Cockatiel · Grains, seeds & nuts
Can cockatiels eat rice?
Yes, in small amounts. Plain cooked rice is safe for cockatiels, and brown rice is the better choice. Serve it cool and unseasoned, as a small extra.
- Portion
- About 1 teaspoon of cooked rice
- How often
- Once or twice a week
- Sugar
- 0.2 g / 100 g
How to serve it
- Cook in unsalted water with no butter or oil
- Cool completely before serving
- Stir in chopped vegetables to add nutrients
- Discard leftovers within a few hours
Why
Risks. Rice is starchy and low in calcium and vitamin A. It spoils quickly once cooked, and restaurant or family rice dishes often contain salt, fat, onion or garlic.
Benefits. Brown or wild rice adds energy, fibre and B vitamins and is a useful base for mixing in vegetables.
Questions owners ask 1
Can cockatiels eat uncooked rice?
Cooked rice is the better option. Dry raw rice is hard and offers little; cooked plain rice or a little brown rice mixed with vegetables is more useful.
Rice: nutrition per 100 g
| Water | 70.3 g |
|---|---|
| Energy | 123 kcal |
| Sugars | 0.2 g |
| Fat | 1 g |
| Protein | 2.7 g |
| Fibre | 1.6 g |
| Calcium | 3 mg |
| Phosphorus | 103 mg |
| Calcium : phosphorus | 0.03 : 1 |
| Sodium | 4 mg |
| Vitamin A (RAE) | 0 µg |
| Vitamin C | 0 mg |
“Rice, brown, long-grain, cooked (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program)”, USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, FDC 169704). Public domain.
Sources & method 3
The sources below discuss rice 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.
- Fruits and Vegetables in Birds' Diets — VCA Animal Hospitals
- Feeding Your Pet Bird a Healthy Diet (client education handout) — LafeberVet (Christal Pollock, DVM, DABVP Avian Practice)
- Where Avian Nutrition and Health Intersect (Diet-related Disease in Pet Birds) — University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine (Judilee C. Marrow, DVM, DACZM)
