Can Birds Eat Apples?
If you have a bird feeder in your garden, you are probably wondering if you can leave leftover apple cores or pieces out for the birds to eat.
As the saying goes, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away!”, but while this may be true for humans, is it true for birds as well?
Can Birds Eat Apples Safely?
You’ll be pleased to know that apples are a safe and healthy treat for garden birds. Just like human beings, birds benefit from fibre in their diet, and apples are an excellent source of fibre.
Apples also contain important vitamins and minerals, such as Vitamins A and C, which are great for eyesight and immunity, plus magnesium which supports a wide range of bodily functions.
What Types of Apple Can I Feed to Birds?
Garden birds will eat just about every kind of apple, ranging from the sweetest Pink Lady through to the most tart-cooking apple.
One thing that you can do to ensure that apple treats are safe for visiting birds — not to mention, everyone else in your household — is to buy organic apples that will be free from pesticides and fertilisers.
Chemical residues on fresh produce aren’t great for anybody, but they can be particularly problematic for the tiny digestive systems of small garden birds.
What Kinds of Apple Are Bad for Birds?
Alongside apples that may have chemical residues on them, we also recommend avoiding leaving old and rotten apples out on the bird table. Fresh fruit is much more nutritious for birds.
Apples that are starting to go bad will soon attract unwelcome insects such as wasps and hornets. The bits of apple that the birds reject may also fall on the floor and attract rodent pests or ground prey. This makes small portions of freshly cut apples a much better bet.
While different varieties of apples are appreciated by garden birds, there are certain parts of the fruit that they won’t be so keen on. Apple seeds naturally contain a small amount of a toxin called cyanide, and while most birds will avoid eating them, it is safer to remove apple seeds before taking apples into the garden.
What About Cooked and Dried Apples?
When the weather turns cold, lots of people stew their apples with sugar to preserve them and make delicious dishes like apple crumble or apple strudel. If your baking adventures have come to a close and you have stewed apples left over, you might wonder, can birds eat apples cooked with sugar?
Birds love sweet jams and preserves, but these sugary indulgences are best provided in moderation. While the apple component in an apple stew or jelly remains nutritious, sugar is essentially an empty calorie so should only feature as a small part of a larger balanced diet.
Another word of caution is that artificial sweeteners and spices may not be bird-safe. So, if you have included any ingredients other than apples and sugar in your recipe, then it would be best to avoid sharing the leftovers with your garden birds.
You may also be wondering whether birds can eat apples that have been dried. The answer is yes, dried apple is a perfectly safe food for garden birds. However, if the apple is store-bought, be careful to read the label and ensure there are no other added ingredients.
What Kinds of Garden Birds Eat Apples?
Lots of different types of garden birds love the taste of apples.
Here are just a few that may visit your garden when this tasty snack is available:
- Sparrow
- Woodpecker
- Blue tit
- Waxwing
- Robin
- Wren
- Crow
- Blackbird
- Jay
- Starling
How to Prepare Apples for Birds
How each bird approaches eating apples will depend on the type of bird at your feeder. Some larger birds will peck away happily to get through the skin of a whole apple while others may find that too much of a challenge.
If you have an apple tree in your garden, you might well have seen some bird species stop by to tuck into a hanging fruit. However, by cutting the apples you put on your bird feeder, you’ll ensure that a much broader variety of birds get the chance to have a taste.
It’s helpful for you to prepare the apple in slices, allowing easier access to the soft and juicy flesh within. But what do you do with the core? Most birds won’t eat apple cores, so you can cut that away when you remove the apple seeds.
Depending on how much time you have, you can either halve apples or chop them into little pieces, which will help smaller birds to carry them away.
Creatively, some bird lovers hollow out apple halves and ll them with water to create a refreshing summer stop-off for birds when the weather is warm.
Of course, apples will be very much appreciated in the winter months too, when food is scarce and energy is important for helping birds to keep warm.