Pet Birds: Safe Foods and Household Dangers
Pet birds are small, curious and very sensitive to food and fumes. These are the pages written for bird owners.
Something wrong right now?
Phone your vet or an emergency vet first. These pages help you make that call.
Start here
The seed bowl is the problem
The Merck Veterinary Manual says all-seed diets are short of vitamin A, protein and calcium, and they are the main cause of nutritional disease in pet birds.
What can pet birds eat? →Avocado is the food to know
Avocado is the food the veterinary literature warns about most for pet birds. Keep it, and anything made with it, completely out of reach.
The foods that are dangerous →Find a vet who sees birds, early
Not every practice treats birds. Knowing which one near you does, before you need it, saves time on the day something goes wrong.
Find an emergency vet →Small bodies, fast changes
Birds tend to hide illness until late. A bird that is fluffed up, quiet or off its food is worth a call to that vet the same day.
Is this an emergency? →More for bird owners
Paw Multiverse is not a veterinary practice. These guides explain what is published and help you prepare for a conversation with your vet; they never replace one.