9 Healthy Bird Treats That Your Bird Will Go Nuts Over

Bird treats are a great way to bond with your bird. And, using bird treats for training is an excellent way to support positive  bird behavior and improve your pets self-confidence. Read on to learn about good bird treats, healthy bird treats, treats for different sized Birds, and how to use bird treats for training.

What is a good treat for birds?

In my opinion, some of the best bird treats are natural, healthy bird treats. You might want to separate your bird treats out. For instance, you might want to use certain bird treats just to let your bird know you love it. Then reserve your bird's favorite bird treats for training purposes.

Fresh healthy plant-based treats are my preference. But it's not always easy to find and store fresh foods. So another option is to purchase bird safe freeze-dried vegetable and fruit  bird treats. You want to make sure that the manufacturer doesn't use any unsafe preservatives in the manufacturing process. Some excellent resources for freeze dried bird treats are shown below.

Infographic by Diane Burroughs, LCSW

Different birds enjoy different treats just like not all children like the same type of candy.  The best way to find out what your bird's favorite treats are  is to gather up a variety of bird treat products and place them on a spoon or paper plate, and then watch 4 which one's your bird goes for first!  Here’s a video on how to use this method.

What can I give my bird as a treat? 

As a rule of thumb, I like to choose treats that are bird specific.  I also prefer to use treats that are manufactured in the USA or are made by name brand bird food manufacturers. This is because I tend to be cautious about the use of preservatives and dyes in my bird treats. 

Birds enjoy a variety of vegetables, fruits, seeds, and nuts as treats. Keep in mind that smaller birds and ground dwelling birds often prefer tasty seeds.  Try to stick with healthy, protein-based seeds as opposed to fatty seeds like sunflower seeds.

If you find that your bird really goes for the fatty and sugary treats make sure that you're using them sparingly. You, of course, want the majority of your pet's diet to be healthy foods like premium pellets and a full range of nutrient dense plant-based foods.

For more information on feeding your bird a healthy diet check out these books by Karmen Budai. These books are especially helpful if you like to make homemade treats for your bird.

What is the easiest way to train a bird?

Clicker training is one of the easiest ways to train a bird.  clicker training is one of the most effective ways to train a bird, too!

It relies on positive reinforcement to elicit desired behaviors. So, finding a treat that your bird loves is imperative when using this positive bird training method.

Often, if a bird prefers fatty and sugary treats, can cut them off little pieces and use them for bird training purposes.  The idea is that you can repeat the clicking and treating over and over again in a 5 to 10 minute training session. 

If you were to give your bird a chunk of food, versus a tiny piece, your  bird would spend the majority of the training session eating the food rather than practicing the behavior. The goal is to be able to administer the tree too quickly and have it consumed quickly so that you can keep up the positive momentum

The idea of offering favorite treats with clicker training  is to make the treat so enticing that your bird is willing to actually stop and think about what behavior it needs to perform in order to get the treat.

In other words, say you want to use bird treats to teach your bird to step up on your finger. The first behavior that you want to shape it's just simply having your bird pick up one foot.  You'd only “click and treat” when your bird picks up its foot.