What is Bird Food Made Of? A Guide to the Best Bird Seed Ingredients

For backyard birders, keeping feeders filled with nutritious food is key to attracting feathered friends. But when scanning the aisles of bird food at the store, all those bags of seed can seem confusing What kinds of ingredients should you look for in quality bird food? And what’s the difference between good mixes and cheap filler? This article breaks down the most common bird seed varieties so you can make informed choices about what to feed your backyard birds.

The Best Bird Seed Ingredients

The highest quality bird foods will contain a mix of the following nutritious seeds that provide protein fat, and calories to fuel your avian visitors

  • Sunflower The most popular bird seed, sunflower comes in two main types Black oil sunflower has thinner shells and higher fat content, making it preferred by most birds Striped sunflower has thicker shells that deter squirrels and larger birds. Offer hulled sunflower kernels in moderation as they can spoil quickly.

  • Safflower: With its thick shell, safflower is high in fat and a favorite of cardinals, chickadees, finches, and other small birds. It deters squirrels. Offer in feeders rather than scattered on the ground.

  • Nyjer: Also called thistle seed, tiny nyjer seeds with high oil content appeal to finches like goldfinches, pine siskins, and redpolls. Use specialized mesh feeders to serve nyjer.

  • Peanuts: Whole or chopped peanuts attract jays, woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice and more. They’re also loved by squirrels so distribute sparingly. Shelled peanuts spoil rapidly.

In addition, the following seeds can round out quality bird food mixes:

  • Millet: The small white seeds of millet are taken by ground feeding birds like sparrows, juncos, and bobwhites. Scatter on the ground or offer in platform feeders.

  • Cracked corn: Cheer pheasants, doves, ducks, and other large birds with corn. Serve in small amounts as it can spoil quickly and harbor toxins. Offer on platform feeders only, scattered on the ground, or in hanging cob feeders.

  • Nyjer or thistle: Small finches including American Goldfinches, Lesser Goldfinches, Indigo Buntings, Pine Siskins, and Common Redpolls often devour these tiny, black, needle-like seeds. As invasive thistle plants became a recognized problem in North America, suppliers shifted to a daisy-like plant, known as Guizotia abyssinica, that produces a similar type of small, oily, rich seed. The plant is now known as niger or nyjer, and is imported from overseas. The seeds are heat-sterilized during importation to limit their chance of spreading while retaining their food value.

When buying premixed bird food, look for mixes that have these quality seeds as the main ingredients and limit cheap filler.

Avoid Cheap Filler Seeds

While the bird seeds above pack nutrition, many inexpensive bird food mixes bulk up on cheap filler seeds that most birds won’t eat. Avoid mixes with lots of:

  • Milo: Also called sorghum, milo is popular with birds in the Southwest but largely ignored by East coast backyard birds.

  • Wheat: The small seeds of wheat grasses are of little interest to birds.

  • Red millet: Though birds like the white millet, most reject the red variety.

  • Oats: Whole or crushed oats have limited appeal for most birds, especially in the East.

  • Flax: The hard, tasteless seeds of flax don’t entice birds.

  • Rapeseed: Also called canola, rapeseed gets passed over by birds who prefer other oily seeds.

  • Rice: Whole rice grains get left behind by backyard birds.

  • Buckwheat: Kasha and other forms of buckwheat get ignored by birds.

When mixes contain large percentages of these filler seeds, birds will toss them aside in search of their favorites. Scattered on the ground under feeders, piles of wasted cheap filler can become moldy, messy, and attract vermin.

Some bird food brands will augment their filler-heavy mixes with things like dried fruit, nut pieces, and brightly colored cereal pieces. While birds don’t dislike these, they provide little nutritional value. And damp fruit bits can accelerate spoilage of the overall mix.

For the best quality bird food, select mixes with the highest amounts of sunflower, safflower, peanuts, nyjer, and millet. Avoid products bulked up with fillers like milo, wheat, flax, and oats. Check the ingredient lists and nutrition facts closely and choose foods with 20% or higher fat and protein contents. With quality ingredients, you’ll attract the happiest, healthiest birds to your backyard!

Making Your Own Bird Food Mixes

Want to blend your own custom bird seed mix? It’s easy to do. Buy sunflower, safflower, millet, nyjer, cracked corn, and peanuts in bulk. Then combine in a large container or bucket based on your birds’ favorites. Here’s an example recipe:

  • 3 parts black oil sunflower
  • 2 parts safflower
  • 2 parts nyjer
  • 1 part millet
  • 1 part peanuts
  • 1 part cracked corn

Mix well and store in an airtight container out of sunlight and heat. For even more tailored bird cuisine, you can supplement with diced fruit, mealworms, oats, wheat berries, and more. Get creative with ingredients and remember—the birds will let you know what they like best!

Understanding the ideal ingredients for quality bird food helps you make smart choices when buying or mixing foods to feed your backyard birds. Offer a variety of their favorite seeds and you’ll create a bird buffet sure to keep them coming back.

The Seed NOT to Feed

“In fact, a standard mix of sunflower, milo, millet, oats, wheat, flax, and buckwheat seeds is often a waste because birds will eat the tasty sunflower seeds and leave the rest.” Uneaten seeds may foster growth of mold and bacteria. “.

The Big Box Bird Seed Value Statement – Discount Supreme Blend

The value statement – $24. 48 for 10kg/22 lb. equals $1. 11/lb. ; 70% by weight is filler/waste seed; this means 15. 4 lb. of seed will be tossed the ground and not eaten; 6. 6 lb. and raw peanuts, which are dangerous, can be eaten if the seeds are fresh and of good quality. The true value statement – $24. 48 for 6. 6 lb. or $3. 71/lb. If you didn’t know and there wasn’t a Certified Bird Feeding Specialist to help you figure out how much your purchase was worth, you might have thought it was worth $1. 11/lb. was a good deal on bird seed, but the real price per pound of bird seed that birds might eat is $3 plus tax. 71/lb.

How to make backyard bird “Seed Logs” Backyard Birds Len Quelland

FAQ

How do you make bird food?

In your mixing bowl add your dry ingredients (1/2 cup oats, 1/2 bird seed, 1/4 cup plain flour). Optional: Add dried fruit chopped finely – Mix well. Add 1 tablespoon of water and mix well – the mixture will still seem a little dry. Add 1/4 cup of honey.

Where does bird feed come from?

Raw Materials. The most commonly used birdseed ingredients are sunflowers, corn, millet, fruits (such as raisins and cherries), and peanuts. Many of these crops come from Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota. One of the primary ingredients in birdseed is sunflower seeds.

Is bird food healthy for humans?

As the title suggests we do sometimes get asked, “Can you eat bird food?” We like to tell our customers that our high-quality bird seed is super-clean and safe for birds; however, even though some of the ingredients we use in our bird diets are human food grade, bird food is for the birds.

What is bird food?

Bird food or bird seed is food intended for consumption by wild, commercial, or pet birds. It is typically composed of seeds, nuts, dry fruits, flour, and may be enriched with vitamins and proteins. Bird food can vary depending upon dietary habits and beak shapes.

How do you make homemade bird food?

Keep reading to see how easy diy bird food is. Most wild birds like to eat seeds, grains, fruits, and fat. Many also enjoy bugs, but you probably already have those in your yard. To make your own homemade bird seed, simply combine the bird-friendly items that you have on hand. Use mostly seeds and grains, with moderate amounts of fruits and fats.

Do birds eat seeds?

For most wild birds, seeds are the best source of high energy food for wild birds. (Do not feed birds bread.) The seed that attracts the widest variety of birds, and so the mainstay for most backyard bird feeders, is sunflower. Other varieties of seed can help attract different types of birds to round out your backyard visitors.

Where can I buy bird food?

Bird foods based on seeds and non-seed supplies are commonly obtained as by-products on farms, but can also be bought from independent retailers. Commercial bird food is widely available for feeding wild and domesticated birds, in the forms of both seed combinations and pellets.

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