How many sunflower seeds

[allan]

I have been reading through the diet and nutrition section and seen a few different opinions on how many sunflower seeds you can feed the degu.
i have fed mine just one a week but that seems to few (they are extremely fussy won’t eat hardly any green but love seeds) 
thr food I buy has everything that they need to live but treats are nice now and again eh? 

[misscatafer]

I generally treat mine every two to three days. If I give them sunflower seeds it is a max of three per degu. Other treats I use are puffed buckwheat (max three per goo) a 10p sized amount of linseed, 6-7 pieces of normal buckwheat, a quarter of those treat loop things (one whole loop feeds 4 degus), a small sprig of millet each or a sliver of some kind of nut each, but I very rarely give them nuts, only on very special occasions. Every Friday I weigh them so they get a 10p sized amount of oats each when they go on the scales. This is just my personal routine though so I don't know if what I'm feeding is right or wrong.

[bouncy]

My lot demand them, especially as I bring back the giant ones from Cyprus. They don't get them every night, but it's either that or they try to help themselves to my dinner!

[Deleted]

Mine get a sprinkling of sunflower seeds in their homes once a week - I alternate between that and a sprinkling of oats. I like that they have to forage for it, so I don’t mind that there may be a few too many.

I give them a nut once a month.

[ntg]

Mine get a few everyday. I feed a good high calcium diet so I don't tend to sweat a few "bads" in the grand scheme of things. plus the little mites (chins included) enjoy them so much I think I'd have a riot on my hands if I stopped using them as a bonding treat!

[moletteuk]

It depends on everything else that you are feeding.

Choose a high calcium commercial food, have good acceptance of the high calcium oil seed mix (including the highest calcium ones like dill & nigella) and a good range of forage and then a few sunflower seeds, the odd millet ball there, a few small pieces of dried carrot do negligible harm and are good for bonding and training.

If they selectively feed from a muesli style food or a low calcium commercial food with no high calcium seeds or forage and you could tip them into nutritional difficulties if they get treats every day that are grains or high phosphorus nuts, seeds & veg.

Try and think about the diet as a whole and the relative weights of the things they eat.

I think it's worth experimenting with some healthier treats that you can give frequently for building a bond with them, and reserving the higher value unhealthier treats for training and rewards. Things like dried flowers, dandelion & burdock roots, some of the oil seeds like sesame, linseed, milk thistle, hemp, maybe the odd bit of dried veg are worth a try before you reach for grains.

[allan]

Thanks yet again for all your feed back! I have them on a very good diet but it was the treats I was worried about since they are so small I was worried about giving them too much but as it turns out I haven’t been giving them enough! (Treats)

[claire]

Allan dont listen to them. They will tell you they didn't get a seed cos they just buried it! They are sneaky 😂
I treat mine to a little bit of walnut couple of times a week but my boys are not in great health teeth wise so loose weight very fast this just keep their weight topped up and I do weigh them every week ... little man keeps making baby eyes at me but for the first time in his life he's fat so he's not getting anything for a bit lol