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Straight
seeds or mixed seeds?
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People who feed wild birds frequently ask the question - "should I feed a prepared
mixture of seeds or should I feed individual (or straight) seeds?" There is
no one good answer to this question, but here are some things to consider.
1. Each species of wild birds has its' favorite seeds and will go to them before
eating other available seeds. When feeding a mix, you can observe birds throwing
less favorable seeds out of the feeder in order to get to their favorites. This
causes waste, which means money.
2. Many people set up several feeders in their yard and put different straight
seeds in each of them. By observing the activity at each of the feeders, you
can determine which birds prefer which seeds and you will usually attract more
birds to your yard.
3. In mixed products, it is difficult to determine the actual content of the
product. The list of ingredients on the package label will tell you what is
in the product, but it will not tell you how much of each seed type is in it.
Lower priced products tend to have high amounts of "filler" ingredients such
as milo because it is much less costly than premium seeds such as sunflower
seed. Most birds don't like milo and therefore there is a lot of waste.
4. Consider mixing your own blend. Once you know what your birds prefer, you
can purchase straight seeds and mix them in any proportion that you want. This
insures that you get just what you want and you know exactly what is in the
mix. Mixing is easy to do in a bucket that you can then use to fill your feeders
easily. You can also change the mix so suite the seasonal changes in your bird
population.
5. Some "premium" mixes contain specialty ingredients and vitamin/mineral fortification
components which may be difficult to purchase individually if you are mixing
your own blend(s). If you want these items in your birdseed, it is usually better
to purchase a mix. Typically, these products sell at a premium price so you
must consider the benefits that you believe these products will provide.
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