I read in a book about hummingbirds that the correct mixture is one cup white sugar to one quart of water. I keep eight half gallon milk jugs to make up a batch, one jug at a time just using room temperature tap water. I pour the sugar into all the jugs first when my hands are dry, then fill each of them with water leaving space at the top for a bubble. Once they're capped, they get shaken for a few seconds and I go onto the next one. A bottle takes three shakes to get all the sugar dissolved. The solution will keep quite a while in the fridge, but this time of year a batch will only last about a week. That same book said that the red dye and other additives in commercial nectar mixes are bad for the birds, and that plain old white sugar and water is as close as you can get to the natural nectar the birds like. I keep an eye on the jugs as they are emptied, as mold will sometimes form inside them. A cap full of bleach in a full bottle of water will clean out the mold overnight. The feeding part is pretty easy, but I haven't figured out how to keep the birds from trying to kill each other yet. I thought having feeders at each corner of the house would keep things civil, but they seem to want to all gang up on one feeder and fight for it...
