Food safety
Can Birds Eat Bread? A Little Whole-Wheat, Rarely
Pet birds can eat a little plain whole-wheat bread as an occasional snack, but bread should never be a regular food. Lafeber lists whole-wheat bread among healthy snacks for pet birds "in moderation", and says snacks should make up no more than 10 percent of a bird's diet during the week. VCA Animal Hospitals warns against processed foods and foods cooked with butter or oil. So skip white bread, buttered toast, garlic bread and anything sweet or salty.
By Matt GarnettUpdated November 13, 20264 min read4 sources
Why bread is a snack, not a meal
Parakeets, cockatiels, lovebirds and other parrots do best on a formulated pelleted diet with fresh vegetables and some fruit. VCA recommends pellets as roughly 60 to 80 percent of a budgie's diet and says birds eating 75 to 80 percent pellets generally do not need extra vitamins. Bread does not fit into that core.
Lafeber, a long-established avian nutrition company, includes whole-wheat bread, rice cakes and no-salt whole-wheat crackers among healthy snacks, but only in moderation, and caps snacks at 10 percent of the weekly diet. Bread is filling and offers little a bird needs, so a small piece now and then is the limit.
What makes some bread a bad idea
VCA advises avoiding processed foods and foods cooked with butter or oil, and says very salty foods should never be fed. Many breads, rolls and crackers are salty or buttery, and sweet breads, donuts and pastries add sugar and fat. Lafeber says high-fat, high-salt and high-sugar foods, while not technically toxic, can cause serious health problems in birds.
Watch for added ingredients too. Garlic bread and onion rolls carry alliums, which Lafeber notes have caused fatal toxicity in birds in large amounts. Chocolate breads and muffins add a real toxin, and sugar-free baked goods may contain xylitol, which Lafeber links to severe hypoglycemia in dogs.
How to offer bread safely
Choose plain whole-wheat or whole-grain bread with no seeds coated in salt, no sugar glaze and no butter. Tear off a piece about the size of your bird's beak or smaller and offer it by hand or in a separate dish.
Moldy bread should go straight in the trash. Lafeber notes that moldy grains and nuts can be contaminated by a toxin-producing fungus. Remove any uneaten bread after an hour or two, since it can spoil in the cage, especially if the bird dunks it in its water.
Fresh foods spoil fast in a warm room; offer them in a clip-on dish in the bird cage and remove leftovers within a few hours, or hide a piece in a foraging toy.
How much for budgies, cockatiels and larger parrots
For a budgie, canary or finch, a crumb about the size of a pea once or twice a week is plenty. For a cockatiel or conure, a piece the size of a thumbnail is enough. VCA suggests that table foods for a conure-sized bird be kept to roughly a tablespoon in total.
Larger parrots can have a little more, but the principle is the same. The Merck Veterinary Manual notes that extra items should not disturb the nutritional balance of the diet, and that amino acid deficiencies are most consistently seen in parrots on seed- and table food-based diets. Bread is exactly that kind of extra.
Bread for wild birds
Many people feed bread to ducks and backyard birds. This page is about pet birds kept indoors, and the same reasoning applies outdoors: bread fills birds up without offering the nutrients they need. If you feed wild birds, choose seed, suet or foods sold for that purpose.
Never put moldy bread out for any birds, for the same reason Lafeber gives for pet birds: molds on grains can produce toxins.
What to offer instead, and when to call a vet
Better snacks from VCA's suggested list include small pieces of apple without seeds, banana, berries, broccoli, carrot, sweet potato, peas, cooked brown rice and squash. Fruits and vegetables should be washed, cut into bird-size pieces and removed after a couple of hours. Never offer avocado, which Lafeber describes as a cardiac toxin to birds.
Call an avian veterinarian if your bird stops eating, fluffs up and sits on the cage floor, has diarrhea or seems weak after eating anything unusual. A bird that is eating poorly should be checked by a veterinarian to rule out illness.
This page is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your pet.
Common questions
Is bread bad for birds?
A little plain whole-wheat bread is not harmful, and Lafeber lists it as a snack in moderation. Bread is bad when it replaces pellets and produce, or when it is salty, buttery, sweet or moldy.
Can parakeets eat bread?
Yes, a crumb of plain whole-wheat bread now and then is fine for a parakeet. Keep it to a pea-size piece once or twice a week, and focus the diet on pellets, vegetables and some fruit.
Can birds eat white bread?
It is a poor choice. White bread is a processed food with little nutrition, and VCA advises avoiding processed foods for birds. If you share bread, whole-wheat in a small amount is better.
Can birds eat toast?
Plain dry toast is no worse than plain bread, but buttered toast is out, since VCA advises against foods cooked with butter or oil. Never share toast with jam, peanut butter spreads or chocolate spreads.
Can birds eat moldy bread?
No. Lafeber notes that moldy grains can carry a toxin-producing fungus. Throw out moldy bread rather than giving it to pet birds or putting it out for wild birds.
Sources we checked
This guide is general information, not veterinary advice. If your pet is unwell or injured, contact your veterinarian.
