Can Birds Eat Bananas? Yes, a Small Piece as a Treat

Why banana works for pet birds

VCA's list of suitable foods for budgies includes banana alongside apple, blueberries, grapes, mango, melon, papaya, pear and many vegetables. VCA's conure guide also lists fruit among the fresh foods parrots should get, at about 10 percent of the day. Banana is not toxic to birds.

Its soft texture makes it easy for small birds to eat, and its sweetness makes it a useful tool. Many keepers mash a little banana with pellets or chopped vegetables to encourage a reluctant bird to try new foods, an approach VCA describes using moist foods to help convert birds from seed.

Keep fruit to a modest share

VCA recommends pellets as roughly 60 to 80 percent of a budgie's diet, with fruits, vegetables and greens together at no more than 20 to 25 percent. For conures, VCA suggests fruit at about 10 percent of the daily intake because it is high in water and natural sugar.

Banana is one of the sweeter, denser fruits, so a little goes a long way. The Merck Veterinary Manual advises small daily portions of fresh vegetables and fruits, and notes that high-fat, unhealthy foods cause health problems in birds as in people; sweet treats are best kept small too.

How to serve banana

Wash the outside of the banana, then cut a thin round. VCA says it is not necessary to peel fruit for birds, and some birds enjoy picking at the peel; wash it well if you leave it on. Cut the slice into pieces your bird can hold.

Serve banana in its own dish, separate from pellets and water, and take it out within a couple of hours; VCA warns that fresh fruit left all day may spoil and upset digestion. Avoid banana chips, which are often fried and sweetened, and banana bread or muffins.

Foraging for food keeps pet birds busy, so tuck a small piece into a foraging toy or clip it near a perch so it has to work for it.

How much banana for different birds

For a budgie or canary, a piece of banana about the size of a fingernail a few times a week is plenty. For a cockatiel, a slice about the thickness of a coin is enough. Conures and larger parrots can have a little more, within VCA's fruit share.

Rotate banana with other fruits and, more often, with vegetables. VCA's suitable-foods list includes far more vegetables than fruits, such as broccoli, carrot, peas, peppers, squash, sweet potato and dark leafy greens.

Foods never to share with your bird

Lafeber's do-not-feed list includes avocado, which contains persin, a toxin reported to affect the heart in birds, with deaths reported after birds ate avocado or guacamole; chocolate, whose theobromine and caffeine can cause tremors, seizures and death; onion and garlic; fruit pits; and apple seeds.

VCA adds very salty foods, caffeinated products, alcohol and foods cooked with butter or oil. Keep a bird away from the kitchen counter and the dinner table, where these turn up together.

When to call an avian vet

Call an avian veterinarian if your bird stops eating, sits fluffed up on the cage floor, has diarrhea or seems weak. Merck advises having any bird that eats poorly checked by a veterinarian to rule out illness, so do not wait to see whether it improves.

If your bird ate something toxic, such as avocado or chocolate, call your vet straight away. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 and Pet Poison Helpline at (855) 764-7661 can also advise; a fee may apply.

This page is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your pet.