How long should food be left out?

Hi all,

Hope you can help!

I've just recently started feeding birds in my small urban garden. But I'm unsure how often to change the food i put out. I'm using:

Peanuts, Seed Cake, Fat Cakes, Half a Coconut with Fat and Mealworms, and fat balls. 

Any help would be appreciated as i dont want to harm any birds! 

Thank you!

  • HI,

    I think the advice is that you should only put out food that will be eaten within a few days.  Feeders should be cleaned regulary and any mouldy food should be thrown away.

    Hope this helps

    Sarah

    PS Welcome to the forums

  • Hello Userlt,

    Welcome to the forum. Hope you enjoy it here.

    I leave my sunflower hearts and nyjer seed longer than a few days. Good quality hangers stay dry inside and it doesn't go mouldy. Peanuts can go mouldy when they get wet, so care should be taken with those. Some suet/fat things do go off, but mine never last very long at the rate the starlings and jackdaws eat them. Fat balls are boycotted in my garden so I don't offer them. I think any food on tables or ground feeders/trays should be limited to a day's supply, especially in wet weather. It all depends on the food, the containers, and the weather in my opinion.

    One of the reasons for the advice given to only put out a day's supply at once is to deter rodents and such like.

    What does everyone else do? I hope what I do is OK. It takes forever for my 20 port flocker to empty!!!!

  • Sparrow I think you are right.

    My ground food is always gone in one day. My peanuts I have given up on. Fat balls no takers. Suet goes quickly. The nyger seed however is dry in the feeder and although it is only a  four port one, I only have two golfinches so It has lasted a week or two.  I shake it and check it regualry. Mixed seed goes in a day or two,

    It is really only nyger seed i leave for longer and hope this is ok.

    Sarah

  • Hi all

    Like Sparrow my nyger seed lasts longer than a few days in my hanging feeder and so do my sunflower hearts and peanut chips. I check the hanging feeders regularly and have even been known to empty some out onto a towel to dry if it rains for several days.

    I have hanging peanut feeders and I shake the peanuts inside them up and down regularly to ensure that they don't go mouldy and stick together. If they start to get old and there aren't many left I put them in my ground feeder and the pigeons hoover them up.

    Tip: If you want to remove the contents of a hanging feeder it's easier if you plug up the holes with a half a piece of kitchen towel scrunched up, or a cotton wool ball.

    Best wishes Chris

  • Woodpecker said:

    Tip: If you want to remove the contents of a hanging feeder it's easier if you plug up the holes with a half a piece of kitchen towel scrunched up, or a cotton wool ball.

    I'll give that a try! I always end up with more seed on the kitchen floor than the container I am pouring it in to.

     

  • Hi all,

    Thank you all for your replies!

    They've been really helpful and there's some great tips i'll be using from now on. I hadd been findng it difficult to find out about this subject so am most grateful!

    Thanks again

    Steve

     

     

  • A belated welcome from me too Steve! :-)