can you feed birds biscuits

Now is the time in this cold weather when you should be feeding the birds, even if you have done very little so far. You can save the life of a robin just by buying a packet of digestive biscuits. Every day, take two biscuits, crunch them up into a powder in your hands, and put that powder down on the ground in an area where he might come and eat it.

If you can, try to put food out in the same place every day, and you may well find that the robin becomes really tame. Apparently, robins evolved in the forests of Stone Age England to follow great huge fat wild boars around the place, so as you might imagine, I am having great success with my new little feathered friend.

After only a week, Rockin Robin sits in the bushes and waits for me to go out in the morning and feed him. As I arrive he seems to cheep a three syllable greeting which I have taken to mean Good-Mor-Ning. When I leave, he manages two syllables which I hope are Thank-You. I may however be mistaken in these interpretations. The little chap, though, is certainly very tame and I think if I had the time I might be able to train him to perch on my hand and take the food directly from there. Anyway two digestive biscuits is not a lot to ask. If you want to go any further then you could refer back to my blog post about erecting your bird table. It was called The five golden double entendres of buying a bird table. Even if you do not have a bird table you can still put food down, perhaps a few feet or so away from where you feed the robin.

It is best in my opinion to buy ready-made specialised food rather than your own food scraps from meals. After various experiments, we have found that the best value is Wilkos where the bird food is cheap and seems to be of a good enough quality for the birds to eat it quite happily. If you have bird feeders, the best thing to buy is sunflower seeds which are cheap, and birds such as blue tits seem to absolutely love them. Alternatively, seed eating birds and robins and dunnocks all seem to like the finch food.

Of course you can still buy peanuts and put them in your peanut feeder. Do not eat them yourself.

The great thing about Wilkos is that you can order delivery at a specific branch and then you go and pick it up. Its free. And no, I am not paid to advertise Wilkos. Its just that I know from my own experience that they are cheap and the birds like them. There are lots of companies on the Internet who will be only too pleased to send you bird food (Our special blend) but you will pay enormous amounts of money for the privilege. Among ordinary bird watchers, this is a very well-known method of separating a well intentioned nice person from their hard earned cash. The finch seed does not contain wheat or grass seeds. A lot of the foods sold in shops seems to contain these two and it means that in the spring you will get a lot of unexpected grasses growing up, probably where you dont want them. On the other hand if you have always wanted your very own mini wheat field they are absolutely excellent.

Unfortunately many bird foods may also attract wood pigeons and squirrels, both of which will behave like living vacuum cleaners. They are quite capable of eating every single bit of food that you have put out in about ten minutes. When squirrels or wood pigeons arrive you should chase them away if its the early part of the day and then the little birds will get their chance.

Once it gets towards late afternoon though, the squirrels and the wood pigeons will do quite a good job of clearing up any surplus food that might otherwise attract our nocturnal little ratty friends. The same can be said about the special squirrel proof cages which can be put on the ground over the top of your bird food. We dont have one of these but somebody told me that they work very well in the sense that squirrels are too big to get through the holes in the cage, but unfortunately, the holes are small enough to let in rats. Overall I would encourage you to experiment in the way that you feed the birds. More or less anything that you do will be appreciated by them. Every year the people of north-western Europe save the lives of hundreds of millions of birds who otherwise would die in the cold. And on a less elevated level, the birds will soon become your friends and you can spend many a happy hour watching them and if you feel so inclined, singing to them. You may even have the time to learn the words to a well-known song in Hungarian:

Of course you can still buy peanuts and put them in your peanut feeder. Do not eat them yourself.

But as the afternoon wears on, the wood pigeons and squirrels will do a great job of removing any extra food that might otherwise draw our nocturnal, ratty friends. The same is true of the unique squirrel-proof cages that you can place on the ground above your bird food. Although we don’t have one, I’ve heard that they function incredibly well in that squirrels are too large to fit through the cage’s openings, but regrettably, the openings are tiny enough to allow rats in. In general, I would advise you to try different approaches to feeding the birds. Generally speaking, they will value everything you do. Numerous millions of birds would perish in the cold each year if it weren’t for the people living in northwest Europe. Conversely, the birds will quickly become your friends, and you can enjoy many happy hours just observing them and, if you’d like, singing to them. You might even have time to master a popular song’s lyrics in Hungarian:

Even if you haven’t done much bird feeding yet, now is the perfect time to do so in this cold weather. Purchasing a package of digestive biscuits can be all it takes to save a robin. Put two biscuits in your hands and crush them into a powder every day. Then, scatter the powder on the ground in a place where he could potentially eat it.

Just a week later, “Rockin’ Robin” waits for me to take him out in the morning to eat as he sits in the bushes. He seems to cheep a three-syllable greeting as I arrive, which I interpret as “Good-Mor-Ning.” He manages two syllables when I leave, which I’m hoping are “Thank-You.” I may however be mistaken in these interpretations. The little guy is quite gentle, though, and I believe I could teach him to perch on my hand and eat right from there if I had the time. Anyway two digestive biscuits is not a lot to ask. You can read my blog post about building your bird table if you’d like to go further. “The five golden double entendres of buying a bird table” was the title of the article. You can still place food down if you don’t have a bird table; just place it a little distance away from where you feed the robin.

I just cleaned out the kitchen cabinets because it’s such a bad day here, and now I have a bag full of stale cookies. They are simple snacks like digestives and Jacob’s crackers. Will these end up in the compost if I can’t give them to the birds?

FAQ

What cereals can birds eat?

Vets have approved the use of whole-grain cereals such as Cheerios for birds, because they are low in sugar, made of whole grains and contain no artificial colours or sweeteners.

Can I feed biscuits to crows?

They simply aren’t Evolved to Eat things like Cornflakes or Biscuits in the same way that we are. It is Okay to feed processed food to birds like Sparrows, Crows, Pigeons, but the Question is at What Cost to the birds. Just because A Bird Eats Cornflakes and Biscuits, it does not mean that it is Okay For Them.

Is it OK to feed birds crackers?

Please don’t give wild birds bread, crackers or other human snack foods. Bread has zero nutrition for wild birds. In fact, bread, crackers, chips and other human snacks are, in some ways, WORSE than feeding birds absolutely nothing.

What scraps can I feed wild birds?

When buying bird food, try to get a good mix of peanuts, seeds and live food like mealworms and waxworms. Fruit, especially bruised apples and pears, will be popular with thrushes and Blackbirds. Household scraps like pastry, cooked rice and breadcrumbs should only be offered in small amounts occasionally.