Can Birds Eat Tomatoes?
Photo by Chewy
Every gardener knows that backyard birds love to peck at the tomato plants and even flowers in a backyard garden. But are tomatoes safe for birds to eat? With outbreaks of salmonella on tomatoes in recent years, we wondered about this particular fruit and how it affects pet birds.
Pet parents should be aware that tomatoes made our list of foods that are harmful or poisonous to pet birds. Here’s why.
Key Takeaways
- Avoid feeding fresh tomatoes to a pet bird since they are highly acidic.
- Generally, tomatoes should be avoided in favor of other fresh fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens.
- Recent salmonella outbreaks on tomatoes pose some additional risk to pet birds.
Why Pet Birds Shouldn’t Eat Tomatoes
“Tomatoes are an acidic fruit,” said Larry Nemetz, DVM, of the Bird Clinic in Orange County, California. He does not recommend, at any time, feeding birds raw tomatoes (including cherry tomatoes) because of their acidity.
He once had a case that a cockatoo was hyper-sensitive to the acid in tomatoes and would, after a few days after eating one, vomit up blood. The bird had stomach ulcers and, after careful review of its diet, the tomato turned out to be the cause. Once the tomato was removed, the bird no longer became ill.
Nemetz said fresh tomatoes are the only thing for owners to worry about. Items such as dried tomatoes and spaghetti sauce are fine. For dried tomatoes, it’s because only a little of the acid is left over from the drying process. The tomatoes in spaghetti sauce are cooked, removing the acid and also, there isn’t a lot used in the sauce.
Jill Patt, DVM, of Alta Mesa Animal Hospital in Arizona, usually doesn’t recommend feeding tomatoes to birds.
“There are other foods out there that are more nutritious, such as leafy greens, which birds can tear up and eat, providing mental stimulation,” she said.
What To Do If Your Bird Eats Tomato
So what should you do if you suspect your pet bird has eaten some tomato? Contact your veterinarian right away with specifics about what part of the tomato plant they ate, the amount they ingested, and exactly the time they ate it.
“It’s a one in a million chance,” Nemetz said, on there being major problems feeding your birds tomatoes. “But I’d rather not risk it when there are better foods out there.”
Featured Image: ungvar/Shutterstock.com
FAQs About Birds and Tomatoes
Are tomatoes safe for birds to eat?
Generally, no. Fresh tomatoes are highly acidic and can cause digestive upset in birds, and while dried tomatoes are less acidic, there are lots of other better bird food and fresh food options to offer them.
Can parrots eat tomatoes?
Parrots, like all other pet birds, shouldn’t be fed tomatoes as they are highly acidic when fresh, and even dried tomatoes still contain acids that can upset a bird’s stomach.
There are plenty of other foods that parrots can eat to stay healthy, including specially formulated pellets and other fresh foods.
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