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Humming Bird Food RecipeBasic Humming bird food recipe4 parts boiled water1 part white sugar Why do you use boiled water in your Humming bird food recipe?It can be a good idea to boil the water before use, since tap water sometimes contains chlorine or other potentially harmful chemicals. Chemicals safe for human consumption doesn’t necessarily have to be safe for the Humming bird. |
We have therefore decided to use only boiled water in your Humming bird food recipe. Another way of making chlorine evaporate is to leave the tap water in an open container over night.
Boiling the water before you use it in your Humming bird food recipe will not prevent the food from fermenting, since new bacteria is continuously added to the food. Humming birds always have some bacteria on their beaks.
Why not add more sugar to your Humming bird food recipe?
By adding more sugar, you will provide the Humming birds with more calories, which is essentially a good thing since Humming birds consume vast amounts of energy each day. The problem with a Humming bird food recipe that contains more than one part sugar to four parts water is however that such sweet syrup will attract much more insects. It should also be noted that the average sucrose content of flowers that the North American Hummingbirds are known to appreciate is no higher than 21 percent.Why is there no red dye in your Humming bird food recipe?
There is really no point in adding red dye to Humming bird food, since Humming birds are known to happily eat uncoloured food. Buying red dye, or professionally made Humming bird food containing red dye, is therefore just a waste of money. Since we still do not know exactly what is healthy for humming birds and what is not, it is always a good idea to refrain from adding anything that is not necessary to the Humming bird food recipe. The colour red is known to catch the attention of Humming birds, but a red feeder will work just as well. Remember that in the wild it is the flower that is red, not the actual nectar. Most Humming birds do not even need the red colour to understand that the feeder contains food once they have begun to associate Humming bird feeders with food.Why is there not protein added to your Humming bird food recipe?
You might have seen special protein-rich food mixes for Hummingbirds, but these food mixes are not necessary for normal, healthy Hummingbirds. Hummingbirds do not get protein from nectar; they get protein by hunting and eating small insects. The sugar-water mix that we give our Hummingbirds will simply give the bird a much needed energy boast that enables it to fly away and hunt down some more insects. Adding protein to a Humming bird food recipe is only necessary when no insects are around, such as in a laboratory. It can also be used for emergency rehabilitation, such as when an injured Humming bird is too weak to hunt or when a Humming bird for some reason have not been able to migrate south during the winter.
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