Green_Numb
Posts: 330
|
| Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 2:06 pm Post subject: Hummingbird Food |
|
I usually buy the nectar in the store in packet form or already mixed up but ive heard that the red dye in the food might cause weak egg shells or possible kidney damage to the hummmers.
Not sure if thats true but i think im going to start making my own by using a ratio of a 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of (boiled) water. They say the red on the feeder is all you really need to attract the birds.
what do you guys think about this?
also it says to change your food every 3 days or so which can get more expensive if your buying the store stuff. What practices do you guys have with your feeders?
To hide these ads please register / sign in
|
|
| Back to top |
|
stratsmom
Southern Oregon
Posts: 2282
|
| Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 3:13 pm Post subject: |
|
I do the homemade stuff with red color. They seem to like it much better than the store bought! I've never heard that about red food coloring  Maybe I better lay off if it's harmful!
Deanna
|
|
| Back to top |
|
dooley
Texas
Posts: 5204
|
| Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 3:18 pm Post subject: |
|
I use 1 cup of sugar and four cups of water a two drops of red coloring. I've always used the red coloring and never saw a problem with the birds around us. We had dozens of hummingbirds in Arizona. I have two feeders out now and see a hummingbird but only one so far. dooley
|
|
| Back to top |
|
cuatro-gatos
Southern California
Posts: 376
|
| Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 3:25 pm Post subject: |
|
I used to use the red stuff from the store, it seemed like a good idea. But I also read about the dye and switched to homemade, with the ratio you mentioned. That seems to work just fine, and the red color on the feeder attracts them. During migration times, you can bump that sugar content up a bit to give them more energy.
Just store it in the fridge and every few days clean the feeders out very well. When the temps around here get in the high 70's or 80's, I change the food
daily. I also keep the feeder where it does not get direct sunlight, I hope that will help it.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
Netty
 Regular Plants Contributor
Southern Ontario zone 5a
Posts: 9959
|
| Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 12:35 am Post subject: |
|
I make my own too. I make small batches each time so I'm filling the feeders more frequently, but at least I know it's fresh. I do not use dye and my feeders are not red. They find the feeders just fine. I make sure to have lots of blooms they like and I have a lot of red blooms.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
Green_Numb
Posts: 330
|
| Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 7:10 pm Post subject: |
|
cooked up my first batch of humming bird food last night.
the wife was like, "what you doing with all my sugar..."
anyway i filter my water so i figured the birds deserved chlorine free water too so i gave them it too and then i boiled 4 cups of it and 1 cup of sugar over the stove. I let it cool over night and put it out for them this morning. I also cleaned their feeders last night.
hope ya like my cooking lil guys... 
|
|
| Back to top |
|
stratsmom
Southern Oregon
Posts: 2282
|
| Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 1:01 am Post subject: |
|
You will go through the sugar!!!! 
|
|
| Back to top |
|
bsewnsew
Posts: 2750
|
| Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 1:05 am Post subject: |
|
I have read that many times, red food color is no good for the birds.
isnt that a lot of sugar in the recipe?
I lost the one I used..
b
|
|
| Back to top |
|
glendann
Texas
Posts: 9228
|
| Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 1:30 am Post subject: |
|
My recipe is like yours except I put the food in it.
_________________
'Life is not measured by the breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.'
|
|
| Back to top |
|
Kildale
British Columbia
Posts: 1126
|
| Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 8:01 pm Post subject: |
|
Definately no red dye. 3 of water and 1 of sugar has always been the accepted amounts except when nesting when 4 to 1 can be used. My feeders have the red base and the little yellow flowers, they don't see the mix, so that is another reason why it is not needed, unless you are trying to sell it. Its like the av filters that came out for cameras, Oh they said it protects your lens if you drop it, well if it breaks it can scratch your lens and why pay $100's for a lens and then put a $5 piece of glass in front of it.
_________________
Have a look at
MY NATURE SITE
|
|
| Back to top |
|
DaphDaph
South Carolina
Posts: 170
|
| Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 12:17 am Post subject: |
|
I tried the hummingbird nectar with the red dye when I first started feeding the hummingbirds. It's a waste of red dye...save it for your red velvet cake
I mix 4 parts hot water and 1 part sugar. I don't boil it...the hot water melts the sugar. I mix up enough for a week or two and keep in the refrigerator. I clean my feeders 2 times a week more or less depending on how hot it is.
If you have problems attracting the hummers plant some flowers that hummingbirds like to attract them. Once the discover your feeder they will keep coming back.
Hope this helps.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
cherylad
Regular Plants Contributor
S. Liberty County - Texas
Posts: 4181
|
| Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 1:05 pm Post subject: |
|
I use the store bought stuff. But may switch to homemade next year. I only fill my feeders about 1/4... that way you're not wasting alot of food when you have to clean it often... plus the food is fresher.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
Sherry8
Wisconsin...zone 4
Posts: 2321
|
| Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 12:08 pm Post subject: |
|
My ratio is 4 to 1 with 1 cup being the sugar and the water 4. You can tie a red ribbon if you are worried about attracting them or make sure you buy a red feeder....and I mentioned in another area to clean them often or if you get bees in them because the bees give off a toxin in the water if they drown in the water mix.
I always refrigerate my mixture after it cools a bit and if you feel like you are making it too much, you can freeze some and just take it out of the freezer the night before you clean the feeders. Sanitize them with a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water and make sure you RINSE thoroughly. For the health of those little beauties this should be done often.
_________________
|
|
| Back to top |
|
toni
Administrator
Plants Moderator
Regular Plants Contributor
North Texas, Zone 8a
Posts: 11244
|
| Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 2:50 pm Post subject: |
|
Considering the reaction my youngest daughter had to red dye#40, which is in pretty much every food item at the grocery store, I stopped using it in the hummingbird feeder too.
If you can find beet powder at a store, that would be better to use
_________________
To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with Spring ----
George Santayana
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Hi visitor! Need to ask a question? Sign up for free today.
|
|
 1 member likes this forum topic
Ways to share this page (copy and paste codes):
|
|
