Can Conures Eat Watermelon? [what About The Seeds]

Birds love and enjoy eating fruits, today I got curious about the real benefits that some of these birds get from melons. Below is research I did to fulfill my curiosity of how melons benefit conures.

So, can conures eat watermelon? All species of conures, including green cheek conures and crimson sun conures, can eat watermelon, seeds, and watermelon rinds just like other parrots. Watermelon will provide conures with vitamins, minerals, and water. Fruits and vegetables should not exceed 20-25% of the conures daily diet. Mix watermelon with other fruits such as bananas, apples, oranges, pineapples, grapes, and vegetables to increase the variety of fruits and nutrient load for the conure.

75% of the conures total daily diet should be made of high quality commercially made pellets.

These pellets are made and fortified with minerals and vitamins to ensure that conures get all the nutrients they need per day. You can check these pellets from Zupreem fruit flavored pellets on Amazon.

Is watermelon healthy for conures?

Like all other fruits watermelons are safe for conures when fed in moderation.

In the wild conures eat fruits, seeds, nuts, and vegetables that they forage throughout the day. While it can be hard to replicate this same diet, in captivity on your own.

There are several companies that have come up with a formulation of all nutrients that conures need and made them into pellets.

You can refer, to the above named Zupreem pellets that are a blend of several fruits, feeding conures those pellets should provide them with all much needed nutrients.

When you combine that with fruits and veggies, your conure will stand a better chance of survival even than their wild counterparts.

The table below will show the nutritional value of watermelon. source

Name	Amount	Unit
Water	91.45	g
Energy	30	Kcal
Protein	0.61	g
Total lipid (fat)	0.15	g
Carbohydrate, by difference	7.55	g
Fiber	0.4	g
Sugars	6.2	g
Calcium, Ca	7	mg
Phosphorus, P	11	mg
Sodium, Na	1	mg
Vitamin C	8.1	mg
Iron, Fe	0.24	mg
Copper	0.042	mg
Selenium	0.4	µg
Vitamin B6	0.045	mg
Vitamin A	28	µg
Vitamin E	0.05	mg
Vitamin K	0.1	µg
Beta carotene	303	µg
Thiamin	0.033	mg
Riboflavin	0.021	mg
Niacin	0.178	mg
Pantothenic acid	0.221	mg
Manganese	0.038	mg

Benefits of feeding Watermelon to Conures

Hydration

Making sure that conures have an easy access to clean, fresh and chlorine free water is important to maintain an optimal metabolism system.

However, while a bowl of water is necessary, there are other ways to ensure that conures are hydrated.

Given that fruits and vegetables have a high water content it makes sense that when conures eat fruits they will get some percentage of the water.

However, this does not mean that just because you feed fruits and vegetables you should stop providing clean water.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants are very important in all birds, they function to prevent and reverse the effect of oxidative stress that causes cellular damage.

In excess, oxidative stress can cause weak immune system, poor reproduction plus growth and development.

Watermelon provides conures with vitamin C, E, and selenium which are well-known antioxidants.

Vitamins

Vitamins should form a very important part of the nutrients that a conure consumes every day. Some vitamins are neeeded in large amounts than others.

Watermelon like all fruits will provide conures with vitamin A and its precursor beta carotene.

Experts have affirmed that most caged birds suffer from a deficiency of vitamin A due to poor feeding and more so birds that are fed an all-seed diet.

Vitamin A facilitates a healthy reproduction system, respiration system, growth of healthy bones. It also prevents digestion and respiratory system infections.

Other important functions of vitamin A include boosting the immune system and maintaining and promoting the health of the eyes. Beta carotene a precursor of vitamin A promotes the vibrancy of your conures’ colors especially the yellow color.

Watermelon is also a source of vitamin C, while not a major vitamin in most birds. Conures, crimson sun conure to be specific falls into the category of birds that really need vitamin C.

It functions include facilitating the absorption of iron from the gut, promotes wound healing and blood clot.

Vitamin K also found in watermelons facilitates the absorption of calcium and phosphorous, its deficiency can cause external and internal hemorrhage.

Minerals

Minerals form a very important part of the daily nutrient requirements of conures. Deficiency of minerals can lead to very serious health complications that can even lead to death of conures.

It is worth noting that, fruits should not be used as a source of minerals since their mineral content is not that great.

However, conures fed on commercial pellets should be fine since these pellets are fortified with minerals and vitamins.

Some of the two most important minerals include calcium and phosphorous. The level of one affects the other negatively and vice versa.

Laying, injured and young birds need more calcium in the diet to promote reproduction, healing and growth respectively.

The recommended ratio of calcium to phosphorous for such birds is 2:1 respectively and 1.5: 1 for healthy adult birds.

Other minerals that are present in watermelons that are important to conures are listed in the table above.

How to feed watermelon to conures

We always advocate for feeding organically grown fruits, since they are free from chemicals that may poison conures or other birds.

• Wash the watermelons thoroughly to remove any chemicals
• Cut it into small pieces, this will allow you to mix it with other fruits
• Remember to remove the uneaten food at the end of the day

On the other hand, you can use watermelon and other fruits such as pineapples, apples, bananas and strawberries among others as treats when training your conure to do something.

Summary

Fruits such s watermelon are a great addition to your conures diet. While the highest percentage of conures daily diet should be made of pellets. Fruits should also form a very important part to the diet.

Use fruits as a treat to reward conures when you are training them something or when you are just hanging out. But remember not to fall into the trick of offering too much fruit in the name of rewarding conures.