On 11/05/2022 08:31, Andy Burns wrote:
>
> Jeff Layman wrote:
>
>> Andy Burns wrote:
>>
>>> a bit worried that the sand and smaller seeds will sink in the hopper
>>> leaving the larger seeds floating on top and not spreading evenly.
>>
>> It's more expensive than sand, but crushed bran breakfast cereal will have the
>> same density as seeds - more or less. You could try mixing the seeds with that.
>
> £1.29 for 750g from H&B, I've got 350g of seed, so that'd allow about a 2:1 mix
> with the seeds, thanks ... will probably attract more birds!

Well, there are always pros and cons! But birds seem to know what to
reject - they most certainly open sunflower seeds and allow the hard
coat to fall away. The fussy little goldfinches even carefully remove
the soft covering of sunflower kernels and discard it before eating the
kernel! So maybe the birds will not eat the bran as it's not nutritious.

--

Jeff

Jeff Layman wrote:

> Andy Burns wrote:
>
>> £1.29 for 750g from H&B, I've got 350g of seed, so that'd allow about a 2:1 mix
>> with the seeds, thanks ... will probably attract more birds!
>
> Well, there are always pros and cons! But birds seem to know what to reject -
> they most certainly open sunflower seeds and allow the hard coat to fall away.
> The fussy little goldfinches even carefully remove the soft covering of
> sunflower kernels and discard it before eating the kernel! So maybe the birds
> will not eat the bran as it's not nutritious.

Certainly spreading a mixture over 1Kg seems a more reasonable amount, with some
hope of dividing it into a least two "runs" and adjusting the rate if it looks
like it might run out too quickly