Can Parrot Eat Sunflower Seeds? – Facts & FAQs!

Yes, parrots can eat sunflower seeds. It is good for them. Wild parrots love to eat sunflower seeds. The reason is that their diet is mostly based on seeds. They can easily open seeds and digest them. As a parrot owner, the one thing that your never forgot is to serve it in moderation.

Taste of sunflower seeds attract parrot species. Sunflower seeds have mildly almond like taste. Many parrot owners, roast sunflower seeds and then serve to parrots for enhancing its taste. 

In this article, I will tell: How to serve sunflower seeds to the parrots? How often can parrots eat sunflower seeds? Merits and demerits of eating sunflower seeds for parrots and list of some edible seeds for parrot species. For more details, stay with me.

How to Serve Sunflower Seeds To Parrots?

Many parrot owners serve the food in same ways through that their parrot get bored. You should adopt different ways of serving food to parrots. As a parrot owner, Here, I will tell you different ways of serving sunflower seeds to parrots that your parrot will enjoy.

• You can serve both cooked and raw sunflower seeds to the parrot 
• Sprinkle some sunflower seeds to the parrots food. 
• Mix sunflower seeds with fruits and vegetables.

How Often Can Parrots Eat Sunflower Seeds?

As a parrot owner, you should know the amount of sunflower seeds that you serve to the parrots for best health result. Because the excess of sunflower seeds harms your parrot. So, it is preferred to serve not more than 15 sunflower seeds to the parrots on daily basis.

As you all know that excess of anything is bad.

Kinds of Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds are healthier for parrots. The question arises: what kinds of sunflower seeds are edible for parrots to eat? The part of the sunflower that parrots can easily eat is known as sunflower kernel. Parrots crack it to reach the sunflower seeds.

As a parrot owner, I will tell you three main kinds of sunflower seeds that you serve to parrots for best health results.

• High Oleic
• Nusun
• Linoleic 

The favorite sunflower seeds of parrots are linoleic seeds. It is cheaper and easily available in the market. The seeds can be easily identified by its husk. Seeds having Black Husk are named as Black Oil Sunflower Seeds. Another type of sunflower seeds is Confectionery Sunflower Seeds that has stripes on it.

Keep Reading!

Merits of Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds are beneficial and healthier for parrots. Sunflower seeds are full of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals. It includes phosphorus, calcium, fats, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin E etc that are required by parrots for healthy survival and healthy life.

• Sunflower seeds contain unsaturated fats that are good for parrots. As it helps in maintaining the cholesterol of parrots body 
• Another important advantage of eating sunflower seeds for parrots is that it contains a large amount of fiber that aids in digestion and reduces extra cholesterol and calories. 
• Sunflower seeds control heart diseases as it contains all essential nutrients. 
• Sunflower seeds are rich in vitamin A that is required by parrots at night vision. It also protects parrots from color blindness.

Nutritional Value of Sunflower Seeds 

Sunflower seeds are one of the parrots’ favorite food items. It is rich in many nutrients, vitamins and minerals. But if your parrot eats in excess, then your parrot will lose all these nutrients.

As a parrot owner, here, I will tell you some nutrients that are found in sunflower seeds that are beneficial for parents. 

• Proteins 
• Unsaturated fats 
• Linoleic acid 
• Oil 
• Oleic Acid 
• Fiber

Demerits of Eating Sunflower Seeds

As you know that sunflower seeds are beneficial for parrots but the only case in which sunflower seeds harm a parrot is if your parrot eats sunflower seeds in excess. As a parrot owner, here, I will tell you some demerits of eating sunflower seeds for your parrots:

Obesity and Over Weightening 

High intake of sunflower seeds lead to obesity and over weightening in parrots. The cage parrots are mostly affected by eating sunflower seeds in excess. The reason is that they don’t do enough work the whole day and remain free.

Obesity causes severe problems in parrots like heart diseases, fatty liver, joint pain, kidney pain and sometimes lead to sudden death. As a parrot owner, here, I will tell you some indications of obesity in parrots after eating sunflower seeds in excess:

• Breathing issues 
• Fatty chest 
• Difficulty in moving 
• Laziness 
• Difficulty in flying 
• Tiredness

Respiratory Problems 

As you all know, excess eating sunflower seeds for the parrots causes excessive respiratory problems. The reason is that it lacks vitamin A that causes respiratory problems. Vitamin A protects the respiratory tract of parrots from damage, bacteria and microorganisms. If your parrot lacks vitamin A then your parrot faces respiratory problems. 

As a parrot owner, here, I will tell you some indications of respiratory problems in parrots after eating sunflower seeds in large amounts. 

• Watery eyes 
• Breathing issues 
• Sneezing 
• Red eyes
• Itching in wind pipe
• Asthma 

Which Problems Are Faced By Parrots if They Eat Sunflower Seeds In Excess? 

As you all know that sunflower seeds are good for parrots if your parrot eats it in small quantity on daily basis. But, the situation is different, when your parrot eat sunflower seeds in excess. The reason is that it contains a lot of fats that cause health issues in parrots. 

If your parrot eats only sunflower seeds, then your parrot will suffer from certain diseases and issues. The problems faced by parrots after eating sunflower seeds are as follows:

• Lack of vitamin A 
• Obesity 
• Over weightening
• Feather plucking 
• Liver problem
• Chronic issues 
• Vitamin E deficiency
• Lack of feather pigmentation

Raw VS Cooked Sunflower Seeds 

Raw and cooked sunflower seeds are equally healthier for parrots. Your parrot can easily eat both raw and cooked sunflower seeds. The only thing that you should keep in your mind is not to add salt in sunflower seeds while serving it to the parrots.

As a parrot owner, I prefer to serve sprouts as compared to seeds. Sprouts are  germinated to some extent, that are useful in converting the fat content into proteins. Sprouts contain a large quantity of nutrients. Your parrot likes to eat sprouts as compared to seeds and can easily digest them.

Edible Seeds

As you know, seeds of fruits and vegetables are toxic for parrots. But many seeds are edible for parrot species. As a parrot owner, here, I will tell you the list of edible seeds for parrots. The list is given below:

• Chia Seeds
• Sunflower Seeds
• Sesame Seeds
• Papaya Seeds
• Pepper Seeds
• Mustard Seeds
• Tomato Seeds
• Flax Seeds
• Milk Thistle Seeds
• Watermelon Seeds
• Pomegranate Seeds
• Guava Seeds

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Which Seeds Are Used As An Alternative For Sunflower Seeds?

As you all know that you should serve sunflower seeds to parrots but in moderation. But, if sunflower seeds are not available, then you should serve other seeds to the parrots to boost their energy level. While serving different types of seeds to parents make sure that it is free from salt and contains all the nutrients that are essential for parrots.

• Barley seed 
• Buckwheat 
• Canary seed 
• Dried corn 
• Pomegranate seeds  
• Guava seed 
• Pepper seed 
• Tomato seed 
• Mustard sprouts 
• Pumpkin seed
• Ripe papaya seeds
• Chia seeds 
• Watermelon seeds 

Final Thought

It is okay to serve sunflower seeds to the parrots. As a parrot owner, the first thing that you should keep in your mind is to serve sunflower seed only in moderation to parrots. Sunflower seeds are good for parrots but at the same time, it has some demerits, if you feed it in excess. 

The one thing that you should keep in mind is that sunflower seeds contain some fats that are toxic for parrots, if you serve sunflower seeds in excess. As a parrot owner, you should serve sunflower seeds with other fruits or vegetables to boost your parrot energy.

If you find any difficulty, text me in the comment box, I will answer you soon.

Thanks for Reading!

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