What Cereals Can Budgies Eat?

Breakfast is the day’s most important meal, and cereal is the cornerstone of breakfast in many homes. As budgies express interest in what humans eat, you may wonder if you can share cereal with them.

Although cereal shouldn’t be a budgie’s main meal, you can share some of your breakfast with a budgie if you follow specific health and safety parameters.

Avoid milk or switch to a milk substitute, as birds lack the lactase enzyme, so they’re lactose intolerant.

Also, ensure that any cereal is small enough for birds to swallow safely. For example, Cheerios or Rice Krispies won’t present a problem, while large, chunky corn flakes may be a choking hazard.

Moderate the carbohydrate and sugar intake of your budgie. According to Current Science, budgies can experience spontaneous diabetes when fed an inappropriate diet.

Can Budgies Eat Cereal?

Budgies can eat small quantities of human cereal as a treat.

To protect your budgie’s health, follow these guidelines.

• Keep cereal units small and easily swallowable.
• Avoid any cereal that’s very high in sugar/carbohydrates.
• Don’t offer overly dry cereal, and avoid providing budgies with excess milk.

Breakfast cereal will not give a budgie the essential vitamins and minerals it needs to flourish. Cereal should be an occasional treat, offered in small amounts.

If you find that your budgie shows more interest in cereal than its own assigned food, stop offering cereal for a while. The budgie needs to adapt to prioritizing its food again.

What Kind of Cereal Can Budgies Eat?

There are hundreds of different types of breakfast cereal available.

For reference, the best-selling breakfast cereals in America are:

1. Cheerios
2. Honey Nut Cheerios
3. Frosted Flakes
4. Honey Bunches of Oats
5. Cinnamon Toast Crunch
6. Lucky Charms
7. Froot Loops
8. Frosted Mini-Wheats
9. Life
10. Fruity Pebbles

Let’s review the suitability of popular cereals for budgies:

Cheerios

Cheerios are tasty and budgie-safe, but they’re empty calories with some fiber.

28g of Cheerios will contain the following:

Honey Nut Cheerios are more appealing to budgies, but they contain more sugar and sodium and less fiber. However, they can still be offered in small servings.

The nutritional breakdown of Honey Nut Cheerios is as follows:

Never place a bowl of Cheerios in a budgie’s cage and invite them to tuck in. Instead, hand-feed the cereal one at a time, or use Cheerios as a training treat and reward.

Rice Krispies

Rice Krispies could be considered an alternative to Cheerios for a budgie. Like Cheerios, this cereal is served in small, light chunks. A budgie will have no problem eating Rice Krispies.

The nutritional profile is also favorable regarding calories, although Rice Krispies are largely devoid of soluble fiber and are high in sugar.

The nutritional breakdown of Rice Krispies is as follows:

Another problem with Rice Krispies is that a budgie may show no interest in the flavor.

This cereal will taste comparatively bland to a budgie’s palate, especially when compared to Cheerios. You may struggle to use Rice Krispies as a training reward.

Corn Flakes and Bran Flakes

We expressed concerns about Frosted Flakes for budgies due to the sugar content of this cereal. Lest we forget, it was formerly known as Sugar Frosted Flakes until 1983.

An alternative could be to offer your budgie plain, unsweetened corn flakes.

The nutritional breakdown of corn flakes is as follows.

As always, we’ll point out that there’s little to gain nutritionally from offering this cereal to budgies, though the taste of corn will likely appeal. As corn flakes can be quite large, consider breaking each shard in half for your budgie’s health.

If your budgie is interested in corn flakes, consider switching the budgie to bran flakes.

Although high in sugar, bran flakes offer much more fiber, breaking down as follows:

Corn flakes and bran flakes can be very dry, so moisten them before serving. You could use water or a dairy-free milk substitute that appeals to budgies.

Porridge Oats

Oats are a better option for a budgie than most traditional breakfast cereals. Consider the nutritional value of rolled oats from Quaker Oats, the bestselling porridge brand on the market:

Many budgies adore the taste of oats and will gleefully eat an offering of porridge.

Dilute the oats with water rather than milk, but be mindful that budgies are often messy eaters. You must clean a cage after a serving to avoid attracting bugs. 

Muesli and Granola

Muesli or granola are the healthiest breakfast cereals a budgie can enjoy. These cereals are packed with ingredients that budgies instinctively seek in the wild.

Different brands of muesli and granola contain various unique ingredients, so we won’t elaborate on the nutritional value of these products. You’ll need to investigate the data offered on the box of different products and find something suitable.

Things to look out for when purchasing muesli or granola that you plan to share with a budgie include:

• Absence of sugar or artificial sweeteners
• No artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives
• Offers multiple grains
• Provides a variety of different fruits and nuts

If you’re in doubt, consider making your own muesli or granola at home using organic fruits and nuts. This way, you can be particular about what your budgie is eating.

You can offer to share a little of your breakfast if your budgie is insistent. However, it’s advisable to keep any servings of cereal to budgies as small and sporadic as possible. There’s little to gain from a budgie gaining a taste for these foods at the expense of more traditional nourishment.