Buying Birdfood in Bulk to save money. (1 Viewer)

[Peewit]

We went out to Sandy, RSPB the Lodge this afternoon, and spent a 'fortune' on birdfood. :eek!:

We have an old wheelie bin that we plan to store it in.

We bought 1 12.75kg bag of each below:
Premium Peanuts
Black Sunflower Seeds
Table Seed Mix
Sunflower Hearts
Note: The Peanuts and the Sunflower hearts cost twice the amount of the Black sunflower Seed and the Table Seed Mix. :eek!:

We also purchased:
Box of 50 Fat Balls
High Energy sprinkles x 3
Dried Mealworms 2.5 litres of them

Final cost was a lot but we are trying an experiment to see if this a cost effective way of paying for birdfood and it is going to a good cause.
We got a £10.00 voucher back for all our spending we did. This is a new point system that the RSPB are running. You spend so much and you are given a stamp for money back.

Anyone else tried this method of buying bird food in bulk, and was it a good way of saving in the long run?

Not everyone is able to do this but if you can I would be interested to know what you think?

 

[Guizotia]

We went out to Sandy, RSPB the Lodge this afternoon, and spent a 'fortune' on birdfood. :eek!:

We have an old wheelie bin that we plan to store it in.

We bought 1 12.75kg bag of each below:
Premium Peanuts
Black Sunflower Seeds
Table Seed Mix
Sunflower Hearts
Note: The Peanuts and the Sunflower hearts cost twice the amount of the Black sunflower Seed and the Table Seed Mix. :eek!:

We also purchased:
Box of 50 Fat Balls
High Energy sprinkles x 3
Dried Mealworms 2.5 litres of them

Final cost was a lot but we are trying an experiment to see if this a cost effective way of paying for birdfood and it is going to a good cause.
We got a £10.00 voucher back for all our spending we did. This is a new point system that the RSPB are running. You spend so much and you are given a stamp for money back.

Anyone else tried this method of buying bird food in bulk, and was it a good way of saving in the long run?

Not everyone is able to do this but if you can I would be interested to know what you think?

Did you get a discount for the 4 x 12.75 kg bags or was it charged at the standard 12.75kg for each type of food?

The reason I ask is because to me 12.75kg isn't a bulk buy, merely a convenient buy. I would consider bulk buying to be the discount you might get for buying 2x 12.75kg bags and up.

I guess it's how you look at it.

 

[Marmot]

I always get my sunflower hearts in 25kg bags and store it in the computer room. When needed I then decant it into 12inch square plastic container which I take out to the garden to fill the feeders. The sack costs me £30.50 and works out a lot cheaper than buying it in smaller amounts. And fat balls as well I always buy 50 at a time costing £6.50 with those I keep them in the circular container that I once got some in.

 

[Peewit]

Did you get a discount for the 4 x 12.75 kg bags or was it charged at the standard 12.75kg for each type of food?

The reason I ask is because to me 12.75kg isn't a bulk buy, merely a convenient buy. I would consider bulk buying to be the discount you might get for buying 2x 12.75kg bags and up.

I guess it's how you look at it.

Hi Guizotia

No, no discount. We where charged the going rate for all 4 individual 12.75kg bags as far as I know. I see on this link that you can get a discount for buying 2 bags of the same type. Is this the usual procedure? This is the same foodstuff as what we purchased at £15.99.
There was no mention of this deal while we where at the RSPB.

http://shopping.rspb.org.uk/p/Birdfood/M-SUNFLHEARTS.htm

The only extra thing we got for the £10 voucher with a new point system off our next puchase. That is for spending all the money we did!

 

[Peewit]

I always get my sunflower hearts in 25kg bags and store it in the computer room. When needed I then decant it into 12inch square plastic container which I take out to the garden to fill the feeders. The sack costs me £30.50 and works out a lot cheaper than buying it in smaller amounts. And fat balls as well I always buy 50 at a time costing £6.50 with those I keep them in the circular container that I once got some in.

Hi Marmot

Sounds a good idea what you are doing. Do you buy your seed of the RSPB?

That is what I am thinking of doing the same thing. i have old Tupperware containers i can use as storage containers.
I want to decant small amounts of the seed at one time so it is easiest to move about.
I use a large plastic jug with a spout so it is easy to pour the seed into the feeder.

Our 50 fat balls came to a grand total of £9.78. So your purchase is a lot cheaper by a long way!

 

[socksitis]

I did have some feed delivered which did seem cost effective and convenient, the (local)company (direct from farm) I used had a really large choice of what and what size, don't think I bought large enough quantities especially of the seed mix - which does appear to be a very good mix for the price. I would certainly order from this company again. The chickens and the mice are thriving!

 

[mattsharps]

Hi

I think you would find a better deal through farms or other website. Try googling titmuss bird seed (very good value) or the farm I use (eyebrook wild bird seed) which is a very nice family buisness. Basically, you could get a much better deal!

 

[Guizotia]

Hi

I think you would find a better deal through farms or other website. Try googling titmuss bird seed (very good value) or the farm I use (eyebrook wild bird seed) which is a very nice family buisness. Basically, you could get a much better deal!

That Timuss is the first mail-order place I've seen that beat RSPB's prices!

How come they are so cheap? If they were a bit cheaper I wouldn't bat an eyelid but 15kg BS for £10.50.... thats pushing my incredulity!

Looking at their prices - I could make up my own feeder mix of SH, BS, Small Striped Sunflower, and pinhead oatmeal for.... need to get out my calculator.

 

[Marmot]

Hi Marmot

Sounds a good idea what you are doing. Do you buy your seed of the RSPB?

Our 50 fat balls came to a grand total of £9.78. So your purchase is a lot cheaper by a long way!

I actually get it from a work colleague that runs a small business that does petfood and a few other bits and bobs, so I am happy that it is keeping it in the local economy. I have only ever got RSPB food once as I was desperate for some niger seed, but I think it is over priced.

The firm of Titmuss that Matt recommends are really cheap and if ever my friend gives up I think Titmuss may be getting my orders.

 

[mattsharps]

The firm of Titmuss that Matt recommends are really cheap and if ever my friend gives up I think Titmuss may be getting my orders.

Nice to be of service

I have never actually used them, but saw them along time ago on the 'Cheaper Bird Seed' Thread by illy and noticed how cheap they were.

 

[barnstormer]

I buy sunflower hearts 12.75kg bags for £17 which i think is cheap and the place is about 2 miles from where i live,they also sell a softbill mix which the robins and blackbirds love. i make my own fat balls because,
a: the birds won't touch shop bought fat balls and seem to love the ones i make and
b:it works out cheaper and i can put in what i want to, making a dozen costs about £1-£1.50.

 

[CMB]

Buying bulk reduces our bird food cost by 50%, and that is what allows us to feed year round. The seed is stored in metal trash cans in the garage. We keep the suet in the basement where the temperature is more constant but still cool.

We purchase 50 lb (22.7 kg) bags of hulled sunflower seed. Suet comes in boxes of 12 individually wrapped squares. Every store in the area seems to get their 50 lbs bags of seed from the same source, so we shop for price. We found the local farm store is 1/3 more expensive than a family run high end pet food store - for the exact same sunflower bags.

I used to do a mix of hulled sunflower, peanuts, and some other stuff, but I found it didn't attract different species than we got with hulled sunflower alone and it increased our cost quite a bit. Now we just stay with hulled sunflower.

I do find the quality of the seed can fluctuate within the same grade of seed (i.e. course, medium, fine). Because every store in the area appears to get their bags from the same source, the seed quality appears to be more an issue of crop quality, quality of the farm the particular seed lot came from, where in the production run the seed was located (bottom of the truck versus top of the truck), etc.

This time around we had some sunflower with shells, a bit of plant stems, some gravel, and even some corn. Other times we've gotten 50 lbs of the best quality hulled sunflower I've seen - even better than the smaller "premium" bags. During one period this past summer all the bulk bags at all the local stores were infested with moth larvae. At least you know the seed's not chemically treated, and the birds liked both the seed and moth larvae. I did have to clean out the bins when they were empty to get rid of cocoons, but I think that is a small price to pay for seed that you know is safe.

We also purchase 50 lbs (22.7 kg) bags of coarse ground corn to feed the squirrels. This stuff is very inexpensive and we put it on the opposite side of the house from the bird feeders in a non-landscaped wooded area. We find this is a tremendous help in keeping the squirrels completely away from the feeders, and it helps reduce damage to the landscaping and house - especially in years when the trees haven't produced many nuts.

Bulk food is great.

 

[Luke_Herts]

Not sure where in befordshire you are but over the border her ein hertfordshire is a place called G.J.W. Titmuss. They sell bird seed. 15kg sunflower seeds for £12.75 i think. Also cheaper mixes. 100 FAT BALLS FOR £10.
Really good prices.
Cheers,
Luke

 

[mattsharps]

Not sure where in befordshire you are but over the border her ein hertfordshire is a place called G.J.W. Titmuss. They sell bird seed. 15kg sunflower seeds for £12.75 i think. Also cheaper mixes. 100 FAT BALLS FOR £10.
Really good prices.
Cheers,
Luke

Hi luke

I bought up the prices of titmuss recently. I have never used them, but was stunned by their prices.

Do you use them? Do they do mail order, and how's the quality?

Thanks

 

[Luke_Herts]

Yes i use them. Quality is good. I only buy chicken food from there and sunflower seeds and fat balls. The sunflowers seeds seem fine. I use them in the garden and they are popular with everything and am now using them at a feeding station at a local nature reserve. Fat balls are loved by the tits, goldcrest and woodpecker.
I don't use mail order as i only live 5 mins away from them.
Thanks,
Luke

 

[mattsharps]

Luke,

Could you give me an address? Also, is it a walk in, buy, pay in cash?
Thanks

 

[Luke_Herts]

It is just a shop. Walk in find the sack of seed and pay i am pretty sure they take card.:t:
New Mill, Lamer Lane, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire AL4 8RG
01582 839114
Quite a way from nottingham though.
If you do come down i recommend popping in to lemsford springs which is just round the corner for green sandpipers and little egrets etc.
Cheers,
Luke

 

[bitterntwisted]

For me a much more significant concern than price is how the bird food is produced. If cheap sunflower seeds are a product of intensive farming abroad which deprives native wildlife of habitat, and which is then air-freighted to the UK, then it seems a rather strange way of helping the birds. I buy mine from wildlife-friendly UK farms like this one... http://www.streetendfeeds.co.uk/

And if buying from the RSPB is more expensive then consider that the profits support conservation (and that the RSPB source as much as possible in the UK)

Graham

 

[Guizotia]

For me a much more significant concern than price is how the bird food is produced. If cheap sunflower seeds are a product of intensive farming abroad which deprives native wildlife of habitat, and which is then air-freighted to the UK, then it seems a rather strange way of helping the birds. I buy mine from wildlife-friendly UK farms like this one... http://www.streetendfeeds.co.uk/

And if buying from the RSPB is more expensive then consider that the profits support conservation (and that the RSPB source as much as possible in the UK)

Graham

I have to admit that the carbon cost was a more significant concern for me before the recession started. But I hadn't thought about the habitat angle at all.

I've seen The Really Wild Bird Co. before, but I didn't realise that they do free delivery... Taking that into account, their prices are quite good!

I can see that they say their Black Sunflower is grown on the farm, but they don't clearly say that their Sunflower Hearts are produced on the farm. I have got a bit put off by some farms that give an exaggerated impression of how much of the seed they sell is actually home-grown, but I see The Really Wild Bird Co. state: "We grow and harvest our own premium sunflowers, millet, linseed, naked oats, oats, wheat and rape". If they produce the Sunflower Hearts on their farm (which I doubt), then I'd be prepared to pay them the extra for it (I'll email and ask them).

RSPB are my current supplier of choice. Some of their prices are very good e.g. Black Sunflower, Suet Cakes, others less so.

I like to support the RSPB but in the end, if finances are getting tight, it becomes a decision between what is of greater importance: feeding the birds, or the source of the feed? The RSPB still truck their Peanuts in from somewhere far away I'm sure, rather than just not selling them, and this sets an implicit and arguably bad example that feeding the birds is more important than the source of the feed. Niger is another good example, I have a feeling the closest it comes from is North Africa? If the RSPB do this, it makes it psychologically easier for people like me to do the same.

I don't actually feed Peanuts though, because as far as I understand it Peanuts for bird feeding are pretty much guaranteed to come from India/China region. I think I read this on an RSPB website page.

The seeds I do feed, I hope don't come from so far away, but I'm probably guilty of turning a bit of a blind eye here.

 

[Guizotia]

I think all things considered, The Really Wild Bird Co. will be where I place my next bulk order.