The plus editorial talks about Zvonimir Juric, who thought that the seed mix with, among other things, sunflower seeds that he gave to his parrot was useful. But it turned out that the bird's diet was so damaging that he died of fatty liver.

Erika Johansson is a veterinarian, and specializes in just birds. According to her, it is common for overweight cage birds to be hit by fatty liver.

- It happens quite often that my patients have fatty liver. We know that birds that eat only seed mixes or seed-based diets get more diseases and live shorter than birds that do not, says Erika Johansson.

The problem of fatty liver is also confirmed by the association Swedish Bird Hobby.

Important not to give too much

Lena Olsén, associate professor of animal nursing at the Swedish University of Agriculture, agrees that there is a problem with sunflower seeds in seed mixtures, but she does not think that you should completely give it to her parrot.

- You can give it as candy, in very small amount. Maybe hide the seeds so the bird can look a little. Then the bird becomes more activated and so you reduce the risk of it getting too much fat.

If you give your bird a seed mix with sunflower seeds, Lena Olsén thinks that you should make sure the bird eats up all the food before refilling. This increases the chance that the bird will really get the right balance of nutrients.

Manufacturers: The owners have great responsibility

Plus has asked questions to two bird feed manufacturers. None of the companies consider it a problem that their seed mixes contain sunflower seeds.

- Sunflower seeds are only a small part of the seed mixture and are needed to give the feed a balanced fat content and the right amount of a certain protein, Vitakraft writes in an email to Plus.

- All our seed mixes are well-balanced and adapted to meet the nutritional needs of the bird species for which it is designed, writes Versele-Laga.

Both companies emphasize that the animal owners have a responsibility to ensure that the birds do not get too much food. According to the Animal Protection Act, it is up to each pet owner to find out how their pet is to be cared for.

“Like candy or broccoli”

According to Erika Johansson, it is best to give its bird pellets from the beginning, even if it thinks it is boring food.

- If they can choose between seeds and pellets, it's like choosing between sweets and broccoli, she says to Plus.

Do you have any tips on what SVT's consumer editorial team should review? Tip Plus here!