Lawn & Garden

By SALLIE SATTERTHWAITE
Staff Writer

Whoever came up with the expression "chicken feed" to imply that something doesn't cost much has probably never fed chickens.

Nor wild birds. Bird seed can cost a lot, so it may be a relief to bird lovers to know that they can stay with just a few basic foods to keep their feathered friends happy and well-nourished during the hungry winter months.

A mix of seeds may cover the gamut of needs for most birds, but often includes fillers that birds waste, creating a build-up of clutter and weeds below feeders.

Bird experts mostly agree that the one single seed with the broadest appeal would be black-oil sunflower seed. Nearly every species of bird in Fayette and Coweta counties loves them, and can extract their heat-producing oil-rich meats easily.

Cardinals like sunflower, but also appreciate millet, and Niger seed is a favorite of goldfinches. While somewhat expensive, Niger is efficient and waste-free, snatched out and swallowed whole by hungry finches.

Many bird-lovers have discovered the effectiveness of crushed corn. Scattered on ground cleared of leaves or ice, it keeps ground-feeders like brown thrashers and rufous-sided towhees happy.

Sure, the squirrels and chipmunks will steal some, but corn is cheap and may distract them from runs on more expensive seed in the feeders.

Crushed corn has an added advantage: it won't sprout, the way other seeds often do.

Squirrels reject safflower seed, but the experience of many is that birds don't care as much for safflower either.

Suet blocks either homemade by rendering fat the butcher is probably willing to give away, or conveniently packaged in the stores are an absolute necessity in the winter. Birds derive protein and fat from insects in warm weather. From the time it gets very cold until well into spring, the grub and insect supply is low and a substitute must be found.

Suet also supplies the fat needed to fuel birds' little internal furnaces.

Peanut butter is another excellent fat source. Some bird lovers simply buy the cheapest wide-mouthed jars at the store and fasten them on their side, open, to feeders or posts. With a stick secured as a perch, a jar of peanut butter will attract a steady stream of wrens, warblers, woodpeckers, titmice, even mockingbirds. Don't worry about mixing in corn meal, as often advised. There is no support for rumors that peanut butter will choke birds.

(Foiling squirrels becomes a real challenge when peanut butter is on the birds' menu. Good luck.)

Leftover baked goods, especially biscuits, are welcomed by birds a net-bag or suet cache makes a good holder. When it's really cold, drizzle vegetable oil over them to add another source of fat.

Raisins, chunks of apple and orange, peanuts, even leftover grits and rice are also acceptable bird foods, but beware of allowing food to mold or rot, contaminating the platform and other foods.

In fact, bird feeders should be scrubbed periodically with a mild bleach solution and rinsed thoroughly because of the potential for contamination either by spoiled food or by disease introduced by an infected bird. The concentration of birds feeding in one spot increases the risk for spreading infection.

A steady water supply is also important for birds in winter. It is surprising to note that birds need water not only for drinking but also for bathing and preening to keep their wing feathers in optimum condition year-round.

Birds are attracted by the clatter of moving water. A small pump will keep a birdbath open in freezing weather, but only so long. Birdbath heaters are available from many plant nurseries and from wild bird catalogs.

Most of the suggested foods found here may be purchased at nurseries, discount and pet stores, as well as at suppliers like Peek Feed & Fertilizer in Tyrone. Remember, the cost goes down as the size of the container goes up, but in warm weather, once opened, large supplies become subject to mold, mildew, and insects.

Back to the Top of the PageBack to the Lawn & Garden Home Page