Olives (Olea europaea) are small stone fruits (drupes) that are safe for parrots to eat.
No part of the olive, including the stone (pit), is toxic. Olives are an excellent source of vitamins A, E, and K, copper, calcium, iron, monounsaturated fats (oleic acid), fiber, and polyphenols.
Olives don’t always appeal to parrots because they’re bitter-tasting due to the presence of oleuropein. However, oleuropein has beneficial antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Parrots prefer the sweeter flavor and softer texture of black olives. Green olives haven’t yet ripened, while black olives are less tart and fattier. They’re more flavorful and less bitter.
Green olives are healthier than black olives, as they contain more antioxidants and have fewer calories.
Most Parrots Dislike The Taste of Olives
Parrots have just 350-400 tastebuds on the tongue and at the back of the throat. However, these limited tastebuds can detect bitterness, a defense mechanism for avoiding toxic foods.
Some parrots dislike olives because they associate bitterness with danger. If a parrot dislikes the taste of olives, it’ll make this clear through its body language, vocalizations, and actions.
Benefits of Giving Parrots Olives
Olives aren’t toxic to birds. However, the small stones may be a choking hazard, and salt (sodium) can increase the risk of high blood pressure and strokes if consumed excessively.
You can safely offer 1-2 olives as a snack or reward once or twice weekly if the parrot enjoys them. Avoid feeding parrots olives preserved in brine because they’re more salty.
Calcium
A parrot with a calcium deficiency (hypocalcemia) won’t have strong bones or eggshells. Also, calcium-deficient birds may endure emotional distress, leading to feather-destructive behavior.
Parrots struggle to digest lactose. They don’t produce lactase, an enzyme needed to break down lactose. Birds shouldn’t eat milk, cheese, or dairy products for calcium.
Just 100 grams of olives contains 88 mg of calcium carbonate. The polyphenols in olives can also improve bone mineral density and strength.
Fiber
100 grams of olives contains 1.6 g of fiber, which birds need for healthy digestive transit. Dietary fiber adds bulk and water to the stool, preventing constipation.
Fiber also regulates blood sugar levels and keeps parrots full for longer. This works in tandem with oleic acid, which inhibits glucose production, so it’s beneficial if a parrot has diabetes mellitus.
Parrots have voracious appetites, especially for human foods that aren’t bird-friendly. Fiber is necessary for preventing weight gain in pet parrots.
Antioxidants
Olives contain antioxidants like hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, oleanolic acid, quercetin, and oleanolic acid.
Olives are rich in vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant that protects cell membranes from damage caused by free radicals. Vitamin E is also needed for healthy skin and eyes.
These antioxidants can also reduce inflammation in the body and prevent joint deterioration. This is important as parrots age because the risk of arthritis increases, making perching difficult.
Reduced Food Cravings
Both black and green olives are calorie-dense (the calorie density is around 1-1.5), which measures foods’ calories relative to their weight.
It takes the body longer to break down fats than carbohydrates and protein. Fat increases feelings of fullness in parrots, reducing non-essential food consumption.
Healthy Fats
Black olives contain twice as much fat as green olives. Understandably, many owners are concerned about their parrots overeating, gaining weight, and experiencing adverse health.
Avian Pathology warns that parrots are susceptible to fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis). This happens when fat deposits accumulate in and around the liver, reducing the organ’s performance.
However, olives contain oleanolic acid, which protects against kidney damage and inflammation.
While olives are high in fat (100 grams of olives contain 11 g), many of these fats are monounsaturated, which are good fats. These are much healthier than saturated or trans fats.
Monounsaturated fats increase HDL (good) cholesterol and reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. This reduces inflammation and the incidence of stroke and heart disease in parrots.
Studies have revealed that diets high in monounsaturated fat reduce obesity levels.
Brain Health
The monounsaturated fatty acids in olives may improve memory and focus in parrots. Extra virgin olive oil contains oleuropein aglycone, which studies show reduces the incidence of amyloid deposits.
Sodium
Many store-bought olives are preserved in brine, increasing sodium chloride levels. This raises the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension) in birds, increasing the incidence of stroke.
The more sodium a parrot consumes, the thirstier it’ll become.
This can lead to polydipsia, an abnormally high water consumption, which the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association explains is often confused with diabetes.
Polyuria is often mistaken for diarrhea in parrots because their droppings become watery. Parrots that consume too much salt drink more water to flush the excess sodium from the body.
Excessive salt in a parrot’s diet can also lead to hypernatremia. This musculoskeletal concern leads to muscle twitching and spasms, loss of balance, and seizures.
How To Feed Olives To Parrots
Feed olives by hand as a bonding exercise, and consider cutting them in halves or quarters if you have a small parrot species, like a budgie, parrotlet, or lovebird.
If the parrot declines the olive, it should be removed from its cage. Uneaten food becomes a bacterial hazard if exposed to humidity and warm temperatures.
Moldy food dries and releases mycotoxins, causing respiratory conditions in birds.
You can feed 1-2 olives to parrots once or twice weekly as a special treat or training reward.
Toxicity of Olive Pits
The stone is the seed of an olive, but unlike many stone fruits (drupes), it doesn’t contain cyanide. Olive pits are mostly lignin, an organic polymer found in the tissue of most plants.
The seed poses minimal risk, as many birds eat olives (with stones) directly from the trees. If you’re concerned about the choking risk, remove the stone.
Olive Oil Is Good for Parrots
If you want a parrot to enjoy the health benefits of olives, like improved heart health and reduced oxidative stress, drizzle some cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil over its food.
Offer the parrot some green olives initially because they contain more polyphenols. If the parrot refuses green olives, the fatty, less tart flavor of black olives may be more palatable.
