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Cockatiel · Vegetables

Can cockatiels eat onions?

No — never feed

No. Onion can damage a cockatiel's red blood cells, and VCA says it should never be offered to a bird. This includes cooked onion and onion powder.

Sugar: 4.2 g / 100 g

If your cockatiel already ate some

Call your avian vet for advice, particularly if your cockatiel ate more than a nibble or a concentrated form such as onion powder. Watch over the next few days for weakness, reduced appetite, fluffed feathers, labored breathing or dark or reddish droppings.

Emergency steps →

Why

Risks. Onion belongs to the Allium family, whose sulfur compounds cause oxidative damage to red blood cells, leading to anemia. VCA's cockatiel feeding guide lists onion alongside avocado as potentially toxic.

Questions owners ask 1

What about spring onions, leeks or chives?

They are all in the onion family and should be kept away from cockatiels too.

Onions: nutrition per 100 g

Water	89.1 g
Energy	40 kcal
Sugars	4.2 g
Fat	0.1 g
Protein	1.1 g
Fibre	1.7 g
Calcium	23 mg
Phosphorus	29 mg
Calcium : phosphorus	0.79 : 1
Sodium	4 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)	0 µg
Vitamin C	7.4 mg

“Onions, raw”, USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, FDC 170000). Public domain.

Sources & method 5

The sources below discuss onions 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
Cockatiel Care Sheet (Maria Zayas, DVM) — PetMD
Unsafe Foods for Birds — LafeberVet
People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets — ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
Garlic and Onion (Allium spp) Toxicosis in Animals — Merck Veterinary Manual (Cristine Hayes, DVM, ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center)

Other pets

Can hamsters eat onions?Never Can budgies eat onions?Never