Can Conures Eat Pineapples? [what About Pineapple Skin And Core]

Fruits and vegetables should make up a considerable part of your captive conure. Today we take a look at the benefits of offering pineapples to conures.

Can conures eat pineapples? Conures can eat pineapples plus their skin and pineapple core like most parrots. Pineapples are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and water for your conure. Mix pineapples with other fruits such as strawberries, apples, bananas, and, watermelon to achieve a variety without exceeding the 20-25% daily fruit portion for conures.

Fruits are an excellent source of vitamins for all caged birds, but for a healthy conure, you should ensure that their highest portion of daily diet is made of high-quality pellets like the Kaytee Rainbow pellets from Amazon.

Are pineapples healthy to conures?

Pineapples are healthy for conures and should be mixed with other fruits to provide variety. The table below shows the nutritional value of pineapples. source

Nutrients	Amount
Calories	50
Water	86g
Protein	0.54 Grams
Carbohydrates	13.2 Grams
Fat	0.12 Grams
Fiber	1.4g
Calcium	13 mg
Phospherous	8 mg
Potassium	109 mg
Magnesium	12 mg
Niacin	0.5 mg
Vitamin B6	0.1mg
Vitamin K	0.7mcg
Vitamin C	47.8 mg
Vitamin A	58 IU

Benefits of feeding Pineapples to conures

Hydration

All birds should easily access clean and fresh water all the time. Keeping birds hydrated is very important to maintain the metabolism of the bird.

Another way of keeping birds hydrated especially captive birds, in this case, conures is to include fruits and vegetables in their diet.

Pineapples rank among some of the fruits that have a high water content together with watermelon or fruits belonging to the melon family such as cantaloupes.

However, the fact that you are feeding fruits does not mean that you should not provide clean, fresh, and chlorine free water to conures.

Vitamins

Vitamins form a very important part of the nutrients that conures in their diet for survival. Lack of vitamins can lead to life-threatening implications.

Fruits and vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins, there are even several commercially made pellets such as Zubreem fruit flavored pellets that are made by blending several fruits together to provide your conure with all the vitamins it needs for survival.

In this section, we will discuss the vitamins found in pineapples and their importance to conures.

Vitamin A, pineapples are an excellent source of vitamin A. Vitamin A is required for proper growth of the bone, proper function of the secretary glands and for promoting normal reproduction.

Another function of vitamin A most specifically its precursor beta carotene is to make the colors of your conures’ feathers vibrant specifically the yellow color.

Vitamin A is also important towards the maintenance of the conures eye health.

Experts claim that vitamin A is one of the most deficient vitamins among caged or petted birds. Most specifically birds that are fed an all-seed diet.

This is because seeds have a high-fat content and very poor vitamin content.

Vitamin deficiencies will lead to dull yellow conure feathers, a weak immune system, digestion, and respiratory infections.

One of the most frequently seen infections, particularly in parrots fed an all-seed diet, is the fungal respiratory disease aspergillosis. Sterile pustules and cornified plaques inside the mouth are also commonly seen, with enlargement of the sublingual salivary glands.

Pineapples are also a source of vitamin C, while most birds can process vitamin C from their livers using glucose. Birds suffering from liver diseases will need a dietary source of vitamin C.

Other birds that have a special need for vitamin C include red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) and the willow ptarmigan/red grouse (Lagopus lagopus) as well as the crimson sun-conure.

Vitamin C is also an excellent antio-xidant combined with selenium and vitamin E. Other functions of vitamin C include, promoting wound healing, promotes blood clot and strong bones.

Vitamin K also found in pineapples facilitates the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus.

Minerals

Fruits are not a good source of minerals compared to vegetables such as kale and arugula. However, conures that are fed pellets will not require mineral supplements at all.

Fruits will only provide a small portion of the minerals that are needed by conures, and that why they should only make a certain portion [20-25%] of the total conures’ daily diet.

Pineapples contain a small percentage of calcium and phosphorous. The two most important minerals in birds, however, the two minerals are antagonistic.

The increase of calcium will affect phosphorous negatively and vice versa. Experts recommend that, for young, juvenile, injured, and laying conures or other birds they should consume calcium and phosphorous in the ratio of 2:1 respectively.

For adult and healthy birds they should consume bout 1.5:1 ratio calcium to phosphorus respectively.

The two minerals help with the making of the skeletal structure attachment of feathers transfer of genetic material and so forth.

Calcium is also very important during the breeding season, it is used in the making of eggshell. Other minerals that are found in pineapples that are important in birds especially during the breeding seasons include zinc and manganese whose deficiency leads to deformities.

How to feed pineapples to conures

The best form of pineapple to feed to conure is the organically grown pineapple. However, it can be quite hard to tell if a pineapple was grown organically or not especially if you are buying them from a local grocery or supermarket.

Always remember to wash the pineapples thoroughly before feeding your conure to avoid poisoning.

Secondly, cut it into pieces that are easy for your conure to consume.

Mixing pineapples with other fruits will help provide a good variety of fruits without exceeding the daily recommended 20-25% of the daily diet.

Remember to remove excess and uneaten fruits or food at the end of the day to avoid contamination.

Summary

so, can conures eat pineapples? Conures can eat pineapples and other fruits as well, however, you should feed a variety of fruits and not just pineapples. The highest percentage of your conures daily diet should be composed of pellets. In the wild conures will be able to forage for more varieties of fruits. As opposed to the captive conure where the owner will have to feed the bird. Make sure you wash the pineapple or other fruits to avoid poisoning. For everyday feeding, I recommend using the following commercially made pellets. Zupreem pellets made for all ages.