What Fruits Can Conures Eat? (Best Fruits & Feeding Tips)

Conures like to eat various foods, including insects, seeds, vegetables, and fruits. Fruits are considered one of the most nutritious foods for birds. So what fruits can conures eat? What fruits are their favorite?

Conures enjoy eating a variety of fruits including bananas, apples, watermelon, papaya, mangoes, and citrus fruits like oranges. These fruits provide essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that contribute to the overall health and well-being of conures.

Do Conures Like Fruits?

Yes, conures indeed love fruits. Some people raise their conures on fruit, hoping it will help strengthen the bond between conure and owner.

what fruits can conures eat, what fruits do conures eat, fruits that conures eat
credits: birdskeeping.com

However, it would be best to be careful with what fruits you offer to your conure. Some fruits can be toxic for birds, so do your research before feeding fruit to your pet bird. Here is a list of fruits that conures love and may enjoy.

What Kinds of Fruits Do Conures Eat?

Most conures eat a variety of fruits, but the most well-known are berries.

They are quite partial to strawberries and will happily snap them up until they can’t see where they are going.

They also enjoy grapes, bananas, cranberries, and grapes. Fruits like apples and dragon fruit will make a good treat for these birds. Fruits have a lot of benefits like

  • Fruits that provide valuable nutrition are best suited for conure’s body types. As an omnivore, fruits offer variety in their diet without the need for expensive supplements that may not be necessary due to their naturally varied diet.
  • Fruits contain high amounts of soluble and insoluble fiber, which is important for the conure’s digestive tract.
  • Juices from canned fruits may be too sugary and not contain the full serving of the fruit’s nutrients. Make a juice using the whole fruit by chopping it up and placing it in the blender. Oranges are great for this as there is not a lot of juicing involved because of their size.
  • The fruit has a lower glycemic index than most starchy foods, making it easier to digest.
  • Whole fruits provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and polyphenols that are not found in supplements or other foods.

Examples of fruits that they like to eat are mentioned below.

  • Tropical Fruits: Papaya, mangoes, rambutan, star fruit.
  • Bananas: Bananas are the most popular fruit in the world. If you have never tried a peeled banana on its own, you should try it!
  • Citrus Fruits: They are great due to their sweetness and can add extra flavor to your bird’s diet. They also make for an excellent treat for you!
  • Other Fruits: Grapes, oranges, kiwi fruit.

Famous Fruits That Conures Eat?

In this article, you will learn what the famous fruits that conures can eat are discussed below. The different-colored birds eat a variety of fruits, including oranges, mangoes, papaya, and persimmons.

It can be really helpful for anyone who wants to learn more about these beautiful little avian friends or who is just curious about what they like to eat. Below are some of the famous fruits that these birds love to eat:

  • Apple (the most popular conure fruit)

The apple is a favorite among conures. It may take them a lot of time and some urge to eat the apple. But once they do, they will go for it again and again. They enjoy eating the apples either raw or baked in the oven.

  • Banana (a close second)

Bananas are also a favorite of conures. They taste very sweet, and they enjoy munching on banana chips and eating the ripe fruit by itself.

Bananas provide an excellent source of many vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients essential to a healthy diet.

Though it is not recommended to give a whole banana right away with each meal to prevent choking or over-feeding on potassium (a major nutrient found in bananas), they make an excellent occasional treat or snack.

  • Papaya

Papaya is commonly known as ‘pawpaw.’ It is a soft-skinned tropical fruit with a high amount of vitamins A and F. Conures love to eat papayas as they are delicious and healthy.

  • Mango  

Mangoes are a sweet juicy fruit that conures enjoy. They love to eat the whole mango, including the peel, and flesh.

  • Watermelon

Conures love to eat watermelon just like they do with other fruits, and they enjoy eating the seeds as well.

Watermelons are healthy for them, and they also contain vitamins A, B6, and C. Conures also love eating watermelon seeds because they are crunchy and have a very high protein content. That is why they eat them all the time, even when there is no watermelon around them.

  • Cantaloupe  

Conures love to eat cantaloupes, too, but they should be cut into small slices only because of their size.

If the piece of cantaloupe is big, it can be too big for the bird to swallow. It has many vitamins, such as vitamins A and C.

  • Strawberries 

Strawberries are a very popular fruit with conures. They enjoy eating this juicy fruit in its natural state or love to have it as fresh yogurt or water.

How To Feed Fruits To Conures?

There is always a different method to serve different fruits to conures. Below are the methods that you can use to serve each fruit. 

  • Apples: You can slice the apple, remove the seeds, and then cut them into small pieces.
  • Bananas: Peel the banana and slice it in half. Remove the seeds from both sides. Slice each piece lengthwise. Now, your birds can eat bananas.
  • Cantaloupe: Cut the cantaloupe in half and remove the seeds.
  • Unstemmed Grapes: Unstemmed grapes, cut off the tops and slice them, and then feed grapes to birds.
  • Oranges: Through a Zester or Peeler, remove skin and seeds from an orange. Then slice in half without removing any segments or piths (white parts surrounding the orange). Use a large spoon to scrape out the pith and segments of one half, then cut it into slices. You may want to use a mandoline for this purpose.
  • Grapes: Feed grapes to birds by placing them on skewers or strips of paper towels that are close together or one by one for variety, whichever is your bird’s preference. Before eating, your conure will use its beaks to peel away at a grape.
  • Pineapples: Cut the top off, then cut the pineapple in half. Remove the center core by cutting off a thin slice with a knife. The center core provides some of the sweet and watery portions of the fruit.
  • Tangerines: Peel this orange fruit and carefully remove the pith with a paring knife. Cut each segment into quarters, eighths, or sixteenths if your bird prefers them that way. Serve whole; your conure can only be expected to eat as much as they can without getting sick once they have broken it down into pieces.

It would be best if you would do slices of fresh fruit. A very option is mixing some dried fruit into their food and serving it in a dish or on a spoon or on the floor where they can easily eat it up.

You can also fill up their water bottle with mango chunks, pineapple chunks, and strawberries to let them dine at ease without going hunting for food as other flying birds might do.

How Often & How Much To Feed Conure Fruits?

Conures are omnivorous birds. They eat fruits and vegetables, as well as seed mixes. The important thing is that you need to offer a variety of food to your conure daily.

Many types of fruits can be served to your pet bird as food every day to help them stay healthy and happy.

However, some fruits may be toxic to your conure, and others should only be served occasionally. For example, you can feed apples to conures every day but never serve apples that are not ripe. It is best always to have your children’s health in mind while feeding them.

The amount of food you serve to conures varies from fruit to fruit you can give 4 to 5 slices of apple to conures. It is estimated that the average conure eats between 3 to 4 bananas per week.

It would be best always to be careful about the amount of food you feed your conures because a lot will depend on their size and age.

Another thing to make sure is that your conure has enough space to eat and digest food; if your conure does not have enough space in the stomach to eat, it could cause sickness or digestive problems.

What Fruits Can Conures Not Eat?

The conures are a species of parrot native to the forests of South America. Conures are primarily ground-dwelling birds, though they also inhabit some trees and bushes.

They prefer fruits such as nuts, seeds, and berries. Fruits like papaya, melons, watermelon, and kiwis because these fruits contain enzymes that can create a bowl of serious problems for the conure if they are not supervised closely.

Some fruits that should be avoided are:

  • Papaya

Papayas contain proteolytic enzymes (good for digestion), which can cause digestive upset in birds.

  • Melon

Melons are too high in sugar and water content, leaving little nutritional value other than vitamin C. The seeds are also not good for birds to eat because they often crack or cut their mouths or get caught in their throats when swallowed. 

  • Apricots and Avocados

Both apricots and avocados have latex which is toxic to birds, including parrots, conures, and cockatoos – the list goes on! 

  • Kiwis and Honeydew

These foods contain high levels of oxalic acid, a component of many plants that can be toxic to pets. Kiwis are a good source of protein and healthy fats.

However, most avian veterinarians feel that wry-necked parrots shouldn’t eat them. Many birds love this fruit, and some are being reported to eat them in the pet market, but many are overly used to kiwi’s certain starvation level and will not pass this phase.

Conures can only be fed fruits if they have been fed a nutritionally balanced formula of pellets, seeds, pelleted vegetables, and the right type of fruit.

Can Conures Eat Fresh Fruits?

Yes, conures can eat fresh fruits. Conure diets should consist of about 80% fresh fruit (oranges are a favorite), 10% vegetables, and 10% specialized pellets.

However, they must be fed certain fruits that include adequate amounts of sugar. Fruits with low sugar levels are fine to consume, including apples and grapes.

However, if you are feeding your conure grape juice as a dietary supplement, you should also consider giving them a vitamin supplement to avoid any potential deficiencies.

Do not worry if you have a conure who does not seem interested in eating fresh fruits or if they seem completely uninterested at all.

Some birds may need more encouragement than others when it comes to this type of diet change.

Can Conures Eat Strawberries?

Yes, conures can eat strawberries! They are a great source of vitamin C and an excellent way to satisfy your avian’s hunger.

However, you should be aware that some avian vets believe the seeds in the strawberry might pass right through the avian’s digestive system and cause problems.

You can minimize this risk by grinding or pureeing your conure’s strawberries before giving them to him.

Strawberries also happen to be one of the best things to give your conure, especially for the breeding period. They are high in vitamins A and C, and they provide a good amount of fiber that makes them ideal for raising baby birds!

Also, they are delicious! So next time you bring your conure some frozen strawberries or buy him some at the grocery store, make sure he gets his fair share.

Can Conures Eat Grapes?

Yes, conures can eat grapes. Grapes contain a lot of natural sugar. Bird conures need a lot of energy, and they should have it in the form of sugar.

Grapes provide antioxidants that protect the cells from free radical damage and prevent aging, which is a prevalent problem in most birds today because they do not get enough fresh air and sunlight.

They are easy to chew because their seeds are edible, making them perfect for birds with teeth or chewing beaks like conures and cockatiels.

However, this type of fruit should not be a conure’s regular diet. Feeding a conure grape once in a while is fine.

However, this type of fruit does not have all the nutrients needed for good health as part of an everyday diet for your pet.

A benefit of this particular fruit to these birds is that they are easy to digest and have low levels of oxalates, which can cause kidney problems in humans because they often react poorly to many people’s diets.

In addition, research has shown that there are no known contraindications to feeding grapes to these tropical birds because they provide a valuable source of nutrients and antioxidants.

Can Conures Eat Bananas?

Yes, they are quite robust birds and can probably handle small chunks of fruit. Bananas are a safe and natural way to get your bird’s digestive system in shape.

They contain a lot of vitamins and minerals, which can improve overall health and cause fewer health problems with old age.

Bananas are also easy for your bird to digest, meaning they avoid many potential issues that can occur from consuming tough foods such as nuts or seeds.

This fruit strengthens bones and supports weight loss in your pet conure birds. Bananas have beneficial properties for birds. It is not recommended to give them too many bananas because of the high sugar content.

Other fruits such as grapes or strawberries may work better because they contain fewer sugars and honeydew melons have a higher water content, so your conures will enjoy them more than a banana.

Can Conures Eat Apples?

Yes, conures can eat apples. They will eat them with the skin on, or you can peel them off, and feed them. Apple is a great source of vitamin A, and it also contains dietary fiber and potassium.

Apples provide your conure with phytonutrients, and the plant compounds are shown to have antioxidant and other health benefits for humans and animals.

The pigments in apples can change the color of your conure’s feathers if fed in large quantities over time, accounting for their popularity as a food coloring agent with birds such as canaries or cardinals that show off their plumage nicely when it is tinted by apple pigment (known scientifically as alpha-carotene).

Suppose your conure gets an apple whole or in pieces without consequences. In that case, it is still probably best to consult a veterinarian or avian expert before giving him an apple at home because of their sharp beaks.

Final Thought

  • Conures enjoy eating a variety of fruits including bananas, apples, watermelon, papaya, mangoes, and citrus fruits like oranges.
  • Fruits provide valuable nutrition for conures and offer benefits such as high fiber content, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
  • It’s important to offer a diverse range of fruits to conures while being cautious of fruits that may be toxic to them, such as papaya seeds, melons, and avocados.
  • Fruits should be served in appropriate sizes and prepared in ways that are safe for conures to consume.

Birdskeeping is supported by its readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Also, as an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases without costing you extra.

Leave a Comment