Quinoa is a super grain that humans love, but can birds eat quinoa?
Birds can definitely eat quinoa. This grain is a superfood that is packed with nutrients that will ensure your bird stays healthy. The grain can be served raw or cooked and you can add birdseed, vegetables, corn, unsalted nuts, chopped zucchini, sweet potatoes, and eggs for variety. Red quinoa is the best for birds.
One question we hear a lot from new bird owners is, “what do I feed my pet bird?”
No one wants to feed their avian companion something that may be toxic to them, hence the question. If you’re someone who wants to know if birds can eat quinoa this article is for you.
Table of Contents
Can birds eat quinoa?
Yes, birds can eat quinoa. The ideal avian diet includes seeds, grains, peanuts, nectar, flowers, berries, fruits, mealworms, vegetables, and insects. This is what birds are known to eat in the wild.
Your pet bird should be fed all of those and more. There are many healthy treats you can include in a bird’s diet. Some of these treats include cheese, cakes, unsalted bacon, whole grain bread, popcorn, uncooked pasta, and lactose-free milk.
Grains make up most of a bird’s natural diet. Birds enjoy eating this food and will never refuse it. Grains are highly nutritious and are an excellent source of protein and carbohydrates.
One of the tastiest and most nutritious grains you can ever serve a bird is Quinoa. This super grain looks much like millet but is lighter in colour.
Health benefits of quinoa
Very nutritious: Quinoa is a good source of protein, fibre, copper, vitamin B6, and thiamin. It’s also a good source of iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, and folate. Humans and animals need nutrient-rich foods, and quinoa is just one of those foods.
Contains essential flavonoids: Quinoa contains two powerful flavonoids quercetin and kaempferol. These molecules have been discovered to have anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-cancer, and anti-depressant effects on humans and animals.
Very rich in fibre: Studies have shown that quinoa contains more fibre than most grains. Fibre helps to improve digestion and lowers cholesterol. By including quinoa in your bird’s diet, you can improve its digestion, reduce its blood sugar levels, and also lower any high cholesterol levels.
Good for the heart: The fibre content in quinoa lowers cholesterol, this helps to improve heart health. The super grain also contains omega-3 fatty acids. This unsaturated fatty acid can help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
Packed with lysine: Quinoa is rich in lysine, an amino acid that aids with the synthesis of protein and retention of calcium. Quinoa contains more lysine than most grains and legumes. A deficiency of lysine could result in bloodshot eyes, anaemia, tiredness and reproduction problems. Quinoa helps to prevent all of that.
How to prepare quinoa for birds
According to experts, quinoa can be served raw or cooked. Uncooked quinoa is soaked in water and allowed to sprout before it is served.
Whether cooked or uncooked it’s always best to wash and cook the grain before serving it to birds.
Quinoa cooks quickly, it’s not something that’s going to take much time prepare. The grain is cooked just like rice.
When preparing quinoa for your pet bird, you can add other healthy ingredients to vary the diet and make it taste better. Ingredients that blend well with quinoa are birdseed, vegetables, corn, unsalted nuts, chopped zucchini, sweet potatoes, and eggs.
What quinoa alternatives can birds eat?
If you can’t get your hands on some quinoa there are other nutritious grains you can offer your pet bird.
Millet: Millet is a grain widely eaten by birds of all kinds. This gluten-free grain is rich in carbs, protein, dietary fibre, B-vitamins, and minerals.
Wheat: Wheat is another alternative to quinoa. This grain contains carbs, protein, fat, dietary fibre, several B-vitamins, and other essential minerals.
Brown rice: Cooked brown rice can be the perfect substitute for quinoa. This grain is rich in calories, carbs, fibre, protein, fat, vitamin B1, and other dietary minerals.
Corn: Corn, also known as maize, is one of the natural foods of birds. This nutritious grain contains fibre, carbs, folate, vitamin C, thiamin, phosphorus, magnesium, and other minerals.
What color of quinoa is better?
Quinoa comes in a variety of colours including white, black, green, red, purple and orange to name a few.
Studies have shown that out of all the colours of the super grain, the red quinoa is by far the tastiest and most nutritious.
Red quinoa actually has the same amount of calories, protein, fibre, fat, carbs, and other micronutrients as other colours of quinoa. One area where it stands out from other varieties is its concentration of plant compounds.
Another area where it differs greatly from other varieties is the betalain compound it contains – this compound is responsible for its reddish colour.
Can birds eat cheerios?
Birds can eat cheerios and enjoy the taste of the cereal.
It’s okay to feed your pet bird cheerios, you only have to be careful not to give them too much of it. The downside to this meal is that it offers very little nutrition to birds.
Birds eat a variety of foods. Here are some articles looking at if birds eat watermelon, pineapple, cheese, cucumber, celery and eggs. Click the links to read more
Conclusion
A bird’s diet determines its health. When a bird is poorly fed, it can easily develop bacterial, fungal, and viral infection, and may die. As a bird owner, you have to make sure the bird in your care is given a healthy diet.
Quinoa is a super grain that offers loads of essential vitamins and minerals to humans and animals. This grain can prolong the life of your pet bird as it is good for the heart, contains lots of protein, improves digestion, and helps to boost the immune system.
