Peaches are one of my favorite fruits, they make a delicious snack if I’m trying to diet down or just improve my diet as a whole. I was preparing some for my lunch last week and caught my parrot in the corner of my eye staring me down, I’d never given him a peach before so this got me thinking if he was allowed to eat them. I know fruits and vegetables make up around 20% of a birds diet but I had to make sure if peaches were safe so I researched and put it into this article.
Can parrots eat peaches? Yes parrots can eat peaches they are completely safe for them to eat and your parrot will love the sweet taste to them, just be sure to remove the pit of the peach before serving as it’s poisonous and shouldn’t be digested. Not only do peaches taste delicious but they have an excellent nutritional profile that provides them with fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, antioxidants and other advantages I’ll outline below.
Peach Benefits For Parrots
We know peaches are a great source of nutrition for our Parrots, but why? Let’s take a closer look at the nutritional content.
| Calories | 58 |
| Fat | <1g |
| Protein | 1g |
| Fiber | 2g |
| Carbohydrates | 14g |
They Are Full Of Antioxidants
Peaches are full of antioxidants, they are wonderful things that help the cells in the body fight off harmful disease like cancer and cardiovascular disease. They do this be neutralizing a thing called free radicals, which aim to do oxidative damage to the body.
A common rule is the fresher and riper the fruit, the more antioxidants present inside.
Increased Cardiovascular Health
Eating many fruits like peaches has been shown to increased cardiovascular health, mainly by regulating blood pressure and cholesterol. Test tube studies have shown that peaches bind to bile acids, these are compounds produced from your liver made from cholesterol.
These bound bile acids along with the cholesterol contained inside them are excreted through faeces in turn leading to lowered cholesterol levels.
Fiber
In a medium sized peach there’s around 2 grams of fiber. This is a type of carbohydrate that aids in your parrots digestive system as a whole.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is helpful in the body by helping with blood clots, this in turn prevents your parrot from excess bleeding. Other safe foods that your parrot can eat containing vitamin K include : kale, spinach, broccoli and brussels sprouts.
Manganese
Manganese also plays a role in blood clotting among other vital functions within your parrots body : helping with calcium absorption, blood sugar regulation and aids in nerve and brain function.
Vitamin C
Also in peaches is a nutrient called vitamin C, it’s essential parrots get enough of it as it offers many health benefits to them and if they don’t get enough it will severely impact them. The benefits of vitamin C include :
- It works as an antioxidant to prevent things like cancer and heart disease
- Maintains a healthy immune system
- Helps with blood clotting
- Supports their kidneys
- Works as an anti-inflammatory
If you are worried there’s not enough vitamin C in your parrots diet you should feed them things like broccoli, peppers, citrus fruits, strawberries and brussels sprouts.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a fat soluble available in many foods, it helps with your birds immune system, eye health and reproduction.
It also plays a role in helping the heart, lungs, kidneys and other vital organs work properly.
How You Should Feed Peaches To Your Parrot
Before you think about feeding peaches to your parrot it’s important to cut out the pit in the middle and discard it. This is because it contains a compound amygdalin which then breaks down further into cyanide – which is poisonous and not safe for digestion.
Now we’ve got the hazard out of the way you can go ahead and feed this delicious fruit care free so they can reap all the nutritious benefits.
The skin of the peach is edible infact that’s where a lot of the nutrients and antioxidants in peaches come from! To serve to your parrot you can chop the peach up into little bite size bits for your feathered fruit or you can even blend it up and make thirst quenching peach juice for them to enjoy.
What Other Foods Can Your Parrot Eat?
You know peaches are 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!
Peaches For Parrots – Final Thoughts
As peaches are a fruit they should only make up around 15-20% of your parrots overall diet however they are an excellent option to fill in this percentage. They are highly nutritious and a yummy treat too. Just be sure to remove the pit of the peach as it’s not edible and contains poison. Once you’ve done that you’re all good to go and your feathered friend can enjoy a new delicious addition to their diet!
Related reading : Can parrots eat guava?