If you have a cockatiel at home, you already know what a pleasure it is to be around them. Not only are they warm and affectionate, but they are also thoroughly entertaining. Watching them consume food might be amusing at times. You must occasionally feed your feathered bird leafy greens, but have you ever fed them celery? Can cockatiels eat celery?
Yes, cockatiels can eat celery. Even though celery is less nutritious than other leafy greens, it can be fed in moderation. Nevertheless, before feeding it to them, remember to destring the stalk. Your feathered friend can also eat celery leaves and seeds safely.
Celery is safe for cockatiels to eat, but because it is mostly water, it is not thought to have much nutritional value. Because of this, your cockatiel shouldn’t eat it very often or in large amounts.
Continue reading to learn more about this topic!
Is Celery Healthy For Cockatiels?
Like all other vegetables, celery is healthy for cockatiels, but in moderation. When eaten in small amounts, celery is a good source of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
Cockatiels struggle to get certain vitamins only through pellets, so vegetables such as celery can boost their levels. Similarly, diets rich in seeds and nuts are typically deficient in some vitamins.
However, too much celery isn’t recommended because cockatiels require a varied diet with the nutrients needed to stay healthy. Even though celery has some important vitamins and minerals, eating too much of it can lead to malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies, as was already mentioned.
Celery has few calories, so cockatiels are at risk of weight loss if it isn’t consumed with higher-calorie foods.
Also, cockatiels have trouble digesting the fibrous parts of celery because they are so stringy. So, it needs to be cooked well and cut into smaller pieces before you give it to your cockatiel.
See Also: Can Cockatiels Eat Kale?
Benefits Of Feeding Celery To Your Cockatiel
Celery is rich in certain essential nutrients that cockatiels need to stay healthy.
Celery, when given in moderation, keeps cockatiels’ immune systems and digestive systems in good shape because it gives them:
- Vitamin C: As with the human body, this vitamin can improve your cockatiel’s immune system. There are rumors that it might make cockatiels less likely to hurt themselves, but there isn’t much evidence to back this up.
- Vitamin K: This vitamin is included in small amounts. This vitamin is the main reason blood coagulates. Without it, clotting won’t work correctly.
- Vitamin A: Celery contains vitamin A, which is essential for your cockatiel’s feather health. It is one of the main reasons that cockatiels have such bright colors.
- Folate: This vitamin is used for multiple purposes, ranging from cell growth to metabolism. Without it, cockatiels can become stunted, as they won’t grow properly. It can even lead to anemia.
- Potassium: Potassium-rich foods are a vital part of your cockatiel’s diet. But it needs to be carefully balanced with calcium, especially when feeding a variety of fruits and vegetables. Potassium is necessary for muscle contractions, nerve messages, and electrolyte balances.
Can Cockatiels Eat Celery Leaves?
Celery leaves are arguably better for cockatiels than the stalk of the celery. They contain less water and are often richer in vitamins.
However, celery leaves may be full of pesticides. It relies mostly on the origin of the celery.
The Environmental Working Group made a list of foods that showed that celery has more pesticides than most other foods.
While small amounts of pesticides are not harmful to humans, cockatiels are much smaller. Therefore, cockatiels may experience adverse side effects from celery.
As these are the sections that are sprayed, the leaves likely have a high concentration of pesticides.
Even though washing is a good way to get rid of most pesticides, it is impossible to know for sure if they have all been removed. Therefore, we recommend avoiding celery leaves as well.
They may have a lower moisture level but often contain more pesticides.
Can Cockatiels Eat Celery Seeds?
Celery seeds have many of the same healthy parts as the rest of the plant, so they are just as safe to eat.
They are absent from the plant, specifically celery. Once they become brown and dry, you can harvest them and feed them to your cockatiel.
Unfortunately, cockatiels prefer other seeds, such as sunflower seeds and pine nuts.
Can Cockatiels Drink Celery Juice?
Celery juice is healthy because it pulverizes the stringy pieces that can get stuck in your cockatiel’s crop.
Some cockatiels love drinking celery from a shallow bowl. Due to its high water content, it is good for juicing, as the water gives it a pleasing consistency.
Similarly, combining celery with other vegetables and juicing them with water is a great way to provide a cockatiel with extra vitamins and minerals. Also, juicing makes the celery more flavorsome.
See Also: Can Cockatiels Eat Broccoli?
How Much Celery Should You Give To Your Cockatiel?
As with most foods, celery should be provided to your cockatiel in moderation. It can be part of your cockatiel’s daily diet of fruits and vegetables.
Because it is low in calories, fat, and protein, it should not be the only source of nutrition. Celery should be served with other fruits and vegetables that have more calories, fat, and protein.
Daily feeding of fibrous celery may also increase the risk of crop impaction. Some cockatiels don’t care much for celery and would rather eat more tasty foods or just stay away from it. Other cockatiels prefer the crunch and texture provided by celery.
Are There Any Risks To Giving Celery To Cockatiels?
Celery isn’t bad for cockatiels, nor is it toxic. However, it isn’t good for them either.
The high water content waters down much of the nutrition it contains. While it does include some vitamins vital to your cockatiel’s overall health, there are much better sources.
We recommend choosing nutrient-dense vegetables, especially because cockatiels are so small and eat so little.
They need their food to be as dense as possible — not made up of 95% water.
You may choose to feed your cockatiel celery occasionally. However, it shouldn’t make up a significant portion of their diet.
This would not only cut down on the nutrients your cockatiel gets, but it would also make crop impaction more likely. If celery is given at all, it should be given in small amounts.
How To Prepare Celery For Your Cockatiel
Before giving your cockatiel a celery stick, make sure it is ready to eat so that it doesn’t get a crop impaction.
Rub the celery’s fibrous portions, where pesticides may be hiding, with cool water. Soak it for one hour in salt water to eliminate any chemical residue.
To prevent long strings from entering your cockatiel’s body, chop them into fine pieces. While cockatiels enjoy holding and tearing apart the stick, it is not safe for your cockatiel and can cause crop impaction.
If crop impaction is a problem, juice the celery and provide the liquid in a shallow bowl. If your cockatiel hasn’t eaten it in a couple of hours, give it fresh celery instead.
See Also: Can Cockatiels Eat Asparagus?
Conclusion
Cockatiels can eat celery, but it’s not usually a good idea for them to eat a lot of it.
Much of the celery is water. While hydration is essential for your cockatiel’s health, they need the most nutrition from their diet that they can get. You should avoid filling their bellies with liquids when they should be consuming food.
Celery may also induce impaction, although this is quite uncommon. It is digestible; however, the birds may have difficulty with the strings.
It is also higher in pesticides than most vegetables. Thus, we recommend that you choose organic produce wherever feasible and thoroughly wash it.
If you decide to feed your cockatiel celery, be sure it is part of a well-balanced diet. No bird should live just on celery alone!
