes include; vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, beta carotene, and niacin.
Let’s look a little bit deeper about these vitamins, minerals, and their benefits to your parakeet.
- Vitamin C
Mango is one of the tops on the list fruit with the highest vitamin C contents closely behind citrus fruits. It has about 36 grams of vitamin C in every 100 grams of it.
Vitamin C is essential in your parakeet’s diet as it helps it maintain a robust immune system, protect it from oxidative stress, and improve its cardiovascular health.
- Vitamin A
Mangoes also contain Vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene, responsible for the mango’s bright orange color.
One of the significant benefits of vitamin A in your parakeet’s body is maintaining epithelial tissues and mucous membranes.
It also helps keep the bright, green, orange, blue, or red colors in your feathered pet.
Without sufficient mucous to protect the parakeet’s tract, disease-causing pathogens can get into the reproductive and digestive tracts causing infections.
Mangoes have lots of vitamin A to ensure your bird is protected from infections. Also, vitamin A helps to keep the nails and beaks of your parakeet healthy.
- Antioxidants
Mangoes have also been proven to contain polyphenols. These natural plant substances help your parakeet’s body manage free radicals, hence protecting it from certain illnesses and premature aging.
Mangoes have lots of polyphenols, including; kaempferol, anthocyanins, mangiferin, quercetin, and rhamnetin.
Some of these, like the mangiferin, are believed to be efficient in countering free radicals linked to diabetes and cancers.
- Niacin
Niacin is an essential nutrient for both humans and birds.
Niacin plays a vital role in increasing muscle strength, reducing joint fatigue, and keeping the arteries fat-free and healthy.
This means feeding mangoes to your bird will keep it adventurous and happy.
- Potassium
Mangoes also contain potassium, another essential nutrient for your feathered pet.
We all want our bird to grow strong and big, and potassium is the mineral responsible for the proper development and growth of your bird.
Also, potassium enhances proper kidney functioning, with its deficiency potentially leading to kidney failure.
Furthermore, potassium helps to stabilize the metabolism of your parakeet. Without it, the bird won’t be able to metabolize carbohydrates properly.
Ensuring your parakeet has sufficient potassium is crucial for the health and well-being of your parakeet.
Risks to Consider When Feeding Mangoes To parakeets
As stated above, mango is healthy and safe for your parakeet.
However, mango is very rich in natural sugars like most pomegranates. This poses a risk of your parakeet developing diabetes if it overeats mango.
Parakeets can be born with diabetes or develop diabetes over time. Mango is high in sugar, so it should be taken in moderation.
Although mangoes are very beneficial for your parakeets, moderation is the key to a healthy and happy bird.
It is recommended that fruits should only make up ten percent of your parakeet’s daily diet. Also, if the mango is not organic, the skin can contain pesticides that can harm your parakeet.
How Much Mango Can a parakeet Eat?
A parakeet should not eat much mango at all.
It is recommended that a parakeet should consume no more than a few nibbles about two times a week. Make it the only sweet treat for the day.
Your pet bird cannot handle a lot of sugar, so give it mango in moderation.
Your parakeet will undoubtedly look to you for a larger portion, but this is when you need to be strict.
If you are introducing the mango to your parakeet for the first time, you start with a tiny piece before increasing the size and making it a regular treat.
Preparing a mango for your parakeet is pretty easy and straightforward. The first step involves cutting the mango open and removing the pit.
The mango pit is not poisonous, but they are significantly large, so it’s always best to remove them before serving the mango to your parakeet.
You should then cut the mango flesh into small bite-sized pieces and serve them to your bird pet.
You can also slice the mango in half to remove or cut around the seed and feed your parakeet the whole slice on a tray or plate.
The skin will provide a nice container for the flesh juicy flesh, and the parakeet will nibble away at it.
Just be prepared because this one can be a little messy, and ensure not to leave it in the cage for too long.
Your parakeet might spend too much time walking in the mango as they eat it.
What Are Other Healthy Alternatives to Mango in A parakeet’s diet?
Other than mango, parakeets are granivores; hence one of the best alternatives and most nutritious diets for parakeets is to feed them pellets.
Feeding them pellets daily is the best way to get all the nutrients they require in one food.
Most skilled parakeet owners say pellets should make up about seventy-five percent of your feathery friends’ regular diet.
Vegetables are also essential components of a parakeet’s diet with lots of vitamins and minerals.
Some of the great vegetables to feed to your parakeet include leafy vegetables such as dandelion leaves, sprouted seeds, romaine lettuce, and kales.
They are full of vitamin C and K, iron, calcium, and fibers, but you should ensure you rinse them well before you feed your parakeet.
Peas, zucchini, asparagus, celery, corn, carrots, cucumber, potatoes, and cooked beans are also healthy vegetable alternatives to mango.
Just like fruits, endure you are feeding your parakeet fresh vegetables.
Nutritionists encourage adding about ten percent of fresh fruit to your parakeets’ diet, with mango being among the top in the list.
Fruits, however, should be given as treats and only fed in small amounts.
While you can provide them some mango pieces, you can switch them up with other fruits, including; bananas, watermelons, raspberries, cherries, apricots, oranges, pineapples, apples, and tangerines, except for the avocado.
Just make sure not to feed them watermelon and apple seeds for their safety. For commercial foods, they are specially made healthy food for your parakeet, such as; Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health Parakeet Food and 3-D Premium Parakeet Food.
Can parakeets Eat Cooked/Frozen Mango?
Parakeets can eat cooked or frozen mango.
However, once the mango is cooked or frozen, it loses most of its nutrients and the juicy, delicious taste; hence, it will not be as beneficial as fresh mango.
Even if frozen or cooked mango is eatable and acceptable, fresh mango is the most nutritious and tasty.
Can parakeets Eat Mango Skin?
Mango skin or peels are often removed and thrown away to expose the mango’s sweet fleshy part.
Most people think mango peels are inedible, but they are edible and have lots of nutrients.
Nutritionists have revealed that mango skins are filled with dietary fibers, vitamin E, polyphenols, and vitamin E.
The mango peels are a good fruit choice for your bird if it is obese as it helps inhibit adipogenesis.
Parakeets can eat mango skin but there some reasons you might opt to throw them away.
The mango skin can contain harmful pesticide residues, and the tough skin might be problematic for the parakeet to chew and swallow.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that mango is an incredibly nutritious fruit for your parakeet.
It contains lots of minerals and vitamins essential for the healthy growth of your bird. However, you should feed them in moderation as mangoes have high sugar levels that may be dangerous to your bird if taken in excess.
Most parakeets will enjoy eating mangoes and will enjoy picking it out of a fruit mix any day. I
hope this article has answered your queries about feeding parakeets eating mangoes. In case you need more information or have an unanswered question, let us know by leaving a comment below.
