Shelled or unshelled sunflower seeds – that is the question!

Myth 1. With shelled sunflower seeds, birds save valuable time and effort. They can get more energy and withstand the cold winter nights better.
This is a typical argument from us sellers - there's certainly a small amount of truth to the claim, but all of our winter birds are resident birds that are adapted to survive the winter without additional bird feed. For instance, the tits flit around all day searching for insects among bark and needles in the forest. If the time and effort it took for a blue tit to shell a sunflower seed outweighed the benefits, it would fly into the forest and try to find some frozen spiders among a few pieces of bark. There are so many better arguments for using shelled seeds.

Myth 2. They need to do something themselves! - they'll become too spoiled if we give them peeled seeds.
It's not a far-fetched idea – that one should work a little for their treats. We, ourselves, have to work to be able to buy bird food. You can't just go to slattergubben.se and order for free. 
We actually agree that, from a larger ecosystem perspective, there's no benefit to having lazy, spoiled birds. But if you seriously consider the notion that the myth suggests, it's better to reduce feeding overall and not feed during the summer. Shelled sunflower seeds have so many other advantages that outweigh the concerns.  

Myth 3: It is too expensive to buy peeled sunflower seeds, so it's not feasible for us.
Yes - it is often a bit more expensive, but let's take a closer look at the pricing! However, there are many other benefits to peeled seeds that we will discuss later.

To compare the price, we must first understand that the shell (which is of no use to either you or the birds) constitutes up to half the weight and volume of a sunflower seed. Striped sunflower seeds have 50% shell as they generally have larger and thicker shells. Black sunflower seeds can have a shell weight as low as 35%.

Sunflower seeds are often sold in 20 kg bags. peeled seeds, on the other hand, are sold in 25 kg bags. If we assume that the shell makes up 50% of the weight, this means that one 25 kg bag of peeled seeds is equivalent to 2.5 bags of 20 kg unshelled sunflower seeds. It can also be expressed as 10 kg peeled = 20 kg unshelled.

If we look at the organic market, we need to turn to the internet. (The prices below apply as of Dec '21)

Vivara is the only one selling organic sunflower seeds with shells. There, 10 kg of organic black sunflower seeds with shells costs 524 SEK (4x2.5 kg). Now we can be a bit generous here and calculate based on 35% shell weight. The price per kilogram for the kernels comes to: 80.6 SEK/kg.

We at Slåttergubben are probably the only ones (besides grocery stores) selling organic shelled sunflower kernels. Currently, the price per kilogram for 2.5 kg of whole shelled kernels is 51.6 SEK/kg. So, if you want to buy organic, it’s cheaper to go with shelled. Additionally, if you choose Slåttergubben's chopped shelled sunflower kernels in a 25 kg sack, the price per kilogram drops to 31.6 SEK/kg.

The conventional (sprayed) market is significantly larger. Sometimes sunflower seeds with shells are used as bait items and are sold at very low prices.

Looking at Granngården's regular prices online, it appears like this:
Black sunflower seeds 20kg for 249 SEK. (assumed shell weight 35%) = 19.2 SEK/kg.
If we assume a 50% shell weight, the price would instead be 24.9 SEK/kg.
Interestingly, Granngården sells packages of 20kg striped sunflower seeds for 349 SEK, and if we assume a 50% shell weight there, the price per kilo for the actual sunflower kernel is 34.9 SEK/kg (which is more expensive than Slåttergubben's shelled and chopped).

Granngården's price for conventional shelled sunflower seeds, i.e., sunflower kernels, is 51.8 SEK/kg. (for 5kg - the only size they sell)
When we compare conventional with conventional, we see that shelled is much more expensive. However, in the organic market, shelled is much cheaper, and furthermore, Slåttergubben's shelled organic is cheaper than most others' conventional shelled.

Why this is the case, we can only speculate. It's likely because the market for organic sunflower seeds with shells is incredibly small. Meanwhile, the market for conventional ones with shells is incredibly large—and has primarily been so. Additionally, they function as a lure and it seems that many companies try to maintain low margins when selling sunflower seeds with shells for some reason.

At Slåttergubben, we decided from the start that shelled sunflower seeds would be our main focus. Mainly because it's an insane waste of transportation and packaging to ship something we don't want! We do not import shells and are completely focused on selling shelled sunflower kernels. For us, it will not be a niche product that we try to sell with higher margins than others.

1. The husks remain in the country of cultivation, in our case Bulgaria. They are used as biofuel, and half as many trucks need to drive here! This saves a lot of energy. However, we don't want to say that it's eco-friendly. The most eco-friendly option would be not to buy either shelled or unshelled sunflower seeds!
2. Half as much packaging is used.
3. It takes up only half the space to store the same amount of food.
4. You only need to refill the feeders half as often.
5. You and your neighbors avoid a lot of litter in the form of sunflower husks.
6. More birds can eat more easily, as not all of them are equipped with a strong beak for shell-cracking. For example, the long-tailed tit, treecreeper, siskin, blackbird, dunnock, blackcap, and robin.

When sunflower seeds are shelled, some kernels get broken. These are sorted into a separate fraction called "chips" in English. In Sweden, we have chosen to call them "chopped sunflower kernels." They are not intentionally chopped. 

Those of us who purchase in large volumes get the "chopped" kernels at a cheaper price since they are a byproduct. However, some of us sell them at a higher price... (no names mentioned). 

The chopped kernels have the advantage of being cheaper - they are also more economical. For example, a great tit with free access to sunflower kernels will fly off with a whole kernel, sit on a branch, and peck it apart, possibly dropping half on the ground. It doesn't care and flies to the feeder to take a new kernel. With smaller pieces, more birds can take a piece and swallow it directly. Another advantage of the chopped kernels is that more species with delicate beaks find it slightly easier to eat since they don't need to break them apart. Dunnock, blackcap, blackbird, robin, long-tailed tit. 

We have many customers who only use chopped sunflower kernels, and many who use only whole ones. The difference isn't that significant. 

However, the chopped kernels have two disadvantages: 

1. In some feeders and in humid weather, they can stick together. 

2. They become rancid slightly faster due to break surfaces in the kernel itself. But this is quite marginal. Even 1.5 years after harvest, they still taste fine.