How to make homemade Hummingbird Food
What could be easier than mixing sugar and water! Yup that is it - the tricky part is making sure you use a 4 to 1 ratio - of water to sugar. Now if you live in an area where you are on a public water supply with chlorine and flouride, you will want to boil the water to make sure you boil out the chemicals. As sugar is refined these days, it may also contain things in it that will harm the birds - so better to side with caution then to harm them unintentionally so always boil. The recipe I use is as follows:
1 cup sugar (regular granulated)
4 cups water.
Put them all in a pan stirring until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 2 minutes. If you boil for too long then you will mess up the 4 to 1 ratio and make the solution too sweet which can cause the mix to ferment in the feeders. Once this is cool you can put it in the feeder and any unused food can be kept in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Please do not add any food coloring or use brown sugar, fake sugar, or honey as this can make the birds sick.
Why use homemade vs. store bought? The store bought food besides being more costly, has chemicals in it via the red dye and preservatives that are causing the birds to produce irregular eggs and even cases of hummers having kidney problems which ultimately leads to their death. By using water and sugar from home and boiling it, you are giving them back something found naturally in nature... Nectar. For more information on How to feed Hummingbirds or facts on feeder changing and cleaning, visit this site: How to enjoy Hummingbirds It is very informative and a good place to start! Happy Birding!
1 cup sugar (regular granulated)
4 cups water.
Put them all in a pan stirring until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 2 minutes. If you boil for too long then you will mess up the 4 to 1 ratio and make the solution too sweet which can cause the mix to ferment in the feeders. Once this is cool you can put it in the feeder and any unused food can be kept in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Please do not add any food coloring or use brown sugar, fake sugar, or honey as this can make the birds sick.
Why use homemade vs. store bought? The store bought food besides being more costly, has chemicals in it via the red dye and preservatives that are causing the birds to produce irregular eggs and even cases of hummers having kidney problems which ultimately leads to their death. By using water and sugar from home and boiling it, you are giving them back something found naturally in nature... Nectar. For more information on How to feed Hummingbirds or facts on feeder changing and cleaning, visit this site: How to enjoy Hummingbirds It is very informative and a good place to start! Happy Birding!