Budgie · Grains, seeds & nuts
Can budgies eat almonds?
Better not. Almonds are not toxic, but they are about half fat, and budgies are tiny birds prone to obesity and fatty tumours. If your budgie steals a sliver, it will not come to harm.
- Portion
- Not needed. At most a sliver about the size of a grain of rice
- How often
- Rarely
- Sugar
- 4.4 g / 100 g
- Fat
- 49.9 g / 100 g
If your budgie already ate some
No action is needed for a nibble of plain almond. If your budgie ate salted or flavoured almonds, make sure fresh water is available and watch for heavy drinking, wobbliness or lethargy over the next day; call an avian vet if you see these.
How to serve it
- Offer vegetables or a little millet as treats instead
- If you give any, use plain almond with no salt or flavouring
- Shave off a tiny sliver
- Never give salted, smoked, sugared or chocolate-coated almonds
Why
Risks. The concern is fat and calories rather than poison. Budgies commonly develop obesity, fatty liver disease and lipomas on high-fat diets, and even a small piece of nut is a large portion for such a small bird. Flavoured almonds add salt and sugar.
Benefits. Almonds contain vitamin E, calcium and unsaturated fat, but a budgie gets these more safely from pellets and greens.
Questions owners ask 2
Do almonds contain cyanide that can poison budgies?
Sweet almonds sold for eating contain only trace amounts of the compound that releases cyanide; bitter almonds contain much more and should never be given. The main reason to skip almonds for budgies is their fat.
Can I give my budgie almond milk?
No. It adds nothing a budgie needs, and many versions contain sugar or additives. Fresh water is the only drink it needs.
Almonds: nutrition per 100 g
| Water | 4.4 g |
|---|---|
| Energy | 579 kcal |
| Sugars | 4.4 g |
| Fat | 49.9 g |
| Protein | 21.2 g |
| Fibre | 12.5 g |
| Calcium | 269 mg |
| Phosphorus | 481 mg |
| Calcium : phosphorus | 0.56 : 1 |
| Sodium | 1 mg |
| Vitamin A (RAE) | 0 µg |
| Vitamin C | 0 mg |
“Nuts, almonds”, USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, FDC 170567). Public domain.
Sources & method 5
No source we found covers almonds for budgies specifically, so this verdict is reasoned from general feeding guidance and nutrition data. Confidence: medium. Rated on the JOMIZOO Feeding Scale; when good sources disagree we choose the more cautious level.
- What to Feed Your Pet Bird — RSPCA
- Management of Pet Birds (professional version) — Merck Veterinary Manual (Sharman M. Hoppes, DVM, DABVP Avian)
- 10 Everyday Items That Are Toxic to Birds — Veterinary Center for Birds and Exotics (avian and exotic practice of Laurie Hess, DVM, DABVP Avian; practice blog, no individual byline)
- Tumors in Birds: Lipomas — VCA Animal Hospitals (Gregory Rich, DVM; Rick Axelson, DVM)
- Obesity in Birds — VCA Animal Hospitals
