Not just for the birds
We’re often asked in the shop which birds eat what types of food or is one mix better than another?
While there’s no hard & fast rule regarding feeding I usually say that the smaller the seeds the smaller the birds they will attract. We make a few different mixes to attract all types of birds to your feeders, but some people find that some mixes work better than others and there are also obvious factors regarding how sheltered your garden is, or if you own cats which can affect which birds you will attract.
Our Laverock Hall Deluxe Bird food was one of the first mixes we made many years ago. It is our what we call entry level bird food, it will attract birds to your feeder and will feed all types of birds, but it does contain wheat so will be useful if you wish to attract pigeons or if you have a large garden and feed pheasants. Some customers also treat their hens to this mixture too, so if you wish to give them an Xmas treat then this could be the answer.
Some of our mixes contain sunflower hearts which are more expensive than the husked black sunflowers which means that you won’t have the empty husks in the garden & the birds can access the seeds easier, so they use up less energy, which is useful during the cold weather. We also sell sunflower hearts bagged separately as some customers only feed sunflower hearts and have a great selection of birds attracted to their feeders. We even had a red squirrel eating sunflower hearts upside down on our garden feeder, as shown in the picture.
Nyjer (sometimes called Niger or thistle seed) is great for attracting goldfinches, however as the seed is very small and needle like you will need a different type of feeder. Nyjer seed is oil rich and is an excellent food for smaller birds, we have added this seed to our Laverock No Wheat Wild Bird food which is exactly that, it is wheat free, is garden friendly and should attract smaller birds such as finches, blue tits, thrushes and more to your feeder. Our No Waste Wild Bird food is like this but has some different seeds and they are coated in Aniseed Oil during the mixing process to attract the birds and keep them coming back to your garden or feeder as birds love the smell and taste of aniseed. The smell when the bag is opened is fab, especially if you like aniseed.
Some people favour raisins for bird feeding, these are loved by blackbirds and we have added these to our Robin & Songbird mix. This mix also contains chopped peanuts, pinhead oatmeal, groats and mealworms too – this really is the Rolls Royce of Bird foods.
Most of the seeds can be sold separately, either in our shop or on our website, including, Black Sunflowers, Sunflower hearts, peanuts, Nyjer seed, mealworms and more.
We do have a leaflet available in our shop which provides much of the above information, listing the ingredients from our mixes and more information too so look out for it, or ask at the till.
Whatever you feed your garden birds on please keep your feeders filled regularly and ensure that there is also a supply of fresh water too, the Winter ahead means that so many of the birds will rely on us to keep them fed and healthy. Thank you all, we’re doing a great job.
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