Many of you have tried to feed various types of seeds and nuts to parakeets. Seeds are one of the regular foods of parakeets. But can parakeets eat sunflower seeds?
Parakeets can sunflower seeds, and they love to feed on them because of the beneficial nutrients present in them. The level high fats in sunflower seeds make parakeets addicted to them. Know about how you can properly feed them sunflower seeds.
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents
Are Sunflower Seeds Safe For Parakeets?
Yes, sunflower seeds are completely safe for parakeets. Sunflower seeds are full of calories that are important for the growth and development of parakeets.
These birds are one of the most active birds and need calories to give fuel to their bodies to fly and search for food. Always serve sunflower seeds with fruits that parakeets eat and also vegetables.
These seeds are the perfect treat for your small birds. The reason why birds love to eat them is the thick shells of sunflower seeds.
Along with calcium, parakeets also get protein, fatty acids, and energy from sunflower seeds. But as we know, excess of everything is bad for animals, birds, and humans also.
So, excess intake of sunflower seeds can cause obesity in your parakeets. Sunflower seeds also have minerals like manganese, protein, copper, fiber, zinc, vitamin E, vitamin B6, iron, and magnesium.
Sunflower seeds are very addictive because of their high fats. That is why parakeets overconsume these sunflower seeds, which is not good for their health.
Also, their stomach will be full after eating so many sunflower seeds, and they will not eat anything else. So, they will lack other essential nutrients and proteins from other fruits, vegetables, and snacks.
In such cases, sunflower seeds are not safe for your parakeets. That is why you have to offer them an occasional treat of sunflower seeds. So they will also eat other things along with sunflower seeds.
You can also mix sunflower seeds with other snacks. Sunflower seeds are safe for your parakeets because they are a very rich source of important nutrients and sunflower seeds are not one of the toxic foods that parakeets can not eat.
Do Parakeets Like Sunflower Seeds?
Parakeets like eating sunflower seeds because of the thick shells of these seeds and the high fats in sunflower seeds. Parakeets got addicted to sunflower seeds because of these high fats.
But they have less important nutrition, so sunflower seeds should not be fed in high amounts. You can serve sunflower seeds in 10 percent of the total amount of the diet they took on a daily basis.
How To Feed Sunflower Seeds To Parakeets?
When you are feeding sunflower seeds to the parakeets, there are a few things that you should keep in your mind. If you give them all seeds or nuts, they will not miss the chance to eat them all.
But one should keep in mind that there are fat and oil in high quantities in seeds or nuts, which is harmful when eating them on a daily basis.
It would be best if you give seeds or nuts to parakeets occasionally. Try not to add sunflower seeds to their daily seed diet as they are rich in fat.
Giving them Sunflower seeds to eat periodically, like one or two at a time, is recommended. Add sunflower seeds as a reward diet during the training of parakeets is also a good idea.
How Often To Feed Sunflower Seeds To Parakeets?
Parakeets should be fed sunflower seeds two times a week. Daily intake of sunflower seeds can harm them. They can have fatty liver diseases if they get addicted to eating sunflower seeds daily.
Never serve sunflower seeds only. Add some different things, and more variety of food to balance the diet of your parakeets. An occasional treat of sunflower seeds is acceptable for your parakeets.
How Much To Feed Sunflower Seeds To Parakeets?
The amount of sunflower seeds that can be fed to your parakeets is almost half a teaspoon for parakeets, and for the big birds, the quantity of sunflower seeds is almost one tablespoon.
Parakeets are small birds, so half a teaspoon is more than enough for them. Never exceed the number of sunflower seeds in their diet.
The amount of seed that a parakeet can eat is almost 10 percent to 15 percent of its total diet. You can serve sunflower seeds only in this quantity or mix different seeds that your parakeets like to eat.
Can Parakeets Eat Salted Sunflower Seeds?
Parakeets can eat sunflower seeds, but they cannot eat salted sunflower seeds. In fact, they cannot eat any salty food because the salt in any food is not suitable for the health of your parakeets.
Salted sunflower seeds also have minerals and vitamins in them, but the presence of salt makes them dangerous to the health of your bird.
In addition, salt has sodium in it which is fatal for your parakeets, and sodium can never be part of the natural diet of your parakeet. So, while buying sunflower seeds, make sure they are not salted.
Can Parakeets Eat Black Oil Sunflower Seeds?
Yes, parakeets can eat black oil sunflower seeds. Because of the high amount of fats in these seeds, they should be served once a week. Although black oil sunflower seeds have more fat and a thinner shell than striped sunflower seeds, these seeds have less fat and a thick shell.
Therefore, most outside birds are served by these black oil sunflower seeds in winter and during migration because they contain more fats and give more energy than the striped sunflower seeds.
Most people do not give black oil sunflower seeds to their birds, and the reason behind this is the high content of fats in them.
However, if your parakeets are in a flighted aviary, they can be served with black oil sunflower seeds three times a week.
For flying, they will need more energy, and for this purpose, black oil sunflower seeds in feed work the best. If your parakeets are not in the flighted aviary, then never serve them black oil sunflower seeds more than once a week.
The color of the shell of black oil sunflower seeds is full black. There is not a single white stripe on these seeds. So, they are easily available in parrot shops. There is one more type of seed similar in color to the black oil sunflower seeds.
But these seeds have some white stripes on them, which will help you distinguish between these two seeds. Black oil sunflower seeds are also small in size than striped sunflower seeds.
But these black oil sunflower seeds have a bitter taste, so some birds do not eat them. So, yeah, parakeets can eat black oil sunflower seeds but in a small amount.
Final Words
Parakeets are not very picky in terms of eating behavior. They love to eat various foods, and seeds are one of them. Parakeets can eat sunflower seeds without any hesitation.
Make sure there is no salt added to sunflower seeds as salt is not good for the health of your parakeets and is not included in any of their diets. Any high-salt food can cause severe diseases in your birds, which can lead to death.
Related Posts
Follow me on
Birdskeeping is supported by its readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Also, as an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases without costing you extra.
