Yes, lovebirds can eat broccoli as it has a plethora of nutrients that will all contribute towards their health and to some degree their happiness too. If the diet remains balanced by mixing and matching vegetables broccoli with other nutritious foods your lovebird will in turn benefit the most.

Why Feed Your Lovebird Broccoli?.

Broccoli is a neutral food source so it won’t be too much of an issue for your lovebirds sensitive stomachs. On the pH scale it comes in at a 6.3 – 6.85 rating which is very similar to pelleted seeds that make up the majority of their diet.

It also has its own unique texture and flavour that may be to your lovebirds liking. Then again you would need to first test to see if they’re up for eating broccoli as these birds do have their own unique personalities, where some will be completely for broccoli and others who will completely despise its taste.

If your lovebird does like broccoli, adding it into the diet definitely has more pros than cons, which is what I’ll be delving into in more detail below.

The Benefits Of Feeding Lovebirds Broccoli

Broccoli has a variety of nutrients within it that will be beneficial for your lovebirds health which is what I’ll be breaking down below to give you a better understanding of the positive benefits its addition will have on your feathered friend.

The Benefits Of The Vitamins

• Vitamin A – Protects the light sensitive pigment in the retina of the eye, upkeeps immune production, cell recognition and cell function.
• Vitamin B6 – This will help with the lovebirds stress level, promotes brain health, is important for hemoglobin production and can prevent issues like hyperexcitability, convulsions, twisted neck and polyneuritis as a result of a B6 deficiency.
• Vitamin D – Other than the sun, broccoli also has elements of vitamin D within which is great for health bone and immune system growth and it can prevent rickets.
• Vitamin K – This vitamin is great for bone development and helps with blood clotting, bone metabolism and regulating blood calcium levels within a lovebird.
• Vitamin E – This vitamin is great for offspring as it enhances the chances of fertility for lovebirds. It’s also great for muscular activity, tissue integrity, immune response and the nervous systems making it an essential vitamin for a lovebirds overall growth.
• Vitamin B12 – This vitamin is important for a birds health as it’s an essential biochemical in metabolic transformations and interactions in the cell. Although a B12 deficiency isn’t a common thing, the lack of it can still cause issues like dystrophy in the legs, poor hatching rates and high mortality rates in young birds.
• Vitamin B9 (Folate) – Folate is helpful in the production of healthy blood and tissue growth. It’s also a fundamental compound for a healthy pregnancy so, if your lovebird is in the process of giving birth, feeding it food sources with folate is recommended.

The Benefits Of The Minerals

• Calcium – This helps maintain a normal heart rhythm and assists the nerves in the nervous system to communicate with each other. They’re also important for birds that are breeding as it will help with the production of eggshells and for chicks who are having skeletal issues.
• Potassium – It promotes healthy blood pressure and helps with water retention, which in turn can prevent major health issues like a stroke.
• Iron – This is important for maintaining the hemoglobin production within a lovebird which is carried by oxygen. too much or too little can cause either anemia or iron storage disease
• Phosphorous – Birds tend to have lower phosphorus content due to their high seed diet so by having broccoli , lovebirds can minimise the negatives from a deficiency. The common issues that can occur include an issue with calcium absorption which may cause kidney stone issues.
• Other minerals that broccoli has includes Riboflavin, Thiamin, Niacin and Zinc

Other Benefits

Broccoli is high in fiber which is great for gut health. At the same time its low in calorie due too as a result of its high water content of around 90%.

The sulforaphane within broccoli is another important benefit where it is known for reducing diabetes. This is because it has been observed to reduce blood sugar, known to stop cancer cells from forming and even slow down/prevent the effects of osteoarthritis.

The Negatives Of Feeding Broccoli To Lovebirds

If you feed too much broccoli to your lovebird, it can cause a bowel issues. Broccoli is known to make animals gassy, which would be further amplified for lovebirds due to their sensitive stomachs.

Furthermore, the oxalic acid content within broccolis could also potentially result in kidney stones forming as this acid affects the way calcium is absorbed by birds.

Types Of Broccoli You Can Feed Lovebirds

• Raw Broccoli – As long as the raw organic or normal broccoli is rinsed to rid itself of pesticides and a good portion of the other bacteria, you should be good to feed your lovebird it, provided the food is cut down into smaller manageable sizes.
• Cooked/Steamed Broccoli – When feeding cooked or steamed broccoli you should avoid seasoning it as lovebirds aren’t the best at handling or breaking down salt, garlic, peppers among other forms of seasoning.
• Dried Broccoli – Feeding lovebirds dried broccoli is also a great alternative broccoli type although do check to see if its been seasoned as lovebirds aren’t great at breaking them down.

Types Of Broccoli You Shouldn’t Feed Lovebirds

Most types of broccoli based dishes can be eaten by your lovebird but, its best that you only feed them cleaned and plain chunks as seasoning aren’t easily broken down by these parrot’s stomach.

As long as you do this and feed the bird in moderation, your lovebird shouldn’t really suffer any major damages to their stomach.

How Much Broccoli Can You Feed Lovebirds?

Lovebirds tend to eat between 6 – 10 grams of food per day, which is roughly 15% of their body weight. Between 60  – 80% is composed of pelleted seeds, 15 -25% are vegetables with around 5 – 15% being fruits.

As a result the amount of broccoli you can feed a lovebird is around 1 – 2 grams. Of course you will want to change up feeding broccoli to your lovebird with other vegetables throughout the week like celery, spinach, kale etc.

Therefore, feeding it to them maybe 2 – 3 times a weeks is what I’d recommend. Keeping the amounts within these parameters will ensure that your lovebird isn’t getting overfed and in turn doesn’t suffer from any of its potential negative side effects.

Summary

Although there is no guarantee that lovebirds will actually like Broccoli but, if they do it will make an excellent addition to their diet.

Of course you should still make sure you don’t overfeed your little parrot as it can make them gassy and the potential issues with oxalic acid may cause kidney stones aren’t things you’d want to happening to your little bird after all.

That’s why as long as you moderate the broccoli consumption, it will produce many nutritional benefits for them without causing any severe health problems.

References

https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/health-benefits-broccoli.