Eclectus and Seeds

[FirstTimeBirdie]

Okay. Sebastian eats the appropriate diet, he LOVES oatmeal, and I also feed him hot cereals with granola, flax, bananas, etc. Plus I feed him organic brown rice, lentils, split peas and also daily assorted fruits and veggies. I put Roudybush in his cage but he never touches it.

Now for the question. My breeder said I can try many things, but NEVER give him sunflower seeds. Does everyone agree with this? Here's why I ask, they are his absolute favorite. I give him a little dish every day of the Vitakraft Bird Food and he goes nuts over it. I do it after he's eaten his regular food, not instead of. Should I stop?

Any help would be appreciated.

[sodakat]

Generalizing, I'd say the reason people say don't feed them is because of the high fat content. Birds do love 'em and some will forego healthy foods and eat only sunflower seeds. But they do have nutritional value, are a good sourse of protein and especially vitamin E, as well as some calcium and magnesium. I sprout both sunflower and safflower seeds for my ekkies, every other week I'd say. Sunflower seeds sprout fairly quickly and from what I've read, sprouted seeds are more nutritious. You don't have to wait for the tail to fully form before you feed, btw.

If you take a look at the ingredient list for Tops and Harrisons Pellets you will find they include sunflower seeds as an ingredient. Also, Volkman Eclectus Diet (a very reputable seed mix) has California grey sunflower seed as the first ingredient. The striped sunflower seed is a bit higher in fat I believe. I read recently that the supplier of the grey sunflower seed has not been able to get them... I think they are imported, so Volkmans is substituting safflower and some other sunflower seed.

So, there is definitely a place for sunflower seeds in a balanced diet. Moderation is the key with any high fat food. Many people reserve them as treats for training.