When birds desert your feeder, it may be simply that a lot of natural food is available nearby. Or something may be wrong, such as spoiled seeds or a contaminated feeder. Throw the seeds away and wash the feeder. Look at where your feeder is placed. Be sure it’s not vulnerable to predators. At the same time, make sure it is not in an open area, away from the cover in which birds usually travel.
Will birds’ feet stick to metal feeders and perches in the wet winter weather?
Birds don’t have sweat glands in their feet, so they won’t freeze onto metal feeders. There’s no need to cover any metal feeders parts with plastic or wood to protect birds’ feet, tongues or eyes.
Do wild birds need grit?
Birds have no teeth to grind their food. The dirt, sand, pebbles and grit they eat sit in their crop and help grind up their food. Adding grit to your feeder is helpful, particularly in the winter and spring. Crushed eggshells do the same thing, and in the spring have an added benefit: they provide birds with extra calcium for producing eggs of their own.
Can birds choke on peanut butter?
There is no evidence that birds can choke on peanut butter. However, birds have no salivary glands. You can make it easier on them by mixing peanut butter with lard, cornmeal or grit. Your birds will appreciate drinking water too, from a bird bath or trough.
Won’t suet go bad in the summer?
In the winter, raw beef fat from the local butcher is all you need for your suet feeder. When temperatures rise, raw fat can melt and get rancid. It’s safer to use commercially rendered suet cakes in the spring and summer months. Rendering (boiling) the fat kills bacteria.