Birds love guava!
This tasty tropical fruit is full of nutrients and vitamins, and it also comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and flavors. Birds can eat guava in the wild, but what about offering it to them as a treat in your birdfeeders?
Are there any limits to how much guava you can safely feed to the birds in your backyard?
Backyard birders often investigate the foods they provide to their birds. That way, they never give the birds something that could make them sick.
Good news: guava is a popular fruit that is a safe, healthy option for backyard birds.
Types of Guava
There are several different kinds of guava, all of which are safe for birds. Some may be more appetizing to birds than others!
- Red Malaysian guava: colorful red fruit with equally colorful pink flowers
- Tropical White guava: yellow skin and white flesh, great aroma
- Mexican Cream guava: yellow skin and white flesh, often used in desserts
- Strawberry guava: has a unique strawberry taste
- Lemon guava: same species as strawberry guava, but tastes of lemon
- Detwiler guava: the only guava that has yellow flesh
Guava Nutrition Facts
All of these guavas have similar nutrition facts.
The whole guava contains 37 calories, 1 g of fat, 0 mg of cholesterol, 1 mg of sodium, 8 g of carbs, 3 g of fiber, 5 g of sugar, and 1 g of protein.
It is very rich in Vitamin C and also contains iron, calcium, Vitamin A, and potassium.
Some of the health benefits of this fruit for humans may include:
- Improved digestion and reduced gastrointestinal concerns like diarrhea or constipation
- Relief from menstrual cramps
- Improved immune health
Is Guava Good for Birds?
Birds need vitamins and minerals, too. While birds may not be concerned about immune health or menstrual cramps, they benefit from a rich diet with plenty of vitamins and nutrients.
Guava is a healthy option for many species of birds, including wild birds, pet birds, and even backyard poultry like chickens and ducks.
Can Birds Eat Guava Peels and Seeds?
No part of guava fruit is bad or dangerous for birds. They can eat the flesh, outer skin, and seeds alike.
Guava is a healthy snack for parrots and other pet birds. They enjoy tearing into guava to get to the delicious meat of the fruit. However, bird owners may find that their pets avoid consuming the edible skin and seeds of the fruit because these tend to have a bitter taste.
If you offer sliced guava to wild birds, they will quickly eat the fruit’s flesh, regardless of what kind of guava it is. They may leave the seeds and peel alone, just like a parrot probably will.
Again, these aren’t dangerous for the birds, and there is no problem with offering the whole guava. But keep an eye on the fruit you have offered, because you might end up with a sticky mess of peels and seeds if the birds leave it behind.
You will need to clean this up if you don’t want to attract a bunch of bugs.
Can Birds Eat Strawberry Guava?
if you live outside of Hawaii, you may not be aware of the damage that strawberry guava is doing to the native forests of Hawaii.
After being introduced to Hawaii in 1825, strawberry guava began to thrive. It now fills thousands of acres throughout the islands, especially Hawaii Island.
Strawberry guava grows in thickets that are nearly impossible to remove. They crowd out native species and damage natural animal communities and ecosystems. They also change things like the water cycle and provide the perfect habitat for problematic invasive fruit flies.
Hawaii’s native birds need native plants to survive and thrive. While these birds can eat strawberry guava, it can’t replace the nutrition they need from a proper diet of natural plants.
This means that strawberry guava’s invasion of Hawaii’s forests is one of the biggest threats to the endangered forest birds that live in Hawaii.
Can Birds Eat Pineapple Guava?
Pineapple guava is easy to grow and pretty. It blooms from May to June and produces sweet fruits that are described as tasting of pineapple or even cotton candy.
Western Tanagers love these trees! But interestingly, they don’t go for the fruit. They love the petals from the tree’s flowers!
How To Prepare Guava for Birds
If you want to put guava out for your backyard birds, you have a few options.
Step 1: Put out whole fresh guava fruit. If you notice that the birds are disinterested in the fruit because it is unfamiliar to them, re-think this strategy and slice the guava instead.
Step 2: Slice the guava, with or without the peel.
Step 3: Scoop the guava flesh out of the peel and blend it with clean water. Put out the guava juice for birds that thrive on fresh fruit.
A Few Last Tips for Feeding Guava to Birds
Guava is a healthy fruit option for backyard birds. However, there are a few things to keep in mind.
First, never offer moldy fruit to birds. Mold can make birds sick, especially if they don’t realize the food you’ve offered is moldy.
If you find some guava in your fridge that you forgot to eat before it started to get soft and moldy, you may be tempted to offer it to the birds. After all, if you can’t eat it, maybe the birds can!
Still, it’s a much safer and more responsible idea to put that moldy guava in the trash or your compost bin instead of putting it out for the birds.
Next, keep an eye on the fresh fruits that you put out for visiting birds. Whether you scatter the fruit on the ground, use it to fill a birdfeeder tray, or even leave it on a picnic table for your local fruit eaters, you want to make sure that it doesn’t go bad.
Sometimes it takes birds a while to take notice of a new food source. If that’s the case, just be sure to keep an eye on the fruit to make sure it hasn’t spoiled since you put it out.
However you choose to give guava to your backyard birds, I hope it attracts some new species that you can enjoy!
Backyard birding is so much more fun when you get to see a variety of birds, and one of the best ways to see different kinds of birds is to offer plenty of different kinds of treats and foods!