Budgie ate apple, shook head. Is it safe? What fruits can my budgie eat?

Thanks for reaching out about Cheeya. You are correct that birds need more than seeds/pellets to thrive. A wide variety of vegetables including greens, red/orange/yellow vegetables such as carrots and squashes. Fruits are more like treats, due to high sugar content. As per handling them. It is a continuation of winning their trust and offering treats. Good luck.

The best thing you can do is to keep offering them. If they won't take it from your hand, start by just placing the treats in a cup in your budgie's cage so that they can try it out on their own terms. If they enjoy the food, you can offer it to them every time you come by, but without giving it by hand. Once they are comfortable eating with you just observing and staying near, you can then work up to offering it by hand and then interacting with them more closely. If they become stressed out, or don't want to try the item, give them some time to relax and settle down before trying again.

They can eat just about anything that you eat with a few exceptions. There is a partial list a the link below. https://pethelpful.com/birds/Which-Foods-Are-Safe-for-Parakeets Introduce one new food at a time and in small amounts. Ideally, Blue should be transitioned to a pelleted diet (Harrison's, Roudybush, Lafeber, Pretty Bird or Exact) and supplement with a small amount of a fortified seed mix mix, cooked grains/beans/pastas.

Both can eat dark, leafy greens. Vegetables such as squash, peppers, peas, carrots and corn can also be offered. Cooked is fine, raw is healthier. Fruits should be offered sparingly to both species to prevent loose droppings. Apples, pears, banana, mango, grapes and peaches are all acceptable. Be sure to remove pits or seeds.

Lettuce can cause some digestive upset in birds and runny stool. I would recommend feeding fresh fruits and other veggies (like zucchini, carrots, and peppers) instead. There is also an increased risk of E. coli In bagged lettuce products right now so I would stay away from those as well. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I recommend providing both grain/seed mix or pelleted feed and fruits/veggies every day. It is not necessary to provide fruit and veggies daily as these are considered enrichment, and not necessary for nutritional requirements. Keep in mind that budgies tend to be neophobic, or do not like new things in their environments, so they may not respond well to new food items. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!

Here is a long list of safe healthy foods for parakeets: Apple, Apricot, Asian pear, Banana, Black currant, Cherry, Crab apple, Custard apple, Dragonfruit (Pitaya), Grape, Grenadine, Guava, Kiwifruit, Lychee, Mango, Nectarine, cactus fruit, Papaya, Peach, Pear, Pineapple, Plum, Pomegranate, Raspberry, Red currant, Strawberry, Yellow plum.