Do you feed wild birds?

[crazyme5kids]

To those backyard (or front yard) birders, where do you buy your bird seed from? Which brand or brands do you like? Does anyone make their own, meaning blend their own? If so, do you feel it is cheaper to do so, or about the same cost as buying already mixed seed and fruit?

 

[Mermaid02]

We do. We have a suet feeder- a thistle feeder and one that has black oil sunflower seeds in it. We get our seed at Blue Seal Feeds and Needs and dont' buy any particular brand.

 

[Kathi OD]

To those backyard (or front yard) birders, where do you buy your bird seed from? Which brand or brands do you like? Does anyone make their own, meaning blend their own? If so, do you feel it is cheaper to do so, or about the same cost as buying already mixed seed and fruit?

I buy mine at Target. Probably not the cheapest place to buy it, but it sure is convenient. I buy nyjer and a fruit/nut mix, along with "regular" bird seed. Just this past weekend I bought a little suet cage and some flavored suet (we were at Bass Pro Shop and DH was getting lots of cool fishing stuff and I felt left out). When the weather is bad, I go through a ton of it. Maybe I need to find a cheaper place to buy my bird provisions.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Well sort of. I have a "White Cloud" Dogwood tree and that has berries that the birds eat.

I don't do bird feeders because of field mice and birds of prey.

 

[crazyme5kids]

I have suet cages and a birdseed brick feeder (don't know its technical name), plus the regular seed feeder. Right now I am buying different types of seeds and mixing them. I buy different blends that have different nuts and dried fruits in them, but it does get expensive. I was wondering if it might be better to try and make my own by buying some of the dried fruits and nuts from Costco.

I've been getting my seeds from Petsmart. The last time I went, I had my cart filled with bags of seeds as well as cat and dog supplies and the cashier said, "Wow! You feed everything, don't you?". I'm beginning to feel like the crazy bird lady though .

 

[Kathi OD]

how do you place your suet cages? I put mine out on Sunday, and while I've had to fill the bird feeders since then (I filled them at the same time I put out the suet), it doesn't look as though the birds know what to do with the suet.

 

[java]

Well they always tell us not to because of bears. But now in the winter when I hope they are in hibernation- I do. I had run out of food and when my little friends were sitting on my deck in the snow they ended up with some hot dog buns instead.

 

[Mermaid02]

how do you place your suet cages? I put mine out on Sunday, and while I've had to fill the bird feeders since then (I filled them at the same time I put out the suet), it doesn't look as though the birds know what to do with the suet.

We put our suet cage near the feeders. They dont' get as much action as the feeders- but the Chickadees have found them and I see them on there occasionally.

 

[Kathi OD]

Thanks, Mermaid. I have the suet in the same tree as one of the feeders. Maybe the little guys just haven't discovered it yet.

With so much snow last year, and now again this year, I feel bad for my feathered friends. Of course, I enjoy watching them, so that's a perk.

 

[Mermaid02]

Thanks, Mermaid. I have the suet in the same tree as one of the feeders. Maybe the little guys just haven't discovered it yet.

With so much snow last year, and now again this year, I feel bad for my feathered friends. Of course, I enjoy watching them, so that's a perk.

Ours are outside the kitchen window- I love watching them.

 

[oscarkitty1]

Yep! I stocked up the feeders yesterday morning before the big snow hit! I can see them now as I'm typing and we've got lots of action - mostly cardinals, blue jays, and juncos.

My big one is a "squirrel proof" one, but that really means it just slows them down! The perches are on springs and the squirrels weight causes the spring to pull a "door" over the seed dispenser. However, they have figured out to stand on the top and reach down, but they can only get so much at a time. Little buggers!

I pretty much only do black oil sunflower seed, it seems to be the most popular with the biggest variety of birds. I used to buy it in a 50 pound bag at either PetSmart or Ace which was the cheapest option. I stored it in the garage in a plastic tub. But two years ago the tub got infested with meal moths and then they got in the house! It took us a year to get rid of them, as they can feed off the tiniest amount of seed. I had gotten rid of all the flour, seeds, cereal, anything they could have been eating and they would still show up... The very last of them I finally discovered were eating a tiny container of sesame seeds way in the back of the spice rack!

So now I just buy the small 10 pound bags which fill up my feeders in one trip. Usually get them at Ace, there's a little neighborhood one just around the corner.

 

[lillygator]

no - but our neighbor does and it drives the neighborhood crazy. our neighborhood is a designated bird sanctuary.....so we have lots of them around already....white egrets, spoonbills, wild parrots, seagulls etc will cover her roof and yard when she feeds them. I have no idea what she feeds them....

 

[si-am]

I have a love/hate relationship with my bird feeder. It is on our deck, hanging from the awning of the house. My (indoor) cats just LOVE to sit by the sliding glass door and watch the birds all day. We fill it with black sunflower seeds (or a mixture) that we buy at PetSmart.

HOWEVER, the squirrels are a nuisance because they climb up the siding of the house and jump on the feeder, scattering seeds everywhere.

Also, a few summers ago, I looked outside and there was a rat underneath it eating the seeds.

I took the feeder down and did not put it back up again for over a year after that!

A few months ago, we had a possum on the deck at night eating seeds, which was also icky. But not as icky as the rat.

So... I don't know. I love it but also hate it and am not sure I'll keep it up forever!

 

[LvsTnk]

Yep! I stocked up the feeders yesterday morning before the big snow hit! I can see them now as I'm typing and we've got lots of action - mostly cardinals, blue jays, and juncos.

My big one is a "squirrel proof" one, but that really means it just slows them down! The perches are on springs and the squirrels weight causes the spring to pull a "door" over the seed dispenser. However, they have figured out to stand on the top and reach down, but they can only get so much at a time. Little buggers!

I pretty much only do black oil sunflower seed, it seems to be the most popular with the biggest variety of birds. I used to buy it in a 50 pound bag at either PetSmart or Ace which was the cheapest option. I stored it in the garage in a plastic tub. But two years ago the tub got infested with meal moths and then they got in the house! It took us a year to get rid of them, as they can feed off the tiniest amount of seed. I had gotten rid of all the flour, seeds, cereal, anything they could have been eating and they would still show up... The very last of them I finally discovered were eating a tiny container of sesame seeds way in the back of the spice rack!

So now I just buy the small 10 pound bags which fill up my feeders in one trip. Usually get them at Ace, there's a little neighborhood one just around the corner.

My neighbor feeds the squirrel's and it has gotten so out of hand. He puts seed and corn cobs on his patio so now the moles are coming up through the yard to get it and of course the Red Tailed Hawks have followed. They sit up on the fence ready to pounce. We have a Yorkie so I have to watch when we let her out. This same neighbor babysits our dog and has made comments about having to watch when they let her out.

Stop feeding the squirrels!! haha

 

[IdesOmarch]

I have a love/hate relationship with my bird feeder. It is on our deck, hanging from the awning of the house. My (indoor) cats just LOVE to sit by the sliding glass door and watch the birds all day. We fill it with black sunflower seeds (or a mixture) that we buy at PetSmart.

HOWEVER, the squirrels are a nuisance because they climb up the siding of the house and jump on the feeder, scattering seeds everywhere.

Also, a few summers ago, I looked outside and there was a rat underneath it eating the seeds.

This Me too, squirrels big problems with these unless you have the screens on the feeders that keep them out.

 

[Kathi OD]

I'm almost afraid to say this....but for whatever reason, we don't seem to have any squirrels visiting. They are around, just not that many of them and they aren't bothering the feeders.

I'm wondering if we don't have that many squirrels because our neighbor decided to start feeding a couple of stray cats. What was 2 cats has become over 30 in just a couple of years. Although, come to think of it, we didn't really have any squirrels before she started feeding the squirrels. Now we just have cats doing their business in my yard.

 

[LuLuO]

I feed the birds and put out a bird bath. We do hummingbird feeders too. I love seeing all the different birds but I'm really getting tired of it. The hummingbird feeder attracts bees so I have to move it often. The seed is expensive and the grass under the feeders has been destroyed. What do you all think about only feeding the birds in the winter months and providing the bird bath (heated in the winter) throughout the year?

 

[J3nn78]

Ours are hanging right outside our kitchen window. The suet cage hangs right underneath. We always bake our seeds first. We buy the big 50lb bag,bake it, and then store it in an airtight container in the garage.

 

[LuLuO]

Just want to say that I get my suet, hummingbird food, and wild bird feed at walmart.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

We had a problem with squirrels emptying out our main birdfeeder. It only took them about 5 minutes to shovel the entire contents onto the ground!!

Then, I hung it from the outer limb of a fairly tall tree on a long, thin nylon cord. I had to throw the cord up over a limb with a stick and slide the knot all the way up. Now, the feeder is too far from the tree trunks for the squirrels to jump to, to high off the ground for them to reach, and they can't slide down the thin cord, either. I *think* I beat them!

I reach up with a hook on a pole and pull the feeder down to fill it....

The feeder tends to spin and sway in the breeze, but that doesn't seem to deter the birds a bit.

Also, a good, cheap place to get bird-feeding supplies, if you have one near you, is a farm supply store. We have a chain called Tractor Supply Company that has better-then-Walmart prices on bulk bird feed (good quality, too).