Not only are more and more people keeping their own pet birds but more and more people are also starting to feed wild birds too and during the months of the year where food is scarce for wild birds, your efforts really do make the difference!
Due to this though, we have noticed more and more people reaching out and asking about feeding birds a wide range of different types of food recently with there being a spike in people asking if birds can eat couscous or not recently.
As we see so many people reaching out about feeding birds couscous as well as there seemingly being some confusion around feeding birds couscous, we decided that we wanted to publish our own article on the topic.
Our hope is that we will be able to help you better understand what our readers should be feeding birds as well as the state of the food that they should be putting out for birds too.
Obviously, some birds are strict carnivores and will not care for couscous but the various herbivores and omnivores will usually be fine to eat couscous in the right situations.
If you have a large amount of couscous in your home that you won’t be eating and it is a time of year where food is hard to find for wild birds then offering them your couscous can definitely help them make it through the winter.
Can Birds Eat Couscous?
Birds can eat couscous but it should be cooked prior to feeding it to birds.
Due to not being a nutritionally complete food source for birds, couscous should only be used in small amounts or with other food sources to try and make sure that the bird will go off to try and find other food sources to ensure its diet is nutritionally complete too.
If you do have spare couscous available in your home then putting some out for your birds can be a great option but never go out of your way to purchase couscous just for the local birds in your area.
Something like suet balls is a much better option if you are looking to intentionally purchase something for the local wild birds to eat.
Couscous can also be used for pet birds but we would always recommend that you only give your pet birds a small amount of couscous if possible and keep their main meal based around a more nutritionally complete bird food.
This will help ensure that your pet bird is getting all of the vitamins and minerals that it requires but also make sure the bird food you choose is suitable for the species of bird that you keep as a pet as not all bird foods are suitable for all birds.
Nutritional Values Of Couscous For Birds?
Couscous is an excellent source of carbohydrates for birds but its lack of fat can be a problem. Although the low protein count will be an issue for some birds, it should be fine for the majority of herbivore and omnivore birds without causing issues.
Couscous tends to also provide a nice chunk of calcium and iron for birds too helping to get some essential vitamins and minerals into them too.
Other than that though, couscous is pretty flat nutritionally and this is why suet balls are so much better for wild birds.
They are infused with seeds and offer a huge range of essential nutrients and calories that birds require to help get the wild birds in your area through the winter.
As we touched on earlier, a more nutritionally complete bird food will always be a better staple food for birds due to it also being packed with vitamins and minerals.
Couscous can be used as a treat but even then, some birds will ignore it if other food sources are available, especially pet birds who are used to richer foods.
Should You Feed Birds Raw Or Cooked Couscous?
You should always feed couscous to birds once it has been fully cooked. Raw couscous is not suitable for birds and it makes it difficult for them to digest and extract the little nutrition available from the food with some birds simply ignoring raw couscous completely.
Thankfully, couscous is very quick and easy to cook so you are able to cook a batch up without issue and then place it outside for the local birds to eat.
You should usually leave the couscous to cool to at least room temperature if possible though but just keep in mind that if you are feeding the wild bird in you area around winter time, you will probably have issues with the couscous freezing after a couple of hours.
You are able to get around this by cooking the couscous and then putting smaller portions outside for the birds throughout the day if possible.
This should allow the wild birds to eat a full portion before it ends up frozen and wasted before you put the next potion out to help ensure that the wild birds get as much of the food as possible.
Conclusion
That brings our article on if birds can eat couscous to an end. Although you are able to give cooked couscous to birds, it is one of the less nutritionally suitable food options that birds will eat so don’t go out and purchase couscous specifically for birds. Although it does have a ton of energy in it for the birds, it lacks too many vitamins and minerals to be a primary food source.
