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