Cockatiel · Snacks & drinks
Can cockatiels eat potato chips?
No. Chips are very salty and fatty, and veterinary sources say not to feed them to pet birds. Small birds are sensitive to salt, and a handful of chips can be a harmful dose.
- Sugar
- 0.3 g / 100 g
- Fat
- 34 g / 100 g
If your cockatiel already ate some
A crumb of a plain chip is unlikely to cause harm; provide fresh water. If your cockatiel ate a whole chip or more, or a strongly seasoned one, call an avian vet for advice. Watch for heavy drinking, very wet droppings, weakness, wobbling, trembling or collapse.
Why
Risks. Too much salt disturbs a bird's electrolyte balance, leading to thirst, dehydration, kidney damage and, at higher doses, weakness, incoordination and death, as shown in a study of house sparrows. Chips also add fat, and many flavours contain onion or garlic powder.
Questions owners ask 2
Are tortilla chips or pretzels any better?
No. They are also salty processed snacks and should not be fed to cockatiels.
What is a good crunchy treat instead?
Try a small piece of raw carrot, bell pepper or broccoli stalk, or a sliver of plain unsalted nut.
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 cockatiels (or for pet birds generally). Confidence: medium. Rated on the JOMIZOO Feeding Scale; when good sources disagree we choose the more cautious level.
- Feeding Pet Cockatiels — 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
