In the wilderness, budgies sometimes tend to eat insects for their protein demands. When they are captive, most of the protein of their diet will come from pellets, so they don’t need meat in general.
But can budgies eat chicken? Yes, you can feed a small amount of chicken to your budgies. But the meat should not be raw or rotten. You should only provide your budgies with a certain amount of cooked chicken once in a while.
This article will focus on whether you should or shouldn’t feed chicken to budgies. Plus, you will also know the consequences of feeding this meat. Let’s get started.
Can You Feed Chicken to Budgies?
Most birds aren’t generally fond of meat. They meet their nutrition demands with foods like grass seeds, fruits, etc. But captive budgies have fewer chances to eat insects to balance their protein intake.
Though pelleted foods contain the required amount of protein for budgies, many pet owners tend to feed chicken to budgies. Before you do this, you should know whether it is good or bad for your little friends.
Is Chicken Harmful to Budgies?
Any types of foods that have high protein can be risky for these little birds. Their digestive system is very sensitive to meat protein. So, chicken or other high-protein foods can easily make their stomachs upset. This is the first perspective you should keep in mind.
And feeding raw chicken to budgies can be downright dangerous. Raw chicken might contain different bacteria that will make your birds ill. Feeding raw chicken can even be deadly to budgies.
So, Should You Feed Chicken to Budgies?
Chicken isn’t a must-have item in the budgies’ diet, but you can still feed some chicken to your budgies to bring variation to their diet. A large amount of protein intake might make the bird ill, so you should avoid letting budgies eat too much chicken at once.
Only a small amount of chicken can be served to pet budgies, that too under close moderation. The chicken should be properly cooked so that there are no germs in the meat. You should choose lean meat and exclude chicken from the birds’ diet.
Excessive fat content in the diet can be unhealthy for budgies. It can cause kidney problems in your pets. So, the best way to feed chicken to budgies is to give them a small portion as a treat once in one or two weeks. That should just be enough for your budgies.
Do Budgies Like Chicken?
Budgies usually don’t have any certain preference for chicken or other meat. But if you provide them with meat, they will like to eat it. Some budgies like chicken very much and will eat a large amount if served.
They will even try to eat raw chicken if available. So, you should be very careful not to let the bird eat raw or too much chicken.
Why Shouldn’t You Feed Chicken to Budgies?
As pet birds are mostly confined, they have almost no exercise compared to what they would have in the wilderness. As a result, feeding a fatty bird food can be too risky for budgies.
The fat and cholesterol in meat can cause atherosclerosis and hepatic lipidosis in birds. As budgies get older, they might face health issues like kidney failure, obesity, etc. Obesity can cause other problems as well.
So, it is wise not to feed chicken to budgies. Even if you do it, consider avoiding too much fat and only select the lean part of the meat. The meat should be thoroughly cooked so that the fat gets burnt.
How Do You Prepare Chicken for Budgies?
If you like to feed chicken to your budgies for its protein value or essential vitamins, you must prepare the chicken carefully to not be hard on the bird. Follow these steps to prepare chicken for budgerigars.
- Only feed fresh chickens to budgies. Rotten or raw meat can make your bird ill and even cause death.
- Remove the fat content from the chicken and clean it well.
- Cook the chicken for about twenty minutes to kill any remaining germs that might harm your bird.
- Pull the meat by hand or coarsely grind to make it easier for budgies to eat.
Can You Feed Chicken to Baby Budgies? If So, How?
As baby budgies need a lot of protein to grow, feeding chicken to them is better than feeding it to older birds. The chicken must be prepared, as we mentioned earlier to feed baby budgies,
In this case, you can even make a fine paste so that baby budgies can digest it better. Some fat content can be given to baby budgies to boost their growth.
Video of a Budgies Eating Chicken
FAQ
Want to know some more about budgies eating chicken? Check the following.
Budgies need to have at least 10-20% protein in a balanced diet. That amount can be obtained from various nuts and seed diets. Chicken has a high protein content that can cause multiple risks even to a healthy bird.
Budgies usually don’t like bare bones. But if there is meat on the bone, they would like to eat the bone marrow as well.
Besides common problems like obesity, budgies can suffer from heart disease, high cholesterol, fatty liver, etc., if they eat too much chicken.
Final Words
Chicken is a good source of protein for almost all birds and animals. But eating chicken too much or too often can be harmful to these feathered friends. So, you should limit the amount of chicken in the budgies’ diet even if you want to feed it.
And make sure the chicken is prepared the right way so that it does less harm to your favorite birds. If you see any sign of obesity or other diseases, immediately stop feeding chicken to budgies until the health condition improves.
Do you know if your budgies can eat mealworms or raspberries? Read our articles about it to learn more.
