# sunflower seeds?



## GimpieLover (Dec 18, 2005)

is it ok for pigeons to eat sunflower seeds still in the shell?


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Gimpielover, 

Yes, you can give them in the shell just make sure that they aren't roasted or salted. Always raw for the pigeons


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## upcd (Mar 12, 2005)

*Mine*

love them.


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## GimpieLover (Dec 18, 2005)

and do you guys have any advice on how i can get him to stop being so agressive ? hes in love with these sunflower seeds so i tried hand feeding them to him so he could get used to me but he just attacks my hand


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Could just be his nature and personality. Every pigeon has its own identity. Mine loves me to death but will peck me silly.Sometimes when I am not on the mood to have my flesh ripped  to my bones, I will wear my long sleeve pigeon smock and leather gloves, or transfer him to his carrier when I clean out his home.


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Gimpie lover, 

My hand raised male pigeon, Ricky does this as well. He'll be so excited when I offer him sunflower seeds by hand that he starts to attack the hand that feeds him! LOL

Don't take it personally and just continue to work with your pigeon. Some are just more aggressive than others but if they are, it just means that they consider you another bird and their equal. Therefore, they trust us


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## GimpieLover (Dec 18, 2005)

well see myns not a pet. i found him hurt so i dont think hes doing it out of love lol. he will go out of his way to attack me. is there any way to let him know i more of the "dominate bird" ? he thinks he owns the place


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

It doesn't really matter that he's not a "pet" and that he was a wild bird once. Pigeons are smart and they adapt to us humans rather fast sometimes. They also seem to know when they are in good hands

There is really nothing you can do to prevent him from attacking you. You can try to say "NO" in a firm voice each time he does this and perhaps he will catch on. Birds are not like cats or dogs however and don't really follow the same cues. 

Like Victor mentioned with his bird, wear gloves if it hurts


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## GimpieLover (Dec 18, 2005)

well i think thats exactly what im going to be doing. ha im sick of him grabbing a chinck of skin and trying to remove it form my hand haha


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Most see the hand as a total seperate entity of your own body 

Most of the time mine will do it to "play" with me but ya just gotta toughen up! I sometimes I make a fist and tighten up my hand when reaching in for his dishes.It is not worth getting frustrated or angry with them. It is a lot easier fro us to work around them I believe.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Mine will go into a mad rade of my hand when I'm holding peanuts, but it is not painful. 

He is attacking your hand, just a natural reflex, because when he was in the wild, he didn't know where his next meal was coming from, so he learned to eat quickly, and defensively.

Give him time and he may adjust. Once he realises that there is more where that came from.

Thank you for your kindness and taking in this needy pigeon. It means alot to us here~


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## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Black oil sunflower seeds are ok to give to the pigeons whole (seed, shell and all) because they are very soft and you could squish it with your finger, if you do you'll notice all the oil inside each one. Amazing!

As for the larger stripped ones, the shell is very hard so if you buy the ones without shell then that should be fine, there isn't as much oil in those as the others but they are still good and the seed is larger, flatter and drier. The other is small, softer, rounder and more oily.

Both are equally favoured by my birds.. Becareful though, some birds WILL eat the ones with the thick shell and that can cause a problem.


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## GimpieLover (Dec 18, 2005)

what about the ones that are in most wild bird seeds? the shells are pretty hard but there small and black? are those the oil ones?


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

The ones contained in the wild seed mix...the small black ones are fine...As Mary said, watch out for the larger ones that have a visible stripe..a no no!


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Do not allow the bird to have an almost complete diet of sunflower seeds.while it is okay for him to eat it in the mix, it is not healthy as a staple.

It will eventually overload the liver as well as cause nutritional imbalance.


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## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Exactly Treesa, Moderation is the key (and that goes for everything and every creature) .. too much of anything isn't good.

It's really sad when you see ignorant people feeding an only sunflower diet to parrots and such birds, I've witnessed this myself as a child. 
If people can't care for them properly then they shouldn't care for them at all!


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## Lisa C. (Sep 1, 2005)

i never found a fixed mix so i make my own. Basically i try seeds till they get bugged. I used to give them sunflower a lot though they prefer safflower. 
Are these bad for them?

The rest of the mix is wheat and millet. And a bit of lin seed, though they don't like that much.


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

maryco said:


> Exactly Treesa, Moderation is the key (and that goes for everything and every creature) .. too much of anything isn't good.
> 
> It's really sad when you see ignorant people feeding an only sunflower diet to parrots and such birds, I've witnessed this myself as a child.
> If people can't care for them properly then they shouldn't care for them at all!


Bread and crackers is something else that some people are lead to believe that it is ok to feed them daily too. No nutriant value to birds, only a "stuffing".


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Victor said:


> Bread and crackers is something else that some people are lead to believe that it is ok to feed them daily too. No nutriant value to birds, only a "stuffing".



*Hi Victor, 

YEP....Empty calories we call it.

Pigeons were designed by their Creator to live on a variety, a mixture of legumes, seeds and grains. This is what gives them vibrant health. Too much sunflower or safflower is going to leave a pigeon short changed. You may think giving them what they like to eat is being humane, but it is actually robbing them of their full potential.*


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## Lisa C. (Sep 1, 2005)

Well how do u get them to eat something they don't like?

Some animals u just can't force. Our cat would only eat one brand of food (tinned macarel not catfood  ) and if we tried anything else he just wouldn't eat.

I initially bought pellets for the pigeons, but they turned their noses up. The first two days i had them they ate NOTHING until i went and bought seeds!


BTW are sesame seeds good? And those orange "discs", lentils i think?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Well how do u get them to eat something they don't like?

*I have heard that a pigeonw ill eat anything if they are hungry. You should make sure they get about a tablespoon of a good pigeon seed mix per meal, if there is nothing left you can give a little extra. Take the food away after each meal.*

BTW are sesame seeds good? And those orange "discs", lentils i think?
*They may eat lentils, but not as readily as their pigeon seed mix. I don't know about the sesame seeds.*


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Lisa C. said:


> ...those orange "discs", lentils i think?


The oranges ones are called red lentils and my birds avoid them, possibly due to the brittle, sharp edges. The tan or black lentils are popular and a good treat of easy to digest protein. Because they don't have a thick hull, they don't store as well. I've seen the small black ones labeled "French lentils".


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## GimpieLover (Dec 18, 2005)

why should you take the food after they are done eating? cant you just leave the dish in there? or will they just keep eating too much ?


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

I was wondering exactly the same thing as you Gimpielover. I normally leave out a big dish of mixed seed. I have noticed though that certain types of the seeds are almost never eaten so maybe a choosy eater is actually developing bad diet habits. By the way I tried sesame and they are not of any interest to my bird at all. Like they are too small or something.

Cameron


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

GimpieLover said:


> why should you take the food after they are done eating? cant you just leave the dish in there? or will they just keep eating too much ?


Not a good idea to overfeed.I give mine about 1/4 cup of seed blend in the morning and another 1/4 late afternoon. He generally leaves about a t-spoon by nightfall, probably because he knows that he does not have to worry about his next meal. Another issue is water that may get splashed on insde the seed bowl, general "pigeon dust", dust, and pigeon droopings. You don't want to give them contaminated food. This invites problems.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

GimpieLover said:


> why should you take the food after they are done eating? cant you just leave the dish in there? or will they just keep eating too much ?


*Because that invites not only potential contamination, as Victor stated, but allows them to pick and choose what they want, and not eat the full mix. That is why you give only as much as they will eat.*


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

Thank you Victor, Thank you Treesa. 

The advice is appreciated and helpful as always. I have adjusted the feeding as you suggested.

Cameron


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