I will certainly look out for that seed Lyn. Feel as though the Gold Finches will only eat the niger seed as they empty a feeder in a day and don't bother with the sunflower hearts. Will try depriving them for a day and have extra sunflower hearts out to see if they feed on them. I assume with the niger seed they have to break them open hence all the husks on the ground. Feel I have seen some seed somewhere with " no grow" but can't remember the store. May have been the pet shop where I buy the niger seed. Many thanks
Hi @purplerallim. Your post wasn't showing when I posted. As it is at the moment I may have to wait for warmer weather. Not possible to brush them up and even tried scraping them which hasn't worked very well up to now but did get rid of some. Will have to continue with that I think over a period of time. Have some fat balls hanging over hard standing area (very small area) and the fallout from them when the ground is wet is like an ice rink so that has to be hosed down. I only have a choice of grass, planting area or the pathways which are pebbles. Luckily it's an allotment and not a garden so really only me there most of the time and I am aware of the pitfalls.
I know that some birds (crows, pheasant and blackbirds here) will eat some of the wasted/dropped seed and perhaps the husks too, and the hedgehogs come at night to eat up anything of interest, but there is still a lot of mess. Our feeder stand is in a field, within sight of our windows, so it is very entertaining to watch the birds come and go. I will ask my OH to hose this mess down more often. Our mix has those green lentils in it as shown on Lyn's post - do the birds actually eat them - they look indigestible in their raw state. We buy our wild bird seed mix at our local hardware store, where they bag it up in 1, 2 or 5 kilo bags, which works out cheaper than buying it in glossy packaging at the GC.
I stopped buying ready made seed mixes and now do my own. Gave up on Niger seed as was only the Goldies ate it and most was wasted or ended up getting damp and going mouldy,not forgetting the mess under the feeder! Sunflower hearts go in a feeder as the goldfinches love them as do many others,anything that hits the ground is taken quickly by blackbirds,pigeons etc some may grow they are not really a problem. Suet granules go in another feeder plus fat balls dotted about. My own mix is basically,Sunflower hearts (you can also get chips),nibbed peanuts,suet granules,dried mealworms and maybe some dried fruit. This is what I use in the ground feeder. Mealworms and suet granules I can also chuck around the garden as they do not grow!
“Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
The green bits in mine look more like peas @Guernsey Donkey2 they are the last bits to go but I have little left from them to sweep up. The fat balls do make a bit more mess @Fran IOM but as the birds are all but ignoring them it's not much at the moment.
The green bits are pea halves' the pigeons, collared dove and pheasants eat those. the niger seed here is pure seed on the ground, not husk, they will grow! They just sit on the feeder throwing them out, I love to watch them sorting it out and taking the sunflower hearts the fat balls, I chop those up and mix with the seed, fried wholemeal bread, chopped peanuts and chees Nd put that in a raised mesh dish on the ground. They eat the fat ball that way.
What really goes down best though are these, they get through more than one a day. I break then in half and put them in Squirrel proof nut feeders. They come in three different varieties, I’ve just ordered 12 boxes, even with the £4.00 postage they work out cheaper than anywhere else and seem to be the favourite with the birds, I’ve tried others, these are the best. https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-wild-bird-suet-blocks-with-mealworm-6pk/p/0412095
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Gave up on fat balls as they were attracting crows into the garden which I didn't want. I use no-mess mixes which I buy off Eb*y. Occasionally I will buy some sunflower hearts and put that in one of the feeders. Both my feeders are on hard standing but even then I still occasionally get some of the no-mess stuff sprouting. I just have to be diligent. When I worked as a jobbing gardener, one of my clients used to hang her bird feeders in the middle of her borders and come the spring, all the ground in between the shrubs, was a mass of sprouted seed. It was a job and a half to clear it all. She eventually saw sense!
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
Some very interesting posts. One time I couldn't understand why my Heuchera wasn't doing so well as the others until I looked more closely and found all the sprouted seed which was choking it. As you say @hogweed it isn't easy to get rid of as on pulling the top layer there were dozens more deep down. Thanks everyone. I am going to see how I get on with withdrawing the niger seed even though I have just opened a new bag and it doesn't come cheap. Think I spend as much on the birds as I do on the cat and dog!
I've just changed to this 'no grow, no mess' mix this week and it seems to be going down well, less waste and cheaper than my old mix. https://www.gardenbird.co.uk/ultiva-no-grow-no-mess-mix-seed-mix.html I add extra suet pellets and mealworms. I've found adding my own suet pellets means I can reduce the amount that goes out in bad weather as wet suet clogs feeders and stinks if it isn't eaten. I won't use fatballs at all anymore because of the residue they leave behind on the ground.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Posts
Gave up on Niger seed as was only the Goldies ate it and most was wasted or ended up getting damp and going mouldy,not forgetting the mess under the feeder!
Sunflower hearts go in a feeder as the goldfinches love them as do many others,anything that hits the ground is taken quickly by blackbirds,pigeons etc some may grow they are not really a problem.
Suet granules go in another feeder plus fat balls dotted about.
My own mix is basically,Sunflower hearts (you can also get chips),nibbed peanuts,suet granules,dried mealworms and maybe some dried fruit.
This is what I use in the ground feeder.
Mealworms and suet granules I can also chuck around the garden as they do not grow!
the niger seed here is pure seed on the ground, not husk, they will grow! They just sit on the feeder throwing them out, I love to watch them sorting it out and taking the sunflower hearts
the fat balls, I chop those up and mix with the seed, fried wholemeal bread, chopped peanuts and chees Nd put that in a raised mesh dish on the ground. They eat the fat ball that way.
What really goes down best though are these, they get through more than one a day.
I break then in half and put them in Squirrel proof nut feeders.
They come in three different varieties, I’ve just ordered 12 boxes, even with the £4.00 postage they work out cheaper than anywhere else and seem to be the favourite with the birds, I’ve tried others, these are the best.
https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-wild-bird-suet-blocks-with-mealworm-6pk/p/0412095
When I worked as a jobbing gardener, one of my clients used to hang her bird feeders in the middle of her borders and come the spring, all the ground in between the shrubs, was a mass of sprouted seed. It was a job and a half to clear it all. She eventually saw sense!