Parrots don’t eat bones and rarely encounter carrion (animal carcasses) when foraging for food. That said, kea parrots eat dead animals’ flesh and may devour the bone marrow.
Animal bones are high in calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and potassium. Bone marrows are an excellent source of omega-3, calcium, copper, iron, selenium, zinc, and vitamins A, B2, B12, D, E, and K.
Parrots have tough beaks with a strong bite force, which causes bones to splinter. The splintered bone fragments can lead to a perforated esophagus, digestive tract blockage, or choking hazard.
Cooked bones are likelier to splinter than raw bones, so parrots shouldn’t be offered our leftovers.
Suitability of Feeding Parrots Bones
According to Science Direct, some psittacine birds are granivores or frugivore-granivores. Their diet comprises grains, seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
Most parrots are omnivores (eat plant and animal matter). This means they eat the above, as well as insects, larvae, and meat. That said, animal matter is only a tiny part of their diet.
Animal Matter Parrots Eat
Animal matter comprises insects, invertebrates (e.g., butterflies, snails, worms), and larvae. If a parrot finds a carcass (carrion), it may scavenge the flesh from the bone and extract the bone marrow.
This means that bone marrow is somewhat natural for omnivorous parrots to eat. However, a parrot would rarely consume bone marrow in its natural environment.
Benefits of Bones And Bone Marrow
As calcium deficiencies and hypovitaminosis A are common among captive parrots, it’s argued that they can benefit from eating bones. The following nutrients are found in bones:
- Calcium.
- Phosphorous.
- Magnesium.
- Potassium
Bone marrow contains these nutrients:
- Omega-3.
- Calcium.
- Copper.
- Iron.
- Selenium.
- Zinc.
- Vitamin A.
- Vitamin B2 and B12.
- Vitamin D.
- Vitamin E.
- Vitamin K.
Scientific research suggests that the bone marrow’s linoleic acid (omega 6) may harm African gray parrots, especially when consumed in large quantities.
Alpha-linoleic acid (omega 3) is healthy, but omega 6 in bone marrow isn’t.
Bone marrow is high in fat and calories, which can lead to weight gain. According to CABI, high-fat diets increase the risk of atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries) in all bird species.
Cooked And Raw Bone Safety
Giving a parrot cooked bones makes removing the meat and retrieving the bone marrow easier.
Unfortunately, cooked bones are likelier to splinter than raw bones, becoming a choking hazard. Many owners give their parrots cooked bones (like chicken and turkey), but it’s more dangerous.
Cracking Open Animal Bones
Most large adult parrots have strong beaks that enable them to crack open shelled nuts. This means they can break open bones to reach the bone marrow.
Smaller parrot species (like lovebirds, parrotlets, and budgies) will likely be unable to breach bones.
Some owners slice the bone in half so the bone marrow is readily accessible. This is safer if you’re worried about a parrot damaging its beak.
According to The Royal Society, chewing harsh and abrasive materials is a natural behavior that controls beak overgrowth and misalignment.
Different Types of Bones
Let’s look at the suitability of chicken, pork, and fish bones:
Poultry Bones
Chicken and turkey bones are given to parrots because they’re small, easy to break open, low in LDL cholesterol, and flavorful. Consequently, the bone marrow is quickly devoured.
Pork Bones
Pork bones are more rigid than poultry bones, so the risk of injury to a parrot’s beak is elevated. Also, red meat is fattier, higher in calories, and contains more bad (LDL) cholesterol than white meat.
Excessive LDL cholesterol (low-density lipoproteins) causes an accumulation of plaque in the arteries, increasing the risk of life-threatening conditions like strokes and heart disease.
Fish Bones
Some bird species, like ospreys, golden eagles, seagulls, and herons, eat fish and digest their bones.
They have two stomachs called the proventriculus and the ventriculus. The proventriculus exposes food to gastric enzymes, while the ventriculus deals with difficult-to-digest items (like animal bones).
The flesh on fish bones is harder for parrots to remove. Cooked or uncooked fish bones represent a choking hazard, and the sharp, pointy bones may cause internal injury.
Bone Broth
A collagen and gelatin-rich “soup” is derived from simmering meaty joints in water. If you go to a local butcher’s shop, they’ll likely keep bones (you can ask for) for their pet-owning customers.
The following bones can be used to make bone broth:
- Pork.
- Lamb.
- Duck.
- Beef.
- Chicken.
- Turkey.
- Bison.
- Buffalo.
- Veel.
- Venison.
The skin, tendons, ligaments, marrow, gizzards, and feet/hooves can also be added to the broth. Just simmer the ingredients in a slow cooker for 24 hours before extracting the thick, nutritious liquid.
Make a bone broth if you want a parrot to benefit from all 20 amino acids, including the 9 essentials (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine).
Bone broth can benefit digestive health, the immune system, and the skeleton. It can also detoxify the liver. If a parrot hasn’t drunk for 24+ hours, the high water content can be a lifesaver.
Points To Remember
According to Springer Link, parrots have dietary plasticity. This means they can adapt to changing diets relatively well. Of course, adding certain human foods isn’t always advisable.
Most parrots are omnivorous, consuming some animal matter (like insects). However, despite being high in vitamins and minerals, wild parrots don’t eat animal bones.
The kea parrot is often observed eating carrion or breaking open bones to access the nutritious bone marrow within. Consuming bone fragments is an unintended consequence.
Pecking or chewing at a bone can be fun and prevent unwanted beak overgrowth. However, giving parrots bones carries risk, but raw bones are less likely to fragment than cooked bones.
