Which seed mix should I buy?

Here at The Bird House, many customers ask us which of our seed mixes should they purchase.  Well, the best mix depends upon which birds you would like to see at your feeders and your budget.  I’ve detailed our 7 mixes below in order of most to least expensive, with a picture of the blend, and which bird species they attract.  Our seed mixes are bagged at Lizzie Mae’s, an Amish company in Ohio.   The seed mixes are most economical in the 20 pound bags but are also packaged in smaller quantities on the wooden shelves.   A colored label at the bottom of the Backyard Birds bag lets you know what variety of birdseed it contains.  Some of the blends contain a small amount of grit, which aids in birds’digestion.

     The Woodpecker blend contains peanuts pieces, sunflower kernels, corn, raisins, pumpkin seeds and dried berries.     This mixture of seed attracts any nut loving bird, including nuthatches, chickadees, the various woodpeckers, titmice and blue jays.  You can put this variety in a tube or platform feeder.

    Finch Favorite contains nyjer (thistle) and fine sunflower chips.  This seed mixture must be in specific feeders made of a mesh material or containing tiny ports due to the small size of the seeds.     Finches, including the gold, house and purple variety, love this high oil seed.  Nyjer seed is the only seed that will spoil and will last only about 3 months.  If you notice your goldfinches not eating the seed, it’s time to get some fresh seed.  You can throw the seed on the ground and other birds will ingest it.  Goldfinches are just picky eaters.

    Neat Treat (green label) is our mixture that is hull-less and is therefore preferred by those customers who do not want a buildup hulls below their feeders.  Neat Treat contains cracked corn, peanut hearts, and sunflower chips.  The corn will attract bluejays, doves, juncos and grosbeaks; chickadees, cardinals, nuthatches, finches and titmice will feed on the hulled sunflower seeds.

         The Backyard Bird Chickadee blend (blue label) consists of black oil sunflowers seeds, safflower, sunflower chips, striped sunflowers, and peanuts.  This variety attracts the widest variety of birds since it has the sunflower as well as the nuts.

    Cardinal Elite ( purple label) contains black oil sunflower, safflower, striped sunflower and sunflower chips.  This mixture has the highest quantity of safflower, a favorite of Cardinals .

   The Deluxe blend (pink label) contains black oil sunflower seeds, white millet, safflower, striped sunflower, and sunflower chips.   This medley contains a substantial portion of millet, which would draw doves and juncos to the feeder.

   Field and Forest (yellow label) is our most economical mixture and consists of black oil sunflower seed, cracked corn, and white millet.