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And, especially if you feed your birds black oil sunflower. In other words, a lot of your expensive waste free seed is going to end up in the same place as the regular, on the ground. They can't. Not only would it be cleaner but the birds wouldn't have to bother with opening the shell. Anyone that has ever owned a pair of parakeets or a canary in their house knows that all too well.
The first thing I learned was that birds don't really mind taking the time to break open all those shells. The discarded shells not only just continue to pile up, but its been proven that the very compounds that make up a black oil shell can be detrimental to the growth of flowers and other blooms. It would be compared to being served all the lobster meat without having to bother with breaking open all those claws. Unprotected it is very easily turned to mush and mildewed unless it is eaten very quickly. If you decide to feed birds year 'round, than you will come to hate the mess they make in your yard, especially in summertime when its the growing season.
Lest one think that's it all the same, remember that when regular seed lands on the ground at least it is protected by the shell. Five dogs running around the place won't make as much a mess as two birds confined to a cage. And that is that birds are the biggest slobs in all of the animal kingdom. Unfortunately this is definitely one of those cases where something sounded most plausible in theory, but was a total bust in actual practice.
For they neither flocked too or consumed any heavier volume of shell less seed than they did the shelled version when I offered them both varieties side by side. My suggestion to all that are considering a waste free product is save your money. As an avid bird feeder from a time many years back, I remember early on thinking that come the summer time serving up a formula of no waste seed would make a lot of sense. In our backyards, birds that come to feeders generally drop or toss to the ground 3 seeds for every one they actually consume. And that's an average that is well kept whether we are talking about shelled seed or waste free. Waste free seed drops to the ground below your feeder and is immediately on its own. Maybe they are so used to working a little for their seeds over the centuries that offering it to them straight up seems too unusual for them. The birds really don't care either way if its made convenient for them, and you will waste just as much at a far greater cost.
The idea at first that no waste bird seed would be a worthwhile investment seemed like a no brainer. The only exception would be if you happen to have a feeder on a porch or deck where it is far more essential to keep the area clean, as well as being in a place where the fallen seed is not directly on the ground. In fact it was not all that uncommon to see a bird stop by the shell less seeds only to consume a couple and then defect to the regular seed with all the maintenance. The second observation is one I should have very well thought of, but unfortunately did not take into account. My own experience with waste free seed overall was nothing less than something that sounded too good to be true that turned out to be exactly that. In conclusion, stick to the messy but very much loved black oil sunflower, and consider the waste free as simply a waste of your money.
Instead, I will pay a little bit more and stick to sunflower hearts and pieces. LOL So it should be labeled "Yes Waste Select" and Chaos GUARANTEED.
They slung it in a 6-ft. The squirrel population at my house quadrupled when I used this in my feeder.
The birds were frustrated because the squirrels actually lounged in prone position on the edges of the feeder. diameter around the feeder trying to sift through to the peanuts included in the mixture.
And what they slung sprouted into various grasses. I will never buy it again.
The squirrels share more than equally with the birds and act civilized :)
the no-waste select is an especially good choice if you have domesticated pets. they are attracted to shells, waste etc of regular birdseed which can cause terrible and sometimes serious digestive issues. and the birds go through it fast.
The real advantage of no-mess feed is that the sunflower seeds are hulled, but this feed has so few sunflower seeds, it hardly matters. This seed is almost entirely millet and I was expecting something much better for the price. Some birds prefer millet, particularly ground feeders, so they will be happy, but most feeder birds prefer something more substantial, like sunflower seeds. For the price I paid for 15 lbs, I could have gotten 20 lbs of high quality no-mess at the bird store or three times as much millet seed at the grocery. This seed may be especially fresh or some other advantage not immediately evident and some of the birds will like it, but I don't consider it a good value for the price.
I exclusively use no-waste bird seed. As another reviewer noted, it seems so much more expensive, but it lasts much longer. This is because you are paying only for edible seed, instead of paying for shells, hulls and chaff.It also means there is no mess in your yard, because everything gets eaten.I have done an extensive online comparison, and - particularly with prime (free shipping) this seed from Amazon is actually a very good price.Now if only I could keep my goats out of it. :-)
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