Bird Food

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Our squirrel proof bird feed has a capacity of eight pounds. We use a blend of Scott's Southwestern & fruit and nut feeds. Total cost about $18.00. Eight pounds lasts only two weeks. Doesn't take a genius to ascertain that our winged friends are going through $36.00 a month. As much as we love these lovely birds the cost needs to decrease. The only places we can buy bird food is our grocery store or Lowes or Home Depot. We do not shop at Walmart (long story). Obviously cheaper bird food in larger quantity is available but I am concerned that it may contain useless filler not found in our current Scott's brand.

That's my tale of woe. Please give me your opinions and recommendations. :meh:
 

j.w

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Can't help you Lou, as I quit feeding the birds long ago as my cats think they are play toys :(
 

j.w

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I know some people who add plants to their garden that have either berries or seeds that the birds like to eat. A kind of natural food that keeps on giving for free each year.
 

JBtheExplorer

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Can't really help you.

We get tons of American Finch and Black Capped Chickadees among others. We've got two small feeders, filled once every week or two. The $10 bag lasts about a month. Feeders run out but the birds move to the ground to collect everything that fell, and when they leave they always return as soon as food is back in it. We've got bird houses around plus they live in the bushes and trees, so even when food runs out, they stick around.
 
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Depending on the size of the birds, pigeon conditioner mix is cheap (on the UK it is) for sacks. Popular brands such as Blue Ribbon contain added aniseed along with seeds such as dari, buckwheat, wheat and other small seeds. If soaked in hot water in a sealed bucket for a few hours until it swells and softens, cyprinid fish such as goldfish & carp also eat it as well (ok as a treat in small amounts but not suitable for a main food).
 
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I buy my seed from our local farm store by the pound. One of the favorites of many birds here is black safflower. I also buy the nut and berry mix which sounds similar to yours. The black safflower seed is cheaper then the nut and berry mix.
I fill a feeder with nut and berry mix, and another with the black safflower seeds. They love both. I also fill a separate feeder with niger seed for the finches.
 
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Lou I get my food at Tractor Supply for the most part. I was going through way to much also, I now put out smaller amounts twice a day. I still get the same amount of birds and squirrels and ducks lately but they just can not eat as much. The controled feeding helped
 

HARO

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We have a farmer nearby who raises seed crops for birdfeed, and buys what he doesn't grow. A 45 lb. bag costs me around $20 to $30 depending on the makeup of the feed. The cheaper ones have more cracked corn, whereas the more expensive ones are higher in sunflower, safflower, milo, millet and a few others I can't remember offhand. I've never seen a nut and berry mix here except in small bags, at ridiculous prices. Also, I've never heard of BLACK safflower, ours is white. BTW, a bag lasts me all summer and fall, two months for the winter, but when the grackles, red-wings and starlings return in the spring, a bag lasts only about three weeks!
John
 

sissy

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My deer stand out there at night and keep hitting the bird feeder so the food falls out and they eat it .Forgot to mention hummingbirds have been back for a week and emptying 4 feeders every day .I never have my camera handy to catch them .O am still playing catch up with house work and yard work .Get tired of doing it and it seems you never get caught up
 

Mmathis

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I buy mostly black oil sunflower seed and I get it from various places. We have a Wild Bird Center Store here. Their prices [I think] are a little higher, but I occasionally buy from them out of loyalty. I also try to keep some hulled seed [sunflower/safflower] handy that I can put closer to the pond -- no hulls to blow into the water. Have bought the various mixes before, but could never tell a difference myself [except the cost], so I stick to the black oil sunflower.

I shop the WBCS [above], Wally-World [which you avoid], and Home Depot mostly. If you have a Tractor Supply Store close by, you might want to try them. I haven't priced seed there.

Another thing is, except in the coldest part of winter, I don't keep the feeders full all the time. I'll fill them, then wait a few days after they're empty before I put any more seed out. The birds always seem to know when there is seed out. Plus, we occas. have rats, so there will be stretches when I don't put any seed out -- squirrels I can somewhat tolerate, but not RATS!
 

addy1

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Tractor supply and costco. Two 20 lb feeders, now last over a month, during this cold winter they lasted about 2 weeks. Around 18 a month to feed my bird friends.
 

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