Tips on How to Maintain a Bird Feeding Station Properly

You’d think that once a bird feeding station is up and running, your task is over. It’s not. A bird feeding station requires regular maintenance to keep it running smoothly. Here are some practical tips on how to maintain it the right way.

• Replace water every day. It’s a must to provide birds with a daily supply of fresh water. It’s also good to experiment with various types of foods like bird seeds, fruits and vegetables to attract different species of birds.

• Store the bird food in a clean and dry environment. This is to lower the risk of bacterial contamination, which can bring illness to birds. Remember that moisture is a breeding ground for bacteria.

• Keep the feeding station clean at all times. Again, this is for the sake of the birds’ health. After you’re done cleaning the station itself, move on to the ground beneath the feeders. Use a rake to get rid of spilled seeds, hulls, dead grass or other debris that may have accumulated underneath the feeder.

• Buy your food from a reputable source, this way you can be sure that you are giving the birds the right type of food.

• Practice proper hygiene when handling the feeding station. Don’t forget to wash your hands first before and after cleaning the station or stocking it up with new food or water.

• Check for defects. Find time to look around the feeding station. Look at the feeder and see if there are any cracks or chips. This may cause for moisture to seep in and seeds to get spoiled, spreading disease to birds. Look for signs of insect damage, rust, flaking, loose connections, or loose screws. Perches should be stable and secure, as should the feeder. An unstable one can easily collapse. Replace anything that’s broken or defective before it causes injury to birds.

Maintaining a bird feeding station isn’t as hard as some people think. With these tips, you can keep one running properly and attracting a wide variety of bird species into your backyard.

Highly Nutritious Bird Seeds for Your Pet Bird

Birds are charming little creatures that anyone would love to have as companion. And like most pets, they too require the right nutrition to stay in great shape. Birds need carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins and minerals. If you have a pet bird, you’d probably want to include highly nutritious bird seeds in his diet. 

Though packed with nutrients, no single seed can provide a bird with all his dietary needs. So variety is the way to go. Here are some of those that you may want to consider feeding your adorable pet. 

Black-oil Sunflower 
Black-oil sunflower contains 43 percent fat, 13 percent fiber and 16 percent protein. It’s a favorite of doves, goldfinches, grosbeaks, nuthatches, titmice, woodpeckers, Chickadees, Northern Cardinal and Pine Siskin. 

Cracked Corn 
Not so much of a popular seed for birds, cracked corn usually attracts Jays. This particular seed has only two percent fat, two percent fiber, and eight percent protein. 

Nyjer 
This one’s quite hefty on the fat content having 40 percent. It’s also rich in protein (22 percent) and fiber (14 percent). It’s popular among doves, finches, goldfinches, Common Redpoll, Indigo Bunting and Pine Siskin.

Safflower 
Safflower’s nutritional content includes 38 percent fat, 21 percent fiber and 14 percent protein. Doves, purple finches, and titmice are the biggest fans of safflower seeds.

Striped Sunflower 
Striped sunflower is big on fiber (20 percent), protein (23 percent) and fat (26 percent). It’s much loved by grosbeaks, titmice, woodpeckers, Northern Cardinal and Chickadees. 

Sunflower Hearts 
This seed contains a whopping 56 percent fat, only four percent fiber, and fairly good amount of 24 percent protein. It attracts the following birds: doves, finches, Dark-eye Junco, Common Redpoll, Chickadees, goldfinches, grosbeaks, titmice, woodpeckers, Pine Siskin, and nuthatches. 

Apart from bird seeds, it’s also great to add fruits and vegetables to your bird’s diet. Corn, carrots, yams, peas, broccoli, apples, bananas and grapes are some great choices. Not only would these items provide essential vitamins and minerals, it also helps to avoid turning your pet into a picky eater. Also, remember never to feed your pet with spicy food, chocolates, wine, or caffeinated beverage. Be sure to consult your vet first before feeding your pet with any food. 

What Is Bird Suet?

If you're a bird lover, then you've probably stocked bird suet in your backyard feeder during the winter. But nowadays, bird suet has many uses beyond winter. During the spring, it can help give nesting birds the increased energy that they need. During the summer, it can be a good substitute for insect-eating birds. 

This will come in handy during the times when insects are hard to find. During the winter, suet can aid wild birds in storing the fat that they will need to migrate or to weather winter. Let's not forget suet's traditional use – it can replace the nutrients and energy that birds have used when they're trying to survive a long and chilly winter.

Bird suet comes from fat – most of the time, rendered animal fat. In today's health-conscious world, fat is often looked down on. But fat is actually important for both birds and humans. Together with carbohydrates and proteins, fat is one of the three sources of calories that can be found in one's diet. 

Calories are what gives us energy. In fact, the calories or energy is concentrated. Compared to proteins or carbohydrates, fat can give birds over twice the caloric energy. This is important for birds because their metabolism is very fast. Therefore, the energy from fat will actually help birds go about their activities for a longer period of time without eating meals.         

Modern suet is also about much more than fat. It can also contain fruits, seeds and insects. For those who want to put suet in their bird feeders during the summer, there are now melt-resisting types of suet. There is also suet that uses vegetable fat instead of animal fat. 

The more varied a suet's ingredients are, the more it will appeal to a wide range of birds. Buying varied suet will also give birds a bigger dietary benefit than plain suet. There are many forms of suet – cakes, balls, or logs. 

Make sure to put suet feeders at a height of five feet from the ground. Position it close to a tree trunk. This is because a lot of birds that like suet are cling feeders, meaning that they hang to tree trunks in order to look for insects.

All You Need to Know about Vegetables for Dogs

Dogs have always been close to people’s hearts. That’s why it’s important that every dog owner should understand their furry friend’s required diet. Although dogs are often associated with meat diets, they are actually omnivores. As a matter of fact, recent studies suggest that vegetables for dogs provide a lot of benefit. These foods bring in fiber which is good for digestion. Other researches also claim that regular intake of high-quality vegetables also prevent certain diseases in dogs.

On a general perspective, 20% of a normal dog’s diet should be composed of vegetables. The serving would increase and decrease according to the weight and nutritional needs of your pet. Oftentimes, dogs with obesity or symptoms thereof are prescribed higher servings of vegetables.

While some would argue that it’s hard to make pets eat vegetables, there are ways to get around such a problem. For one, you can pureé cooked vegetables so you could easily incorporate it with your dog’s food. There are also preserved vegetables that you can get from any dog supplies shops. Serving vegetables for dogs is like encouraging a toddler to eat greens.

You need to introduce it little by little. Add variety so your dog wouldn’t get bored with the meals. Also, don’t pressure your pet in eating the veggies. You don’t want your dog to associate veggies with drama.

Here’s a helpful guide in serving vegetables for your dogs.

Know what not to give.

Not all veggies are good for your dog. Some contain toxins that could build up in your dog’s body. The key here is to understand which vegetables are bad for your pet. With this, it’ll be a lot easier to pick vegetables. Some of the vegetables that aren’t advisable for dog consumption include avocado, onions, garlic, wild mushrooms, tomatoes, and macadamia nuts. Aside from certain vegetables, make an effort to know which foods are poisonous for your pet.

Stick with the tried-and-tested.

A lot of dog owners have already considered giving vegetables for their pet. You might want to follow their path by sticking to the basics. What are the popular vegetables for dogs? Broccoli, carrots, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, spinach, celery, asparagus, sweet potatoes, green beans peas, and squash make up the long list. Always go for organic vegetables as they are obviously safer. The chemicals in some produce could be harmful to your pets.

Serve them fully-cooked.

Dogs have shorter digestive tracts needed for digesting certain kinds of food. And contrary to popular belief, some vegetables are actually harder to digest. You need to aid your dog by serving vegetables that are fully-cooked. You can also steam the vegetables so that their natural nutrients would remain intact.

Get the advice of a trusted veterinarian.

You can also hit the right nails during the first try by consulting with a trusted veterinarian. These professionals can assess the specific nutritional needs of your dog. Also, they can advise you on what not and what to give your trusted pal. Having regular check-ups also gives your pet the advantage of preventing any diseases.

It’s painful to correct the diet of your dogs. However, the benefits of such efforts would surely be worth all the trouble. In the long run, a healthy, complete diet would help them ward off serious diseases. Naturally, vegetables for dogs guarantee a happy and good life for your loved pet.

Peach Faced Lovebirds: Proper Care and Feeding

Lovebirds make very good pets at home. Even for those novice bird enthusiasts, keeping a lovebird is generally easy. There are basically different varieties of lovebirds. One of the most popular ones is the peach faced lovebirds. What are these types of birds then? Why are they very popular? How do you go about in properly taking good care of them?

The traits of these birds are typically very tiny in size but are known for its big personality. These types, love playing and interacting with people, especially with their owners, and they are very playful with new toys. When in their cage bars, these birds are often found weaving their nesting materials. Except when sleeping, drinking, or eating, you can always find these birds very active and always playing. Peach faced lovebirds think of themselves as if they were on the top of the ladder. They are often noticed wanting to go after almost anything that it believes it can conquer. And since they are active all the time, they turn any ordinary activity into an interesting game. However, at the end of the day, these birds are the sweetest particularly to their owners, often snuggling and settling down with their humans to rest. 

At home, you need to spend a great deal of your time with them. Just like any other pets, they will bond with you and will treat you as a good friend, willing to do anything just to protect you. Because they have high energy, expect them to be playful with you most of the time. 

In terms of behavior and health concerns, these peach faced lovebirds are territorial and nippy, thus it is important that you handle and reinforce them with good behavior. These breeds love to indulge themselves with seeds so better provide them with plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits or whole grains. Typically, pellet bird diet is essential as their base for nutrition. However in most cases, they are hesitant to eat pellets unless they are used to it and they were weaned onto it the moment they started eating. 

When determining the age of these pet, you can easily tell its age thru the color of its beaks. Adult birds often have orange, red, light gray or horn-colored beaks while the younger ones have black-marked beaks. 

The cage should be big enough for them to stretch their wings and legs comfortably. Add some toys or anything that catches their attention, otherwise, they might get bored and think about escaping. Cardboard tubes and mirrors make good toys. Take note that these birds are great escape artists. With that, try to secure their cages with the right locks to avoid escapes. Just like our lovable pet, once they tried to escape and one of them do made it successfully. Fortunately, we caught it before it flew away.

Also, their cages should always have ample supply of fresh water and food regularly. Offer them veggies, legumes, fruits, or pellets. Variety is the key here. Just like humans, they get bored easily when eating the same types of food over and over again. When properly taken-cared of, your pet lovebird can actually live between ten and fifteen years.

Having peach faced lovebirds at home is simply amazing. The joys they bring and the mischievous and sometimes annoying but equally relaxing behavior they show is totally one thing to look forward to after a day’s work.