Can Birds Eat Pumpkin Seeds?

Pumpkin, rich in vitamin A and fiber, is a great treat for humans, dogs and cats. Pumpkin seeds, a natural source of omega-3 essential fats, and an aid against internal worms, are also a desirable addition to your diet and the diet of your furry friends. They are also a natural, fabulous treat for your feathered friends as well.

  1. In Fact

    • Pumpkin seeds are a treat you can give your pet bird. You can clean them out of the pumpkin yourself and lightly toast them on an aluminum cookie sheet to dry them out, or you can buy them already packaged for your pet.

    Additionally

    • Should you decide to buy a fresh pumpkin to harvest the seeds for your pet bird, consider also using the meat of the pumpkin to feed directly to your bird or to bake into pumpkin bread for your bird. This food source will add calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus as well as other nutrients to your bird's diet. Additionally, your bird is bound to love it.

    Potential

    • If you are a bird watcher, you should try putting out pumpkin seeds for your wild birds. Smaller birds may not be interested due to the size and difficulty of the shell, but blue jays, cardinals and grosbeaks reportedly are lovers of pumpkin seeds. If you want to attract smaller birds with them, you may need to supply unshelled pumpkin seeds.

    Considerations

    • On the other hand, if you are planting pumpkin seeds to grow pumpkins, you may not want to get your wild birds as interested in them. Wild birds have been known to dig up planted pumpkin seeds to help themselves to a treat.

    Warning

    • When baking pumpkin seeds for your bird, stay away from Teflon and other non-stick pans. The fumes from these pans can be toxic to your bird. Also, whether you buy them by the bag or bake your own pumpkin seeds, make sure there is no salt on them. Salt is not good for birds.