Feeding wild birds (again)

[Georgie]

Hi.  I've got plenty of birds visiting my garden now and they seem more than happy with the seed mix, peanuts and fat cakes I put out for them which are all from the Gardman range, supplemented with apples, soaked dried fruit, pastry, breadcrumbs etc along with the insects, berries etc available as natural food.  However, I need to buy in larger quantities now and I wonder if anyone has any recommendations for a high quality/good value supplier.  I find that it is virtually impossible to compare and contrast using adverts/Google because very little information is given regarding the products in terms of origin, content and even weight in some cases.  Help!

G x

[Carol]

Hi G. I buy all my Wildbird food from CJ Wildbirdfoods.  I am sure if you google that name you will see their catalogue.  If you have bother finding it I will look out my brochure for you.  They are cheaper than the Gardman range of food.   

[Georgie]

Thanks Carol.  I have their catalogue already.  Do you think the quality is good then?

G x

[janet h 1948]

I buy a 25kg sack of a won't grow mix from Ann Kennedy for £19.95. It contains sunflower hearts, pinhead oatmeal, corn & chopped up peanuts.
The birds love it & what goes on the ground won't grow but is eaten anyway. I suggested my daughter got a sack & she can't believe the birds she now has in her garden.
BTW it's postage free & if you have any hedgehogs visiting they do a HH mix & while they are sending a large bag if you ask them for a sample they may send you one.
They also do a cheapish bag of hemp seeds but it has to be ordered at the same time as a large one.
The site is well worth a visit.

[Carol]

Yes, G.   I think CJ Wildbird foods is very good quality with next day delivery.  I once had a 'poor quality' 25kg bag of Table seed and complained and they replaced the bag for me.  Good service, good quality.   

[Georgie]

Thanks Janet and Carol.  Will look into both.   

G x

[Tulipa]

I have bird food from Ann Kennedy too.  They were very quick and much better value than elsewhere.  I have the no grow mix and the sunflower hearts.  It is the sunflower hearts that are the most popular in our garden, can't keep up with them!  Her website is the best value for the seed I have found.

http://wildbirdfood.uk.com/

[Gardengirl]

You are so lucky to have plenty of birds Georgie, I am still waiting for them to return to my garden. I also buy my food from CJ Foods. As Carol says they are very good quality & speedy delivery.

[Georgie]

Just thought I'd post an update.  In the end I went for Ann Kennedy because they do the 'no grow seed mix' which I need.  I got a 25kg sack and 100 fat balls (which I take out of the nets and pop into a feeder).  I'm delighted with the results. I've got more birds than ever including for the first time a pair of collared doves today.    

Tip.  I find the starlings fighting over the feeders means a fair bit of seed etc gets spilt.  So I've invested in a ground feeder which I've placed underneath and the ground feeders such as the wood pigeons and doves seem delighted.   

G x

[greyhound]

Regretfully I stopped feeding the birds a couple of years ago.  They ate the food so fast I could hardly keep up ..... or so I thought.  Then as I came home one night, the outside light came on, and there were Mr and Mrs Rat, swinging squirrel-fashion on the feeders.  This on the top of a narrow pole feeder which I thought would be rat-proof.

My neighbours across the road still feed the birds, and their gardens are teeming with big fat rats.

I still receive the CJ catalogue though - gorgeous photography.

[CotswoldLass]

Have to add...for the first time actually SAW a rat at the base of the bird table today. Wasn't the mountaineering type. But as we live in the country surrounded by woods we're never going to be immune from the pesky things anyway, so the birds can still be well-fed and I can still enjoy watching them, especially the Chaffinches, all the Tits and the Great Pied Woodpecker and the Nutchatches and so on.....

[greyhound]

Oh, I'm under no illusion that there aren't any.  They will always be with us .... But I don't want them congregating so close to the house, and with nothing to attract them, they will mostly go where there are richer pickings to be had.  The birds still come for natural nibbles!

[Obbelix]

I live in Belgium where the range of bird food is getting better but does not include no grow seeds.  I have recently learned though that microwaving it for 3 minutes does the trick.  Our lot are currently getting through 10 to 15 small fat and seed balls a day, half a pint of peanuts and a pint of loose seed for ground feeders as well as natural food so I assume they're all busy building nests and making or even already laying eggs as it's been so mild for once.

We did have rats living in my cold frames and one or two other sheltered spots several years ago but I poisoned them.  Haven't seena any since but we have 3 cats for nocturnal patrol duties.   It's 10 years snce a rat was dragged in through the cat flap.   Bit messy.

[Heldi]

Do you literally just put the seed in a microwaveable container and zap 'em Obby? 

Had to stop feeding the birds a couple of months ago.. Neighbours at the back have a rat hole. They are blaming everyone who has decking ( their son said rats love to live under decking lol) and me for feeding the birds. I've removed my compost bin...something I was going to do anyway as all my garden and kitchen waste goes to the allotment now. I've kept an eye out...as last time there were rats they were active in my shed. Nothing. Not seen or noticed a thing. Last time they were sitting on my plant pots looking back at me!

I've sneakily put a cup full of Robin mix out on a pot saucer every so often,near to the house so I can keep watch.  Keep seeing flashes of brown running into the borders...always Dunnocks!

Bit fed up about it as I was just getting investigated by a Greenfinch which I thought was fab as I'd not seen one for ages and certainly not around here.

[Obbelix]

Hi Heldi - how are you.  Haven't seen you around for ages.

I have an old plastic pot I use for scooping the daily ration and it goes in the microwave quite happily.  I dutifully processed a 7kg tub of the stuff to put out while we were away skiing and they're just finishing the last scraps now so it's lasted 15 days.   They seem to like the "toasted" version.   Our birds are mostly assorted tits, sparrows and chaffinches plus a pair of blackbirds and some spotted woodpeckers.  Euro robins are much more shy than their British cousins so scarper at the first hint of human movement.

[norfolklass]

I buy a 25kg sack of a won't grow mix from Ann Kennedy for £19.95. It contains sunflower hearts, pinhead oatmeal, corn & chopped up peanuts.
The birds love it & what goes on the ground won't grow but is eaten anyway. I suggested my daughter got a sack & she can't believe the birds she now has in her garden.
BTW it's postage free & if you have any hedgehogs visiting they do a HH mix & while they are sending a large bag if you ask them for a sample they may send you one.

thanks for this, janet h, the no-grow stuff sounds fab. I've never heard of it but will definitely get some as I'm sick of my flower borders being full of unwanted seedlings!

[gardenqueen]

I used to buy from CJ Wildbirds Food but found they were becoming a bit too expensive for me. I have found a great pet shop in a village near me in which I can buy a sack of bird seed for £9.99 and a 100 fat balls for just under £12.--. Now thats what I call a bargain as nothing is wasted from either!

[theothermarg]

  I have noticed the birds aren,t interested in seed this year! we only have the common ones as it is a very built up area but usually i have job keeping the feeders full .they are still pecking at peanuts and love brown bread mixed up with fat or sunflower oil. I think maybe it,s because it,s not cold enough and there must be a lot of natural food around , have others found this?
margaret

[Gardengirl]

I too have noticed a reduction in birds at my feeders Margaret.  In previous years, especially on the birdwatch weekend, I have found it difficult to count the numbers but this year we hardly had any birds to count   You may be right with your theory of the warmer weather keeping them away from the feeders, although having said that I know some A4A'ers have said that they still have plenty

[janet h 1948]

I've been buying fat ball from a shop called Home Bargains. Last time they were 49p for 6.
There was great excitement in our house this morning. At 7.25am a pair of Bull Finches arrived. They first appeared in the spring of 2004. I am so chuffed they are back. I feel they are part of the family. I just wish I had kept a diary of the dates the different birds arrived.