Can Budgies Eat Corn? Is It Healthy Or Unsafe? (Solved)

Despite being a grain, corn is not part of the basic diet of budgies, although corn is a food that budgies absolutely enjoy eating.

All psittacine birds love to eat corn and this of course includes budgies, for whom corn is a delicious and very fun treat.

Corn, as food is not harmful to budgerigars, but it is classified as a treat because its nutritional intake is very poor, for this reason, corn should be limited to be fed as a treat to the budgie.

100g of corn kernels have 75% content of water, that is not bad when compared to others vegetables, but the remaining content is not enough of B vitamins, vitamins A and minerals.

Despite the low nutritional contribution of corn, the same 100g provide 86 calories and its starch content is enough to satiate the budgie’s appetite since it produces a feeling of satiety.

This high starch content is fortunately accompanied by an identical amount of dietetic fiber, which makes corn an easily digestible food.

How should the corn be given to the budgie?

For a fun treat, it is best to feed the fresh, raw corn to the budgies, so they can peck and turn it more easily.

Funny squirrel eating nuts
Funny squirrel eating nuts

Obviously the corn should be cut into slices, not too large, but wide enough so that the slices do not lie flat on the surface.

An important precaution to take into account with raw corn is that, although corn itself is not a food that represents any kind of toxic danger for parakeets, vegetables usually contain traces of pesticides.

This is something that happens very often in vegetables, some pesticides used in the harvest are not used properly, there are waiting times before the plants may not be harvested after the “treatment”.

However, since some farmers do not adhere to these prescribed waiting times, there are high residue values ​​for vegetables and fruits. 

How often should you give corn to the budgie?

Generally, this type of food that is not basic in the diet of the budgie can be offered without problems once or twice a week.

It should be taken into account that, being a food with a lot of starch, the parakeet will be satiated and will not feel like eating any other type of food except for the mixture that should always be available in the budgie’s daily diet.

Is it possible to feed corn to budgie hatchlings?

It is easy to think that corn would be an ideal food for breeding, as it is soft, generates a long-lasting stuffing, and is easily digested, but remember that its nutritional contribution is low, for that reason you should avoid it as food for young parakeets, especially if the chicks are still very small.

Can budgies eat cornflakes?

Some cornflakes can be a snack for parakeets, as long as you try to avoid sugary cornflakes, as the sugar contained in sugary cornflakes does not represent any benefit for the parakeets, quite the contrary.

Some cornflakes can also have a very hard texture, the ideal would be to grind them in portions that are easier for the parakeet to digest.

Originally, the basis of the parakeet’s diet is composed of cereals and seeds, so it is possible to feed them some commercial brand cereals, always taking into account moderation and the additional content of ingredients.

Can canned corn be feed to budgies?

There are some well-known poultry breeders that use canned corn as an ingredient to feed their hatchlings.

if you want to choose this alternative, thoroughly wash the canned corn to eliminate the sodium excess and conservatives contained in canned corn; but of course, if you are able to afford the option of using fresh corn on the cob, avoid using canned corn.

Other ways to use corn in the diet of parakeets

A dough based on precooked corn flours can be used as a replacement for sponge cake in the breeding paste and the dried corn kernel can be ground and used as part of a sponge cake.

When dried, it doubles all its nutritional values, quadruples the calories, and reduces the water content to only 10%, therefore its use as part of the breeding paste is totally valid and recommendable.

Partially crushed corn for poultry feed is widely used globally, and its use as part of the mix has spread rapidly among breeders looking to reduce costs.

If you choose to use dry corn, you must be careful with the amount to administer because as I mentioned before, corn can have a considerable amount of calories.

Myths about Corn as food for budgies

Starch: The reason why corn is usually demonized is because of its starch content, starch generates a feeling of fullness, if you feel full “pass” to eat other things of greater and more important nutritional contribution, for this reason, corn should only be a treat, but this does not imply that it will harm you.

Raw or boiled corn?: When boiling it loses much of the starch and that is why some recommend it cooked, but there is nothing, absolutely nothing wrong with raw corn, the bad thing would be a diet based entirely on corn (raw or cooked),

The bad thing would be a diet totally based on corn (raw or cooked), because it should be understood that it is only a treat that should be eaten at most one portion a week and nothing more.

Inhibition of biotin: Starch reduces the contribution of vitamins such as B7, and this contribution of corn doubles when it is dried or cooked, but the inhibition of B7 occurs in the corn itself and not in other foods consumed at the same time or in the organism of the person who consumes it.

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