# Can "normal" birds eat parakeet/parrot food?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-normal-birds-eat-parakeet-parrot-food/578130>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 12, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-normal-birds-eat-parakeet-parrot-food/578130 "2011-04-12T18:49:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![CheeseDonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@CheeseDonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheeseDonkey)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-normal-birds-eat-parakeet-parrot-food/578130/1 "2011-04-12T18:49:31Z")

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I have some parakeet and parrot food that I really have no use for as I don’t own a parakeet or parrot. I was thinking about putting it in the bird feeders for the “normal” birds (chickadees and what have you). Can they/will they eat that food?

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**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-normal-birds-eat-parakeet-parrot-food/578130/2 "2011-04-12T19:00:54Z")

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Seeds probably aren’t good nutrition for a parakeet or parrot, but a lot of wild birds subsist on 'em. In that case I’d argue it’s probably better for your bird feeder than your parrot. Is it pelleted food? I imagine that’s fine, too. Hell, a hunk of beef suet is dandy.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-normal-birds-eat-parakeet-parrot-food/578130/3 "2011-04-12T19:05:06Z")

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I think most birds would find parakeet/parrot food nutritious. They’ll peck at it and eat it if they find it to their liking. And if not, the squirrels will eat it. 🙂

What are the specific ingredients?

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**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-normal-birds-eat-parakeet-parrot-food/578130/4 "2011-04-12T19:56:25Z")

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Food for domesticated birds is likely to be lower in fat that wild bird food, because a bird in a cage doesn’t have the same energy requirements. It shouldn’t harm them, though.

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**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-normal-birds-eat-parakeet-parrot-food/578130/5 "2011-04-12T22:34:06Z")

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> [@CheeseDonkey](#):
>
> I have some parakeet and parrot food that I really have no use for as I don’t own a parakeet or parrot. I was thinking about putting it in the bird feeders for the “normal” birds (chickadees and what have you). Can they/will they eat that food?

Size of the food bits might be an issue for some small birds, but sure, they can eat all that. If the little birds can’t eat it bigger birds or squirrels or something else will. As noted, pet bird food tends to be lower fat than the wild bird food sold, but wild birds happily eat low fat as well as high fat food.

Given that this is the time of year the wild ones are trying to raise babies, any extra food will probably be quite welcome for them.