I have a lot of left over flax seed, could I feed these seeds to the birds?
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This titmouse chooses the high fat, high protein peanut first. |
Wild bird survival is all about food. In all bird feeding studies, flax seed is almost ignored completely. Chia seeds haven't been studied. When choosing a seed blend to feed wild birds I always make
sure sunflower is the first ingredient. I also like seed blends with nuts. Sunflower
seed is the favorite of most seed eating birds like cardinals, finches and doves
and the peanuts will attract bug eating birds like chickadees,
wrens, jays, titmice, and woodpeckers.
To make the most of your birdseed budget, choose seeds that attract
the birds you want to watch. The following shows the results of U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service studies on food preferences of birds:
a) Black oil – Fresh
oil sunflower seed is attractive to most seed eating bird species.
b) Striped – The larger
shell is harder for some birds to crack but Tufted Titmice and Blue Jays
prefer.
2. Peanut pieces –
Are attractive to numerous species. Lots of bug or suet eating birds choose
peanuts for their high protein and fat levels.
3. White Proso Millet
– Is the preferred food for ground feeding birds like juncos, doves and
sparrows.
4. Safflower seed
– This was not included in USFWS studies but is a favorite of House Finches and
is considered acceptable to most other bird species except blackbirds and
starlings. (Squirrels don't seem to care for it either.)
5. Nyjer (Thistle) - Is not related to weed thistles. The high fat content and small seed
shape makes it attractive to finches.
6. Cracked Corn -
Eaten about one-third as often as white proso millet and attracts blackbirds.
7. Red Proso Millet
– It can be used as a substitute for white proso; however, not as preferred
8. Golden (German)
Millet – Is the least preferred of the millets
9. Milo
(sorghum) – Large red round seed found in a lot of cheap blends. It
is unattractive
generally to all species. Jays, cowbirds, and grouse may eat it in
Michigan. More of the western ground feeding birds might eat milo.
10. Oats - Only
starlings found hulled oats attractive.
11. Wheat – Unattractive
to most species.
12. Canary seed -
Unattractive to most species. House Sparrows and cowbirds will eat canary seed.
13. Flax seed - Almost
completely ignored.
14. Rape seed (canola
seed) - Least attractive feed in the study. Quail and doves may eat.
Where to Purchase
Seed
We have tons of fresh seed delivered every week to our
Wild Birds Unlimited store in East
Lansing, MI. Our seed is also sifted to
take out all the sticks and field debris.
Wild Birds Unlimited is
dedicated to offering fresh, top-quality seed. Our no-waste bird seed blends
are made from 100% edible seed and have been exclusively formulated for the
feeding preferences of our local birds. No cereal fillers—just fresh,
high-quality seed your birds will love. We also carry a wide variety of other
bird foods—
suet,
seed cylinders,
mealworms, and more.
For the East
Lansing
Wild Birds Unlimited store,
customers’ preference by far is WBU No-Mess Blend. Our unique
No-Mess Blend contains
sunflower seeds, peanut pieces and white proso millet without the shells. No shells
on the seeds make for a tidier feeding area, since there's nothing on the
ground to clean up. Pound for pound, our
No-Mess Blend offers the best value
because you do not pay for the shells. The birds eat everything happily.
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