Feeding wild birds

[Paddy]

We have been feeding the birds for many decades. I have always thought we were doing it wrong. Buying the mix does not work well. Some birds prefer the sunflower seeds and just kick all the millet on to the ground. So over X-mass, I built several bird feeders to have dedicated food. One for millet, one for sunflower. I also made a PCV pipe just for cracked corn. I thought, hey chickens do fine with cracked corn and it's the lowest cost feed out there. Turns out my birds are just as active on the corn as the pricey other feed. As side note, spilled millet will grow some mighty weeds, crack corn will not.

So the next time your at the farm store, try the cracked corn in your feeder.

Paddy

 

[deerseeker001]

i have noticed the same thing.

 

[crash325]

For years my birds were spoiled, bird seed mix plus sunflower seeds. Now its just chicken scratch, mostly cracked corn. They are happy & healthy.
I do want to start getting some sunflower seeds again, just for the cardinals and put it up close to where I sit. They get real tame and after getting spoiled for a while will come up there and ask for their seeds. Fun to watch.

 

[/pine]

I grew up in a family of bird lovers and have always fed them...been feeding ducks (mostly mallards and wood ducks) cracked corn for 40 years...it surprised me to see cardinals in a wood duck feeder eating cracked corn...I still go through a 40# bag of sunflower a month and in the spring I bite the bullet and buy some thistle for the gold finches and pine siskins... usually get blue and rose breasted grossbeaks for a week or two as they migrate through along with the indigo buntings some of the buntings hang around until fall...once in awhile we're treated to a scarlet tanager at the bird fountain...

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Do you feed year-round or only during the winter? We feed only say Nov- April on the assumption they have food when stuff is growing. My feeder has two compartments I am going to try the corn idea on one side, we only use sunflowers seeds. We also found the birds would throw out the millet and go for the sunflower.

 

[/pine]

I feed them year round but cut back after the early migration...doves here clean up everything including the millet...I always say I don't mind feeding the doves because one day they may feed me...
In the colder months I go through a block of suet every week...when it's really cold the birds (all varieties) are lined up at the suet feeders...

in the summer I can get chickadees to take shelled peanuts out of my hand and titmice are as bad as the squirrels at hoarding whole peanuts (I buy raw peanuts in bulk)

 

[jimmyj]

I also feed them all year round. I used to get free birdseed from our shipping warehouse (damaged bags) to the tune of about 300lb a week. I was SO spoiled.

Now I have to buy it so I'm a bit more frugal. Most of my feeders have straight black oil sunflower. I put a few peanuts (maybe a half pound) out each morning for a treat for the 'peckers and 'jays.

I put cracked and whole corn out as well and the jays like it the most. Doves also eat the corn like crazy. Suet attracts nuthatches and woodpeckers and we keep the nyjer feeders going all year too.

It's so enjoyable to watch.

Do you provide a water source? We have a heated birdbath.

 

[unbidden]

Those of you using cracked corn only, are you attracting all types of birds?
My wife spends $$ on seed, I'm going to try the corn only in at least one feeder and see how it goes.

 

[chipsndust]

Those of you using cracked corn only, are you attracting all types of birds?
My wife spends $$ on seed, I'm going to try the corn only in at least one feeder and see how it goes.

We have found that we get a lot of starlings, cowbirds, grackles and blackbirds if we put out cracked corn.

 

[Paddy]

We just get song birds with the cracked corn. No starlings, cowbirds or such. The feeders I made have two compartments with the idea of separate chow. We feed all year but don't get as serious during the summer. But at $14 for a 50 lb bag of cracked corn, they are likely to get more.

Paddy

 

[teejk]

Do you feed year-round or only during the winter? We feed only say Nov- April on the assumption they have food when stuff is growing. My feeder has two compartments I am going to try the corn idea on one side, we only use sunflowers seeds. We also found the birds would throw out the millet and go for the sunflower.

Depends where you live...around here they throw out a lot of seed but we have a lot of birds that only eat from the ground so everybody is happy. And in the spring we don't feed much because of bears and it's a pain to have to pull them in at night and get them out in the morning.

 

[tcreeley]

I like millet, oil sunflower seeds, thistle, scratch feed. I try to find flat sheltered from snow places to throw seed on the ground for the ground feeding birds- higher for the others. I used to feed a lot and had regulars stop by year to year. I used to keep records of coming and going. For many years I dealt with our cats by enclosing an area in a 20x20' square with 5-6' mesh wire. The birds fed inside and the cats watched from the outside. My current cats are younger and don't hesitate to climb in. I don't feed now- waiting until the cats slow down.

 

[Ken45101]

A lot of the "wild bird seed mixes" are not ideal for the birds, at least that's my understanding. I seem to remember them throwing out the millet and it sprouting in spring.

I didn't care for all the weeds and I've gone strictly to cracked corn and sunflower. The cracked corn doesn't sprout weeds of course, and the sunflower is easily mowed down if any sprouts (rare).

I have a large two compartment metal feeder but gosh, they eat too much if I fill that! So this year I just throw a couple of handfuls out on the driveway several times a day. We seem to have plenty of different birds out there: woodpeckers, doves, cardinals, titmice, sparrows, juncos....

I usually quit feeding when the starlings get too thick in spring.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

We feed year round; and through experimentation, I have come up with mix that works pretty well, and attracts all kinds of birds. I use sunflower seed (about 80 - 90%) mixed with chicken scratch (which is a mixture of cracked corn, grain sorghum), and a bit of finch food. When I can get hemp seed, I add it too, and the birds seem to like it. The birds here seem to like the sunflower seed, and they will kick the rest of the mix out of the feeder if the proportions aren't right. This mix works well, and they don't waste much of it. The doves and turkeys get most of what ends up on the ground.

 

[crash325]

Must not be much natural seed around. Birds are really hungry and go through what should be 3 days of food in 1 day. Even with my outside dogs running them off now & then.

Had a different kind of bird here yesterday. Some kind of a Thrasher or Mocking bird. 6 Or 8 different songs, some real nice, others mostly just noise. This was about mid afternoon, most mocking birds that I have come across start singing in the middle of the night. Thrushes aren't suppose to sing like it did, and mocking birds aren't all black.

He / She was all black and pretty good sized, twice / 3 times as big as a sparrow.

 

[grnspot110]

We feed mostly black oil sunflower seeds & cracked corn, plus some suet for the woodpeckers. ~~ grnspot

 

[crash325]

For a long time I spoiled my wild birds. Fancy bird seed mixes & sunflower seeds. Now they just get scratch. They have adapted and eat over 2 pounds a day.
Plus a little dog food.

Anyone have an idea what my Mocking bird actually is???

 

[Grateful11]

We've been feeding a pretty good mix that seems to have something for everyone around here. We usually only feed during the Winter. We actually got our last mix at Aldi Foods, pretty cheap and decent quality.

 

[94BULLITT]

Thanks for the advice. I will try some cracked corn. I have been feeding them Suet, Sunflower Seeds and a mix.

I got some of the cheap mixed seed a TSC.Value Mix Wild Bird Food, 35 lb. - 6851572 | Tractor Supply CompanyThe birds at it for a while but then stopped. The bird quit eating it so I got this. They ate it for a while and then stopped. Now I add some more sunflower seed to it and they will eat it.

I also feed the squirrels corn. Doves come in and eat the stuff that falls on the ground.