Summer Feeding - True or False?

“You shouldn’t feed the birds in the Summer” Is this True or False, well actually its false as in the Summer the birds are usually feeding young and a regular supply of bird food ensures that the birds in our gardens are healthy and the next generation is getting the best possible start too! Breeding and egg laying can take over half of the female bird’s energy and they often moult at this time of year too. The migrating birds need sufficient fat reserves, built up during the summer months to see them through successful migration to their winter feeding grounds in Africa & other countries. Winter feeding is obviously important as natural feedstuff is usually in short supply and the colder temperatures make it more difficult for survival, but it is now acknowledged that supplementing natural foodstuffs for the birds all year round is considered the best option.

Should we feed peanuts to the birds in Summer? Chopped peanuts or sunflower hearts are the better option during the summer months for bird feeding as whole peanuts can be a risk to smaller or younger birds for their digestion due to their size, peanuts are fine to feed during winter months and are rich in fat so they are a great food for tits, finches, sparrows and siskins. Please do not put out salted peanuts as salt is toxic to birds and will kill them.

Fruit is bad for birds, true or false? Fruit which is slightly past its best is a great foodstuff for the birds, slightly wrinkly apples or pears are totally suitable and really well liked by lots of garden birds. Please do not put out rotten fruit, you will only be feeding rodents as birds will not touch foodstuff that is too far gone.

Weeds are good for the birds, true or false? Mostly true is the answer, some gardens have a’natural’ part, which is often near the compost heap and where thistles grow, these seeds are loved by finches and siskins, in fact nyjer seed or Niger as some prefer is basically thistle seed so you could neglect a part of your garden and feed the birds at the same time!

On another note today is Bring Your dog to work day, if you look at our facebook page you can see Frank, our Hungarian Vizsla, off to do some fencing with Chris! https://www.facebook.com/Laverockhallfarm/

www.laverockhallfarm.co.uk/wild-bird-food/laverock-sunflower-hearts-1-detail