Q: My cockatiel was “helping” me prepare dinner one night and she started to nibble on some uncooked white rice. She really liked it. Whenever I take a bag of rice out of the cupboard, she gets all excited. She really wants me to give her some.

However, I know at weddings we now throw birdseed instead of rice as I am told that if a bird eats uncooked rice, it will swell up inside the bird and hurt it. The rice I give my cockatiel never seems to bother her. I am not sure if I am doing the correct thing by allowing her to eat some every now and then.

A: That story about uncooked rice swelling up inside a bird’s body to the point of hurting it is just that — a story. Rice does not expand when swallowed by a bird any more than any other grain a bird may eat. However, since your bird does enjoy the rice so much, I would advise you to buy a bag of all-natural wild rice or brown rice to give her as a treat. It would be more nutritious than polished white rice.