Yes, parrots can eat pumpkins but, it should only be fed in moderation as it’s packed with sugar and is also acidic making it a problem for the bowels of smaller and even bigger parrots to consume it. With that being said it is still great for eyesight health, acts as a cancer preventative, allows muscles to function healthily whilst also being a tasty snack parrots wanting to add another unique taste to their pallet.

Why Feed Your Parrot Pumpkin?

Pumpkin is a very nutritious fruit therefore, feeding it to your parrot will not only provide a positive health benefit but also will be a unique flavour they may actually enjoy eating.

In regards to acidity pumpkins aren’t overly acidic fruits although with a pH rating of 3.9 – 4.3 it’s from neutral too.

Either way pumpkins are a great addition to a parrots diet as long as they actually like its texture and flavour so feeding them the fruit once in a while is worth doing, in my opinion at least.

The Benefits Of Feeding Your Parrot Pumpkin

Below I will outline the benefits of the vitamins and minerals within a pumpkin and how they will provide a positive influence on your parrots health.

Benefits Of The Vitamins

• Vitamin A – Pumpkins are rich with vitamin A that helps in protecting the light sensitive pigment in the retina of the eye, allows immune production, cell recognition and cell function to remain healthy.
• Vitamin C – Parrots will greatly benefit from vitamin C because it acts as a cancer preventative, allows its respiratory system to stay in good health, assists in maintaining the kidneys functions whilst also being great for the healing process. Vitamin C also acts as way for parrots to develop healthy skin due to its influence on collagen production.
• Vitamin B2 – This vitamin plays a major role in breaking down carbs, protein and fats which all help in keeping the energy levels of parrots relatively high. Skin issues, riboflavin deficiency among other undesirable illnesses can be prevented provided the recommended amount of vitamin B2 per week is consumed.
• Vitamin E – This vitamin will help in maintaining your parrots eyesight as well as maintain a healthy working heart.

Benefits Of The Minerals

• Potassium – This is one of the most important minerals any animal can take. It helps regulate fluids, muscle contractions, nerve signals and maintain a healthy blood pressure. Due to these factors major illnesses like strokes and kidney stones can be prevented.
• Copper – This mineral is critical for a number helpful bodily functions such as assisting with energy metabolism, tissue growth, red blood cell formation, oxidative defence and immunocompetence.
• Manganese – if you want your parrots body to develop connective tissue, have healthy bone growth, minimise blood clotting issues and have an improved metabolism, manganese is an excellent mineral for the task. Pumpkins happens to have an abundant amount of manganese too so, it’ll be very useful in this regard.
• Iron – This mineral is important as it creates hemoglobin and protein within red blood cells that carry oxygen to the muscles so they function healthily. Growth and development is the main attribute of iron otherwise with the lack of it many bodily issues like weight loss, anorexia, circulatory failure, may pop up.
• There are also various trace minerals within pumpkins which include magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, folate

Other Benefits

Pumpkins are 94% water therefore, they can act as a great alternative for normal water if you want to keep your parrot hydrated.

Pumpkin also has protein and fiber present within it which can act as great source for recovery, curbing hunger and gut health.

The Negatives Of Parrots Eating Pumpkin

Pumpkin do have a lot of natural sugars within it which can cause your parrot to gain unnecessary weight. It’s a relatively acidic fruit, although not to the same level as berries so feeding your parrot too much could cause it bowel issues.

Lastly, considering its high water content, if your parrot does eat too much, it can also cause they’re stool to be a watery mess too.

Types Of Pumpkin Parrots Can Eat

• Organic Pumpkin – Yes, organic based pumpkins may be on the expensive side but, they’re a better option than normal store bought offering which can be covered in pesticides and preservatives which aren’t great for a parrots sensitive stomach. With that being said washing the pumpkin should still be part of the process to make it a safer eat.
• Pumpkin Seeds – Seeds are great snacks making pumpkin seeds a great addition to the seeds they already eat. But, you should purchase unprocessed seeds as additives among other chemicals won’t be as abundant within . Bird shops tend to sell seed mixes pumpkin seeds so, if you want the healthiest option, pumpkin seeds from those shops are the way to go.
• Unseasoned Pumpkin Puree – As long as the puree is unseasoned it’ll be better for your parrots health due to their inability to break specific ingredients like salt among other seasonings effectively.
• Canned Pumpkin – Before feeding your parrot these you would need to wash it as canned fruits use many chemicals to remain preserved. Even though these pumpkin slices are less acidic than the raw option overall, rinsing the fruit is equally if not more important due to the preservatives used.
• Pumpkin Skin – parrots can eat pumpkin skin which is rich in vitamin A and would help in upkeeping the immune system. Once again pumpkin skin should be thoroughly washed to remove as much of the artificial pesticides and other chemicals found on it.

Types Of Pumpkin Parrots Shouldn’t Eat

Parrots can eat most pumpkin based foods as long as it is plain, cleaned and cut down into manageable chunks or be served as kind of puree to not become a choking hazard.

So, as long as the serving of pumpkin to your parrot is not seasoned with garlic, pepper or salt, all of which are either too acidic or hard to break down for a parrot, they shouldn’t have too much of an issue eating this delicious orange fruit.

How Much Pumpkin Can You Feed A Parrot?

The amount of a pumpkin a parrot can eat will depend on their dailiy activity and the size of their body. parakeets and lovebirds may only eat eat around 10 grams of food per day, cockatiels between 30 – 40 grams and african grey parrots whoare much larger can eat upwards of 100 grams if needed.

in most cases parrots will consume around 15 – 25% of their body weight in food per day so make sure you feed within these guidelines as overfeeding is never a good. With that being as parrots tend to only eat until they’re full, limiting the more fatty options will make sure they don’t over eat.

Out of the grams they do eat, roughly 60 – 80% would be pelleted seeds, vegetables around 15 – 25% and fruits around 5 – 15% makes up fruits.

Therefore, depenidng on the size of the parrot they could eat anywhere from as low as 0.5  upto 15+ grams of pumpkin per day.

Summary

Most parrots will be able to eat pumpkin, whether the fruit is raw, the pumpkins skin, cooked in soup form etc. With that being said some parrots may not be fond of the flavour, the texture or may be plain allergic to it so, do take this into account before rushing out to the store.

As long as your parrot is cleared on the allergy side of things and is served the pumpkin in a way that they like eating it, adding it into the diet is definitely worth doing.

References

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/279610#nutrition