Why

Sunflower seeds are the classic budgie junk food: extremely high in fat and so tempting that many budgies will gorge on them and pick them out of a mix while ignoring everything else. Left unchecked this leads to obesity, fatty liver disease and a badly unbalanced diet, which is why they must be strictly limited. They are not toxic and a couple as a reward can be genuinely useful for taming and training, but the danger is quantity, since a budgie left to its own devices will happily overindulge.

How to feed it

Offer just one or two plain, unsalted sunflower seeds by hand, ideally as a reward during taming or training, so you control exactly how many your bird gets. Avoid seed mixes that are heavy in sunflower seeds, and never give salted or flavoured ones meant for humans. Keeping them as a hand-fed treat stops your budgie from bingeing.

How much & how often

Just one or two seeds a day at most, and best used as an occasional training reward rather than left freely in the bowl. Overfeeding is the real risk, so ration them tightly.