Sunflower seeds don't have any narcotic compounds in them. Parrots do like them, though. There are a lot of parrot nutrition myths, like fruit is just sugar or seeds aren't good for them. Every natural food has something good about it. Every natural food can be bad, if it's the only thing you feed your parrots, chickens or yourself. Some people have fed their parrots only seeds or too much fruit and the result is an unbalanced diet.
Fruit has many phytonutrients in it, including those that fight cancer, among other things. Sunflower seed is a good source of methionine, an amino acid that is a major component of feathers and one that is often limited in plant based proteins. I feed more of it when my chickens are molting. Sunflower seed has a lot of other good things in it, too. Many people eat sunflower seeds as part of a balanced diet, including me. I eat a small amount, not a huge bowl full. I take the same approach with the chickens and my parrot. A little sunflower seed or scratch doesn't keep my chickens from foraging every day.
I feed the grey striped sunflower seeds that are much lower in fat to my parrot. He does love them and gets some every day. He also loves his Harrison's pellets, grain/legume/rice cooked mixes, sprouts, birdie bread, almost every vegetable, most fruits, chicken, salmon, lean meat, a mix of different seeds and nuts, plus all kinds of things I cook or bake for us. Eating sunflower seeds hasn't prevented him from eating other things. He's a good eater, but not fat. He was at least a couple of years old when I got him and I've had him almost 20 years.
One other thing you may have noticed, is that birds need to learn to eat new foods. They often learn that a food is safe and good to eat, when they see someone else eat it. Sometimes the someone else is a flock member and sometimes it's their owner. Only the bravest will try things on their own and they often need to think about and observe a new food, before they decide to try it. In general, if you teach parrots and chickens to eat a lot of different foods when they are younger, they will be more likely to try new foods as adults. Parrots that have had limited diets for many years may find it more difficult to try new foods, but eating something in front of them is a good way to show them that it's something good to eat. It works for chickens, too. Mine always want to know what I'm eating and can they get some of it.
What kind of parrots is your friend raising and what does she like to feed?
