Posted on 03/14/2011 8:33:06 AM PDT by SMARTY
I bought a hummingbird feeder. I wonder if anyone knows what I ought to put in the feeder.
They should have nectar mixes where you bought the feeder.
Or Google “hummingbird food” for several recipes.
Four to one water to sugar. Bring to a boil.
Allow to cool and your done!
Do NOT use the commercial red-colored stuff. It’s too expensive, and the red coloring is believed to be harmful to the birds. It doesn’t do anything to attract them either.
Dissolve 1 part plain sugar in 4 parts boiling water. That’s all. Cool and store unused solution in the frig.
The simplest is just to add sugar to a bottle of water and drop a bit of food coloring. It will disappear in no time!
Suger + Water
1 cup sugar to 4 cups water. Boil the water, add the sugar, stir to dissolve, let cool. Add some to the feeder, store the rest if the fridge. You can make as much or as little as you want bet keep the water/sugar ratio at 4:1. Don’t add anything else like red food coloring, just sugar and water.
There are probably a thousand recipes if you search “hummingbird food” on any search engine. Good luck. They are beautiful creatures. Very shy, be patient.
1 Part cane sugar to 4 parts water. No colored cocktails and NO HONEY, it is toxic to hummers.
2 parts water, 1 part sugar. That’s all I ever use. I stir the sugar into boiled water then let it cool. My hummingbirds love it.
The “nectar” mixes are just sugar with coloring - way overpriced and potentially harmful to the birds. Sugar is much cheaper.
Beer!!
LOL. The ones we get are territorial, and they are not shy at all from chasing us off the porch.
Very important. It is important to take the feeder down when winter is approaching. Otherwise the birds will stay and get caught in the cold. Probably depends where you live I guess.
google it.
Many make their own sugar water mix with a drop or two red food coloring.
Once the hummingbirds find it ... then it is good to keep it having food in it everyday.
Here is a Google receipe ... enjoy the hummingbirds, they are pretty and amazing.
how to mix hummingbird food instructions:
1.-Pour the sugar and water into a pan and stir to dissolve the sugar, while bringing the mixture to a boil.
2.-Boil for 2 minutes and take from the heat.
3.-Let the mixture cool, then add the homemade hummingbird food to your hummingbird feeder.
Now you know all there is to how to mix hummingbird food. The only other thing you need to know is how to keep your nectar fresh and how to keep your feeder clean.
How to mix hummingbird food and keep your nectar fresh:
The key to keeping fresh nectar in your feeder is simple. Just change it before it goes bad. How do you know if it’s going bad? Watch your nectar and when it starts to get cloudy it’s time to change it. How long before your nectar goes bad will be determined by the outside temperature. Here is the how to mix hummingbird food chart that will give you a general idea of how many days your nectar will keep based on the outside temperature.
High temperatures............Change nectar after
71-75.................................6 days
76-80.................................5 days
81-84.................................4 days
85-88.................................3 days
89-92.................................2 days
93+....................................change daily
Also, if you can find a shady spot out of the sun to hang your hummingbird feeder, the nectar will last longer.
Sugar water. Put 2 cups of sugar into one cup of water. Stir until dissolved. You may want to add red or yellow food coloring.
Don’t forget maintenance...
http://howtoenjoyhummingbirds.com/maintaining_and_cleaning_your_hummingbird%20feeder.htm
Keep in mind that as you are feeding the hummingbirds you are also feeding the bees, yellow jackets, hornets, etc. It is just something that comes with the territory. If you have allergies be careful. Also, ants have a way of finding hummingbird feeders very quickly. If you are using a pole to hang the feeder you might try smearing a generous gob of Vaseline around a wide area of the pole.
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