Can budgies eat potatoes?

Yes, in small amounts

Yes, in small amounts, cooked and plain only. Cooked potato is not toxic to budgies but offers little, and raw, green or sprouting potatoes and the plant contain solanine.

Portion: A piece of plain cooked potato about 1 cm (⅜ in) across
How often: Once a week at most
Sugar: 0.8 g / 100 g

How to serve it

Use potatoes with no green patches or sprouts
Peel, then boil, steam or bake until soft, with no salt, butter or oil
Cool and cut a small piece
Remove leftovers within an hour

Why

Risks. Potatoes are nightshades: the leaves, stems, sprouts and green skin contain glycoalkaloids such as solanine, while properly stored potato flesh is considered safe for birds. Chips, crisps and fries are too salty and fatty.

Benefits. Plain cooked potato is a bland food that some budgies accept, but sweet potato and other orange vegetables offer much more.

Questions owners ask 2

Can budgies eat raw potato?

It is better not to. Raw potato is hard to digest, and any green or sprouting parts contain more solanine. Offer only plain cooked potato, or better still, sweet potato.

What about potato peel?

Leave it off. Glycoalkaloids concentrate in and just under the skin, especially where it has turned green.

Potatoes: nutrition per 100 g

Water	79.3 g
Energy	77 kcal
Sugars	0.8 g
Fat	0.1 g
Protein	2.1 g
Fibre	2.1 g
Calcium	12 mg
Phosphorus	57 mg
Calcium : phosphorus	0.21 : 1
Sodium	6 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)	0 µg
Vitamin C	19.7 mg

“Potatoes, flesh and skin, raw”, USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, FDC 170026). Public domain.

Sources & method 3

The sources below discuss potatoes 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.