As a parrot owner it’s important to include foods in their diet that your pet can benefit from. The better your parrots diet is, the longer and happier life they are going to live. Foods like fruit and vegetables are great for parrots as they usually contain many benefits that our feathered friends will thank us for. But are all fruits and vegetables safe for parrots? What about artichokes?
The Artichoke is the immature flower bud of a thistle however it’s eaten as a vegetable.
Can parrots eat artichokes? Yes parrots can eat artichokes they are actually a great source of fiber, potassium and vitamin C for parrots. These things work together to give benefits like a lowered blood pressure, lowered cholesterol and improved heart health. Not only are artichokes safe for our parrots to eat but they contain vital vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants your parrot will be thankful for.
In this article I’m going to explain the benefits, should they eat them raw and many other things so be sure to read on!
Artichoke Benefits For Parrots
We know artichoke is good for our Parrots, but just how good is it? Let’s take a closer look at the nutritional content.
| Calories | 60 |
| Protein | 4g |
| Carbs | 13g |
| Fat | <1g |
| Sodium | 120mg |
Potassium
High in potassium, artichoke can help regulate your parrots heart. Potassium is also responsible for keeping the nervous system in check, along with reducing blood pressure.
Fiber
Fiber is responsible for how smooth things go in regards to your parrots digestive system. Foods like artichoke can actually work as a weight maintainer for your parrot, this is due to foods high in fiber typically being more filling, leading to less calories being consumed.
Another thing fiber helps with is bowel movements, it helps things get moving easier due to stools becoming softer and larger in size – helping them move through the body easier.
Vitamin C
Parrots don’t naturally store vitamin C so it’s important they get enough of it through their diet. This is because of the many advantages vitamin C brings to a parrots life including :
- Regulating blood sugar
- Prevents cataracts
- Reduces the risk of cancer
- Helps with injury healing
This is just to name a few. Foods high in vitamin C that you can give to your parrot are : strawberries, broccoli, peppers and brussells sprouts.
Magnesium
Magnesium is an important mineral that’s important for muscle support, nerve and energy production.
How You Should Feed Artichoke To Your Parrot
Parrots can eat artichokes raw or cooked both are safe for them. Before feeding them it’s important to clean the artichoke to prevent any pesticides or any unwanted dirt entering your parrots system.
Pull apart the leaves of the artichoke and run it under cold water to rinse it out and remove any impurities. Submerge the prepared artichoke in a bowl of cold water containing lemon juice right away. Keep the artichokes in the lemon water until you’re ready to cook them.
What Other Foods Can Your Parrot Eat?
You know artichoke is safe for your Parrot to eat but if you’re like me then your always looking for new foods to improve your Parrots diet to create some variety and and include vital things that aren’t already in your birds diet.
So what other foods can your Parrot eat?
- Fruit & Vegetables
Foods like asparagus, broccoli, carrots, peppers, bananas, blueberries and pineapples are all fine and encouraged for your Parrot to eat.
- Nuts
Things like almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios and walnuts can be fed to your parrot. Just be wary of the fat content in some of them so they may need to be treated as a snack for your Parrot. We don’t want them getting fat!
Artichoke For Parrots – Final Thoughts
Artichoke is a perfectly safe vegetable to feed your parrot, the many vitamins and nutrients also make it an encouraged food to feed them. Both raw and cooked are safe for your bird but cooked artichoke will remove the bitter taste to it.
Related reading : Can parrots eat beets?