Budgie · Snacks & drinks
Can budgies eat potato chips?
No. Potato chips are loaded with salt and fat. Veterinary guides list chips among foods never to feed budgies, and for a bird this small a few chips can hold a harmful amount of salt.
- Sugar
- 0.3 g / 100 g
- Fat
- 34 g / 100 g
If your budgie already ate some
A nibble of one plain chip is unlikely to cause harm; make sure fresh water is available. If your budgie ate more than a small piece, or a heavily salted or flavoured chip, call an avian vet for advice. Signs of salt poisoning include heavy drinking, very wet droppings, weakness, wobbling or falling off the perch, and trembling.
Why
Risks. Birds are sensitive to salt. Excess sodium upsets electrolyte balance, causing thirst, dehydration and kidney problems, and in severe cases weakness, loss of coordination and death. In a study of house sparrows, relatively small amounts of salt caused rapid depression, loss of coordination and deaths. Chips are also fatty, and flavoured chips often contain onion or garlic powder.
Questions owners ask 2
What about unsalted or baked chips?
They are still processed, fatty and low in nutrition, and many are seasoned with onion or garlic powder. Crunchy vegetables make a far better treat.
My budgie stole a crumb of a crisp. Should I panic?
No. A crumb is a very small amount of salt. Offer fresh water and watch for heavy drinking or wobbliness; call a vet if you see either.
Potato chips: nutrition per 100 g
| Water | 1.9 g |
|---|---|
| Energy | 532 kcal |
| Sugars | 0.3 g |
| Fat | 34 g |
| Protein | 6.4 g |
| Fibre | 3.1 g |
| Calcium | 21 mg |
| Phosphorus | 153 mg |
| Calcium : phosphorus | 0.14 : 1 |
| Sodium | 527 mg |
| Vitamin A (RAE) | 0 µg |
| Vitamin C | 21.6 mg |
“Snacks, potato chips, plain, salted”, USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, FDC 169677). Public domain.
Sources & method 6
The sources below discuss potato chips for budgies (or for pet birds generally). Confidence: medium. Rated on the JOMIZOO Feeding Scale; when good sources disagree we choose the more cautious level.
- Feeding Budgies — VCA Animal Hospitals
- 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)
- Nutritional Diseases of Pet Birds — Merck Veterinary Manual
- Foods Toxic to Pet Birds — Lafeber Company (Christal Pollock, DVM, Dipl. ABVP-Avian, with Laura Doering)
- Toxicity of sodium chloride to house sparrows (Passer domesticus) (Bollinger TK, Mineau P, Wickstrom ML. J Wildl Dis. 2005;41(2):363-370) — Journal of Wildlife Diseases (PubMed record)
- People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets — ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
