Can an English Parakeet Have Corn?

English parakeets or budgerigars, also called show budgerigars or standard budgerigars, need a combination of seeds and fresh produce to maintain their health. Parakeets can eat corn, but you should avoid making it a major part of their diets, instead feeding them a balanced diet of varied seeds, greens and grit to grind their food. Corn in birdseed can also have harmful toxins in it, so you should feed your parakeet corn from your own larder.

  1. Corn in Birdseed

    • Many commercially produced birdseed mixes contain, or are made entirely of shelled and cracked corn. According to the site All About Birds, corn is the most likely type of seed to contain aflatoxins, a poisonous mycotoxin or fungus that can grow on grains and legumes. Aflatoxins can be fatal to parakeets. Never buy corn in a plastic bag, and always feed your English parakeets the freshest type of seed possible.

    Corn From Your Pantry

    • If your parakeets have a strong liking for corn, you can buy corn yourself and give it to them. You can give them the corn fresh or dried; do not cook it. Your oven can be a tool for drying corn: blanch the cobs in boiling water for five minutes, then scrape the kernels onto a baking sheet and set the oven on warm. Leave the corn in the oven overnight for two or three nights, or until it is thoroughly dried.

    Other Vegetables

    • Corn has little nutritional value for parakeets compared to green vegetables such as dandelion, kale, spinach, broccoli and lettuce. Green vegetables contain much of the nutrients essential for parakeets, including vitamins A, C, D, E and many of the B complex vitamins. Feed your parakeet greens once a day, hanging them in the side of the cage so they do not get dirty.

    Nutritional Supplements

    • Parakeets may eat corn as a treat now and then, but be sure to include treats that supplement your bird's nutrition. Cod liver oil helps indoor parakeets manufacture vitamin D, while a pinch of brewer's yeast every other day will help them get their B vitamins. Add eight drops of cod liver oil to each pound of birdseed. You can also feed parakeets a bit of boiled egg yolk combined with cracker crumbs for protein, or a small amount of bread soaked in milk.