5 things to think about when offering nuts to birds

Feeding nuts to birds. There are a lot of wild birds out there that love to feast on peanuts, especially as the colder months come into play. That’s why we always recommend stocking up on peanuts for birds during winter and we are here to give you a few tips on how best to use them.

Choking hazards

The first thing we want to address is that peanuts can be a choking hazard for small or young birds.

Depending on the season, you may want to think about which of our peanuts for birds you place out for your garden birds. In peak mating season (spring/summer), you may want to opt for split peanuts, which are smaller and easier to swallow.

However, in colder months, when the fledglings have fully grown, you could also put some economy grade peanuts in your peanut bird feeder. As long as you choose the right feeder, you can help to prevent choking.

Choosing the right feeder

Feeding nuts to birds.

When it comes to putting out bird peanuts for your wild birds, you should always opt for a peanut bird feeder. Peanuts are considerably bigger than your average seed mix, so a regular seed feeder will not do the job.

If you’re worried about attracting other wildlife to your garden, such as squirrels, you can get squirrel proof peanut bird feeders. These make it easy for birds to access their food, whilst keeping pesky squirrels at bay!

Provide plenty of water

With any wild bird food, you must always make sure to have a good water source close by. Wild birds that have a seed or nut-heavy diet often need a lot more water than those that eat insects and other invertebrates.

 

Get a better deal by buying in bulk

Peanuts are one of the wild bird foods that are much cheaper to buy in bulk than in smaller packages. It is always best to get your peanuts for birds from a designated bird food wholesaler or retailer, to ensure you are getting the very best deal.

For example, with Kennedy Wild Bird Food, you can get a huge 25kg for just £42.99! That works out to be around £1.72 per 1kg! With plain peanuts rolling into supermarkets at an average cost of £1.00 per 200g, that’s an amazing saving!

Never use salted peanuts

Feeding nuts to birds

As we all know, foods high in salt are bad for humans, so think how bad they will be for smaller creatures like our wild birds!

With this in mind, we should always aim to feed our birds natural peanuts without any coating or flavouring. Plus, birds will find these untouched peanuts a lot tastier than those you can buy from a normal supermarket.

For even more information on how you can use peanuts as bird food, why not check out our previous blog post on ‘how to use peanuts as bird food’? Remember, our blog is filled with amazing resources to help you to choose the best bird food for your wild birds and our online store is stocked full of wild bird food and wild bird food accessories, to help you take excellent care of your garden visitors!