Can we give sunflower seeds to our budgies? If so by any chance do we have to limit the quantity per day to each bird or can we mix it in our regular base seed mix and feed.

 

I have seen sunflower seeds of type - full black colour or full brown colour or black/grey striped or brown striped. Not sure what is the difference between them and it will be great if anyone can tell me the same. Also which one is better for feeding birds?

 

Thanks,

Karthik

Sunflower seeds are great and a wonderful treat they are very fattening so give them as a treat only. If you live in a region that you can grow sunflowers and then dry them that is excellent just don't treat with pesticides or insectides.

Elly is right I used to feed a small amount in my mixture before the drought made the price prohibitive. The striped Sunflower is the best, I don’t think birds like the black one.

I have budgies and Tiels in together, so my budgies get access to sunflower seeds 24/7. Like the others have said, they are fattening and you need to be careful not to give them too many. My birds get lots of exercise so it's not a problem for my birds...

 

I have heard that some vets discourage sunflowers for budgies because they may cause fatty cysts...???? Personally, i have not had a fatty cyst in any of my birds....

I have budgies and Tiels in together, so my budgies get access to sunflower seeds 24/7. Like the others have said, they are fattening and you need to be careful not to give them too many. My birds get lots of exercise so it's not a problem for my birds...

 

I have heard that some vets discourage sunflowers for budgies because they may cause fatty cysts...???? Personally, i have not had a fatty cyst in any of my birds....

 

 

after doing research on fatty cysts because one of my budgies has two cysts on its chest, i have found it is not sunflower seed that causes them but they occur in overweight budgies so vets would discourage sunflower seed because they are fattening.as long as your birds get exercise sunflower seeds should not be a problem. i cannot give mine any at all because i have one overweight budgie with cysts.i got given the budgie and he was overweight when i got him.

Edited March 6, 200817 yr by deb

The seed mixture I buy contains a small amount of sunflower seeds. My birds seem to enjoy it.

I give mine sunflower seeds about once a week in a container near their seed. Sometimes I mix some through their seed.

Edited April 2, 200817 yr by KAZ

Thanks to everyone replies.

 

Even though both full black and grey/white striped are available here, I just didn't know if there was a difference nutritionally.

 

I heard the following in one of the love bird mailing list:

 

Striped Sunflower Seed - Higher in fat and protein contents

 

Black Sunflower Seed - Higher in oil and lower in fat contents.

 

But personally I am not sure, so only I have initiated this thread in order to make sure before I start giving some thing new to birds and so would like to hear all of your opinions on which one will be better.

 

Deb can we visually differentiate budgies with cysts? If so I would like to see a picture.

i will post a budgie with cysts in a new topic for you.

Thanks Deb.

 

Still waiting to see all of your opinions on which type of sunflower seed (black or striped) is better for birds.

l give my budgies the stripe sunflower seeds, l only give them sparingly. since they are high in fat.

i do as i have a pair of bourke parrots with them. normally the container takes 7 cups of seed and they get 1 cup of sunflower

I mix sunflower seeds with my feeds so they get a few every 2 - 3 days i was unsure about giving them daily ...

Thanks to everyone

We feed Sunflower Hearts occasionally..see link http://shopping.rspb.org.uk/mall/productpa...spb/R0023/76550

we get them from the supermarket and they are produced by the RSPB...very clean and packaged well...budgies love them :fear

Edited March 24, 200817 yr by lisa

Thanks Lisa.

 

Is Sunflower Hearts are hulled Sunflower Seeds, whether my understanding is correct? :yellowhead:

Yes I think your right it’s only Sunflower with the shell taken off. Seeing you can’t get many other seeds if you can get Sunflower, even with the shell on, a small amount would be good to give your birds more protein & fats. I couldn’t give you any pictures of plain seed as mostly we buy our seed already mixed for the different types of birds, mostly I buy what we call Budgie mix. Which is four or five grains pre mixed. At the moment I’m having trouble getting grains because of the drought we have had here.

Thanks Lisa.

 

Is Sunflower Hearts are hulled Sunflower Seeds, whether my understanding is correct?

 

 

Yep..Norm is correct, Sunflowers hearts are Sunflower seeds with the shells taken off...

Thanks Norm and Lisa.

 

Okay last weekend I got some sunflower seeds with shell to try it out and added very few say around 10 sunflower seeds to the regular seed feed, but I see none of my Budgies like to eat them and my father was saying that it might be very hard to bite for budgies beaks....so we have to crack them and mix to regular seed feed. But I am sure all you people give it without cracking sunflower seeds, any advice or opinions on this will be great. Also I hope that Budgies needs some time to get used to the new seed varieties.

 

Norm could you please provide me with the ingredients list along with the each seed variety quantity mixed, which will be mentioned on the outer cover of your readymade budgie mix.

 

I have managed to get few pictures of Sunflower seeds.

 

Mixed Striped and Black Sunflower Seed

 

Striped Sunflower Seed

 

Black Sunflower Seed

 

Note: Last picture size is still showing as 1632 x 1224, but where as in photobucket it shows size as 448 x 336...not sure what is wrong.

 

Edited April 5, 200817 yr by Karthik

Karthik, as you say your Budgies will take a little time to get used to any new food that you give them. Most people give their Sunflower seed with the shell on, Budgies are quite capable of removing it, even Canaries can.

 

I don’t have lists of quantities of the different types of seeds in my Budgie mixtures. Our mixtures often vary, but have about four different Millets, French, Japanese, Panicum & Red Millets, I would think in about equal amounts, most have a small quantity of Hulled Oats [Oats with the husk removed] & also include Canary seed, the more expensive mixes have a larger quantity of Canary seed, as breeders & show Budgie People like a larger amount of this seed in their mixture. None of the normal Budgie mixes have Sunflower to my knowledge, but we often buy some & as advised mix a small amount.

My budgies currently have the black sunflower. They seem to head straight for it once I put it in the cage alongside their other seed. Yours may not recognise it yet as food.

Mine too Kaz ..... They know when it is treaty time (Laughing out loud)

I found our budgies took ages to get use to sunflower seeds...normal or hearts...in the beginning I ground the sunflower hearts down and sprinkled a bit onto their food..once they got use to that, they started eating the whole seeds but they prefer the sunflower hearts, we've just got lazy budgies here :(Laughing out loud): .... they definitely can break open the shells though, I'm sure ... :hap:

Edited April 6, 200817 yr by lisa

Thanks to everyone :hap:

I had the hulled sunflower seeds ( also known as sunflower hearts ) but my expereince with them was...due to being shelled and the moisture with no shell proetection, they developed moulds very quickly and moulds are very hazardous to a birds health so I stopped using them.