CHEX TV air date: Fri. Sep. 20th, 2013
Click here to view this episode of ?The Garden Gate.
Blue Jays, woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches and many other birds love peanuts and suet.? Even cardinals! The peanuts and suet give them the extra carbohydrates they need to stay warm through the long winter nights.
There are a variety of feeders in which you can offer peanuts. Peanuts in the shell work nicely in the wreath feeders or other feeders with large openings.? These feeders offer some challenge to the bird, making them take some extra time to get the seed out. This means you get a great look at the bird while he is struggling to pull the seed out or peck at it until the delicious kernel is retrieved.? You can also offer shelled peanuts which birds peck at through a mesh and get little kernels which they gobble down quickly.? Shelled peanuts are actually more cost effective and also less messy. No shells left behind to clean up!
Please buy fresh peanuts!? Old stale peanuts can go rancid and the bird will not eat them. Our seeds are the freshest you can get. Your birds will love them!
Suet can also be offered year round, providing that you choose good quality suet.? Poor quality suet will melt in the summer heat and also contains many types of filler that the birds don?t enjoy and will leave behind.? At The Avant-Garden Shop, we offer Millcreek bird food and also suet.? All of their suet is double rendered, which means it is very dense and doesn’t melt or fall apart easily. The Summer Nut suet is even thicker and will not melt even in our summer heat.
We also offer pure suet, which grackles and starlings tend to shy away from. It is their least favourite. It is a softer suet and will melt in high heat, so should only be offered late in the season and through the winter.
There are a variety of suet feeders that hold the suet blocks. We have upside down suet feeders (Starlings dislike this style), feeders with tail props (which the Hairy woodpecker loves) and also the regular square cages. We have the cages for single suet cakes, two or even four suet cakes. ?We also have a suet log feeder which has holes in which you can push a special “peanut butter” type suet.
For the Christmas season we also offer solid seed wreaths, suet ?acorns? and other fun items that you can give as a gift to the person who wants little or nothing.? It?s a ?gift for the birds!?
It’s sometimes impossible to know the answer to these questions, when the item has come from a container that was shipped half way around the world! ?When you buy Canadian and from someone who knows about the product, you can usually get the answer to your questions and feel good about your purchase. ?And once you know that information, you can decide where best to spend your hard earned dollars.
