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Old 11-13-2018, 11:57 AM
 
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I usually visit Ace Hardware to buy a 40 lb bag of National Audubon Society Supreme Blend bird seed. Expensive, but, with a coupon it is (was) the best quality at a reasonable price- about $50.


Went to order the 40 lb size for pickup at my local Ace Hardware and it is no longer available. It is no longer available anywhere!!! It appears to have been discontinued.


So I am looking for recommendations for a replacement brand of the same quality. Any suggestions?


The Ace hardware purchasing agent at my local Ace store has suggested I try Wild Delight Sizzle Heat, which is supposed to have a spice on the seed that squirrels don't like, but, birds don't mind. Does not come in 40 lb bags. A 14lb bag is $32 and I can get a $15 coupon to try it.


Looking for suggestions on other brands that are good quality, suitable for the Delaware area birds and might come in 40 lb bags to keep the cost more reasonable.


Suggestions appreciated.
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Old 11-14-2018, 08:31 AM
 
Location: Boonies of N. Alabama
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I don't know that I would know the difference between any birdseed and quality birdseed. All I know is that they scarf up the sunflower seed and the wild bird seed that I get at Lowes about as fast as I can get it out there.
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Old 11-14-2018, 09:34 AM
 
Location: Swiftwater, PA
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You can make your spiced birdseed yourself and save money: https://sciencing.com/make-hot-peppe...d-5641834.html. Of course I do not know if it will work as good as your expensive seed? But it would be a lot cheaper. At Tractor Supply you can get 50 pounds of cracked corn for about $10, 35 pounds of value mix wild bird food for about $10, and 40 pounds of black oily sunflower seeds for less than $20. Then all you have to do is mix it in small quantities as per the directions in the link provided. A container of Cayenne pepper should cost less than $3. That adds up to less than $45 dollars for 125 pounds of bird seed.

You would probably have some black oily sunflower seeds and cracked corn left over; but that makes a good bird seed even without the wild bird seed or you could buy more of the ingredients that you run out of. Just watch out for mice when keeping these larger bags in a shed. I kept our duck food in metal garbage cans.
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Old 11-14-2018, 11:00 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by writerwife View Post
I don't know that I would know the difference between any birdseed and quality birdseed. All I know is that they scarf up the sunflower seed and the wild bird seed that I get at Lowes about as fast as I can get it out there.
I agree that just about any seed will attract birds! I returned yesterday after a 2-day trip and need to refill the feeders again. Different seeds tend to attract different birds though. Here's a good link I just found.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/types-...SAAEgKfafD_BwE

One interesting fact: some seeds are less attractive to birds (e.g., red millet and oats) so they pick through the seeds and eat only the others, resulting in waste. Higher-grade seed mixes include more sunflower, safflower and thistle seeds.
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Old 11-14-2018, 11:31 AM
 
Location: Central IL
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I use straight safflower seed because squirrels don't like it at all but doves, finches and other small birds do. I can get it in 50 pound bags for something less than $1.50 a pound I believe but don't have it handy at the moment.

If you like rabbits (and I know that's iffy!) they also like safflower seed - some actually use it to raise rabbits.
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Old 11-14-2018, 12:04 PM
 
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Thanks for all the tips. There a few squirrels in my back yard that are overweight due to my bird feeder - so I like the idea of making my own mix of seeds and adding the pepper. I would rather have my wallet a little fatter and the squirrels a little thinner.


Cheap birdseed usually has a lot of filler that the birds and the squirrels refuse to eat - so this year I will try to do a custom mix with pepper to see how it works out.
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Old 11-14-2018, 01:00 PM
 
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Sad, you can't get your bird food you are so used to. How would these work from the Audubon Society. They are on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...l_7e98v52pak_e
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Old 11-14-2018, 01:51 PM
 
1,677 posts, read 2,525,394 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by petsandgardens View Post
Sad, you can't get your bird food you are so used to. How would these work from the Audubon Society. They are on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...l_7e98v52pak_e

The Select was a mixture of all those and probably some additional seeds. It attracted many types of birds. Buying all of them in small sizes and mixing would be pretty expensive.


I can buy individual types of seed at Ace from their bulk bins for a lot less. So, it looks like I will try developing a mix of seeds and add pepper to the mix and see how that works out.
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Old 11-14-2018, 03:33 PM
 
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I use a sunflower seed packaged by Royal Wing for all of my birdfeeders. Runs about $18 for 40 pounds at Tractor Supply. I put a measured amount out each day so the "pigs" don't gorge themselves. As quickly as I put it out, all manner of song birds arrive at the feeder.


Not an expert, but birds eat just about any seed in the wild. Other than the commercial stuff that is filled with millet, I would not get fussy. Hence why I use sunflower seed. They all like it; no fillers.
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Old 11-14-2018, 05:41 PM
 
Location: In The South
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OP, if you have a Wild Birds Unlimited store in your area, their seed is very high quality, although a bit pricey.
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