Hummingbirds???????
 

OK, if Jag can ask for gun advice, then I'm going to ask for bird advice. Yesterday I got a hummingbird feeder, but it didn't have any directions with it. I wanted to make my own "nectar" rather than buy the expensive stuff they sell in stores. Is it 3 parts water to one part sugar, or is it 4 to 1? Do I have to boil the mixture? What about that gunky red dye? Do I have to put that in? I suppose I could try looking this up on Google, but I'd like to hear from someone who's actually had experience feeding hummers. Thanks!

Re: Hummingbirds???????
 

I'm not Jag, but I've done this for my parents, who live in Hummingbird Central, AZ.

1:4 is the right ratio, just heat the water up enough to dissolve the sugar, and no red gunk necessary. Watch for ants, tho! A coating of vaseline on the hook may help keep them out. Wash out and refill the container with fresh nectar once a week, whether or not the birds drink it all.

- Pie

Cool, I've thought about getting one of those... let us know how it works!

Re: Re: Hummingbirds???????
 

Thanks, Pi. I was thinking 3:1. The little guys would have gone into a sugar od, and God knows what atrocities they might have committed! Thanks for saving me from a horrible incident with greenpeace or something!:D

Re: Re: Re: Hummingbirds???????
 

You're welcome. Just for the record though, it's Pie, not pi. I believe there is another user named pi; wouldn't want him/her to get my flames. :)

- Pie

What kind of Pie?

4 and 20 humming birds, baked into a pie!


Sorry about the mis-spelling, Pie. I was on my way out the door and didn't have time to do an edit!

the reason for the dye is to attract them. my ex-grandmother-in-law did a test near Ft. Hood (Copperas Cove) with one feeder being dyed red and the other clear. for some reason they prefered the red one......hope this helps.....

Sweetie-pie, I think. At least, that's where the nic came from.

Today, though... Probably a strawberry tart. With whipped cream. (:)

- Pie ("New selections available on a daily basis -- ask your server!")

re: red dye
 

Hummingbirds naturally gravitate to the color red when they are looking for nectar, but the effects of ingesting red dye haven't been studied (to my knowledge - haven't done the google/single click research). It's safer to have a red-colored feeder or tie a red strip of cloth to it.