Cockatiel · Snacks & drinks
Can cockatiels eat chocolate?
No. Chocolate is toxic to cockatiels. Its theobromine and caffeine can trigger a racing heart, tremors, seizures and death, and darker chocolate is the most dangerous.
- Sugar
- 24 g / 100 g
- Fat
- 42.6 g / 100 g
If your cockatiel already ate some
Treat any chocolate as an emergency: call an avian vet or animal poison control line immediately and keep the wrapper to report the type and amount. Watch for restlessness, trembling, rapid breathing, diarrhoea or seizures. Do not attempt home treatment.
Why
Risks. Chocolate contains the methylxanthines theobromine and caffeine, which stimulate the heart and nervous system. Signs in birds include hyperactivity, increased heart rate, tremors and seizures, and death has been documented in a wild parrot that ate dark chocolate. Cocoa powder and dark chocolate carry the highest doses.
Questions owners ask 2
My cockatiel licked some chocolate. Is that serious?
Call your vet for advice. A lick of milk chocolate is a much smaller dose than a piece of dark chocolate, but only a vet can judge the risk for your bird's weight and the product involved.
Are chocolate-flavoured bird treats safe?
Avoid anything containing cocoa or chocolate. There is no need to risk it when plenty of safe treats exist.
Chocolate: nutrition per 100 g
| Water | 1.4 g |
|---|---|
| Energy | 598 kcal |
| Sugars | 24 g |
| Fat | 42.6 g |
| Protein | 7.8 g |
| Fibre | 10.9 g |
| Calcium | 73 mg |
| Phosphorus | 308 mg |
| Calcium : phosphorus | 0.24 : 1 |
| Sodium | 20 mg |
| Vitamin A (RAE) | 2 µg |
| Caffeine | 80 mg |
| Theobromine | 802 mg |
“Chocolate, dark, 70-85% cacao solids”, USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, FDC 170273). Public domain.
Sources & method 6
The sources below discuss chocolate for cockatiels (or for pet birds generally). Confidence: high. Rated on the JOMIZOO Feeding Scale; when good sources disagree we choose the more cautious level.
- Feeding Pet Cockatiels — VCA Animal Hospitals
- Nutritional Diseases of Pet Birds — Merck Veterinary Manual
- Foods Toxic to Pet Birds — Lafeber Company (Christal Pollock, DVM, Dipl. ABVP-Avian, with Laura Doering)
- 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)
- Death by chocolate: a fatal problem for an inquisitive wild parrot (Gartrell BD, Reid C. N Z Vet J. 2007;55(3):149-151) — New Zealand Veterinary Journal (PubMed record)
- People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets — ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
