Yes, lovebirds can eat cucumbers, infact they’re a very good food source as long as you don’t overfeed them. Cucumbers come packed with a good number of healthy vitamins, minerals and are also great fruit for hydration being 96% water. 

There’s a lot to love here therefore, it’s not surprising that these tiny parrots like them a fair amount. However, as is the case with all food sources, no matter how good or healthy they are, some types of cucumbers aren’t recommended.

Throughout this article i’ll go in to more depth on the positives, the negatives, the benefits, how much you can feed your lovebird and more to provide you with a great resource to know whether it’s worth slicing up a few pieces of this botanical fruit for your feathered bud or not.

When Can You Feed Your Lovebird A Cucumber?

You can feed your lovebird whenever you want, or whenever it’s feeding time for your rosy cheeked companion. Being juicy and succulent these small framed parrots truly like cucumbers .

Do note that some lovebirds are known to be very picky eaters so there is chance that your lovebird won’t want to feed on fresh cucumber slices if their first experience wasn’t the greatest so, not all lovebirds will eat them particularly if the initial slice they were feed was not very nice.

How Are Cucumbers Beneficial To Lovebirds?

Cucumber have a number of benefits. They’re made up of vitamins A, D and K whilst minerals like manganese, magnesium, calcium, iron and potassium also make up a big chunk of the cucumber DNA.

As a result they’ll be beneficial in the following ways:

• Antioxidants to help fight off viruses, infections and benefit the immune system as a whole.
• Great for hydration as it is 96% water.
• Helps with the digestive system, particularly if your lovebird is having bowel issues.
• Very simple to eat as it breaks apart easily.
• The minerals and vitamins are beneficial for healthy bone, feather growth, improving eyesight among other benefits.
• Minimal calories as a result of a cucumber slice being mostly water.

What Are The Negatives For Lovebirds Eating Cucumbers?

Despite all the positives there are a few negative elements that you should take into account.

These negatives include:

• It may cause them to bloat up, especially if the portion sizes are too big.
• Some lovebirds may be allergic to the cucumber so make sure yours doesn’t act unusual when you feed it.
• As stated previously lovebirds are picky eaters therefore, if your lovebird really doesn’t like the cucumber it may lose its appetite altogether, which certainly wouldn’t be good for its health.
• As a cucumber is mostly water, if too much is eaten your bird may develop diarrhoea.

What Cucumbers Can You Feed Your Lovebirds?

It’s also important that you don’t feed your lovebirds certain cucumbers as the wrong ones may affect their health negatively

Therefore, the cucumbers we suggest you feed your bird can include the below:

• Organic cucumbers are the best cucumbers you can feed your lovebird as they’re not artificially enhanced using pesticides, fertilizers and preservatives which can potentially negatively affect a lovebirds stomach.
• Normal store bought cucumbers are fine too but, they are artificially manufactured so, giving them a good clean to remove any kind of wax before chopping them up is the best way for them to be served.
• You can even feed them cucumber seeds, which is a good gateway before introducing a whole cucumber slice to your lovebird.

What Cucumbers Should You Avoid Feeding Them?

Not all cucumbers are good for your lovebirds as most smaller birds are known to have sensitive stomachs.

The cucumbers you should avoid include the following

• Pickled cucumbers should be avoided as they may result in your lovebird getting an upset stomach. The main reason being the pickle juice which doesn’t bode well for a lovebirds that isn’t very accommodating of this flavourful option.
• Fried cumber is a no go to, the reason again being it’s flavourful nature that will affect their

How Much Cucumber Can You Feed Your Lovebird?

Moderation is key otherwise your little featherball won’t have the most pleasant experience eating the cucumber slices.

Feeding your lovebird around 15% their body weight is the go to amount where approximately 60-80% of the food should be pelleted or complete food, whilst the remainder can be made up of sprouting seeds, fruits, nuts, vegetables among other treats.

As love birds can weigh around 45 – 70 grams whilst a cucumber slice on average weighs around 0.5 grams. Based on these numbers a lovebird may eat between 6.75 – 11.5 grams where only 3 – 5 grams worth of food can be contributed towards a cucumber.

Cucumber may not be dense in calories being mostly water but, they are still large in size so feeding maybe one or 2 slices should be enough otherwise they won’t have enough room for the other essential foods in their diet.

Summary

Cucumbers are generally an amazing food source to feed your lovebirds as it’s a rich source of nutrients, it will keep your bird hydrated and even help with the dieting side of things. if your lovebird looks to be packing on too much weight, adding a couple cucumber slices into the mix would be a great.

Therefore, if you ever feel your lovebird wants a change in diet, cucumbers aren’t a bad thing to add, it’ll change things up whilst keeping the diet healthy at once. .

References

Do Parrots Like Cucumber & Is It Safe For Them To Eat?

Can Parrots Eat Cucumber? (Answered!)

https://beakcraze.com/can-parrots-eat-cucumber/

https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nutritional-organic-fresh-cucumber-2061.html

https://www.northernparrots.com/lovebird-feeding-guide-blog565/