Budgie · Grains, seeds & nuts
Can budgies eat cashews?
Better not. Plain cashews are not toxic, but they are fatty and usually sold salted or roasted in oil, which makes them a poor choice for small budgies.
- Portion
- Not needed. At most a crumb about the size of a grain of rice of plain, unsalted cashew
- How often
- Rarely
- Sugar
- 5.9 g / 100 g
- Fat
- 43.9 g / 100 g
If your budgie already ate some
No action is needed for a nibble of plain cashew. After salted or flavoured cashews, provide fresh water and watch for heavy drinking, wobbliness or lethargy, and call an avian vet if you see them.
How to serve it
- Offer vegetables or a little millet as treats instead
- If you give any, use plain, unsalted cashew
- Never offer salted, honey-roasted or flavoured cashews
- Crumble a tiny piece
Why
Risks. Cashews are high in fat, and budgies are prone to obesity, fatty liver and lipomas. Most cashews sold as snacks are salted or roasted in oil, and small birds are sensitive to salt.
Questions owners ask 1
Are raw cashews toxic to budgies?
Cashews sold as 'raw' in shops have already been shelled and heat-treated to remove the irritating shell oil, so they are not poisonous. The real issue for budgies is fat and, in snack cashews, salt.
Cashews: nutrition per 100 g
| Water | 5.2 g |
|---|---|
| Energy | 553 kcal |
| Sugars | 5.9 g |
| Fat | 43.9 g |
| Protein | 18.2 g |
| Fibre | 3.3 g |
| Calcium | 37 mg |
| Phosphorus | 593 mg |
| Calcium : phosphorus | 0.06 : 1 |
| Sodium | 12 mg |
| Vitamin A (RAE) | 0 µg |
| Vitamin C | 0.5 mg |
“Nuts, cashew nuts, raw”, USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, FDC 170162). Public domain.
Sources & method 4
No source we found covers cashews 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
- 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
