I have researched nectar. Honey is made from nectar, and it includes vitamin C. I used a tiny pinch of Citric acid powder in my 3:1 last year, so the nectar would be more than just sugar water to them. But they would perch near the feeders and chase others away. After 2 years of copious feeding, and I mean 16 feeders placed all over the property and the empty lots on either side of me, I have more hummers than ever.
A few years ago I was feeding at another location and was using cheap sugar that was colored slightly brown. I found out that if it's not pure white, it can cause iron build up and eventually poison and kill off the hummers. So I switched to pure white (fully processed) cane sugar. Do not use beet sugar or honey.
This year, I stopped the citric acid and switched to 3.5:1 water to sugar and they fight much less, but this could be because they are sharing with children/relatives and still guarding their feeders. The weather is not too hot yet, but they are sucking down 4 ounces a day with visits every 5 minutes or less. I live in hot weather in the summer and change the nectar every day regardless of the level.
It goes bad very quickly in 90 - 100 degree weather. There are tons of wildflowers this year due to much rain, but the rain makes hummers show up more. Probably fewer bugs to eat. I bought 40 new feeders this year from GrayBunny, these little plastic 2 ounce feeders with a fake yellow flower from amazon. These work best for me, although there is no perch and on windy days are much more difficult for them to feed from than Aspects highview or Hummblossom. Please share your thoughts...
A few years ago I was feeding at another location and was using cheap sugar that was colored slightly brown. I found out that if it's not pure white, it can cause iron build up and eventually poison and kill off the hummers. So I switched to pure white (fully processed) cane sugar. Do not use beet sugar or honey.
This year, I stopped the citric acid and switched to 3.5:1 water to sugar and they fight much less, but this could be because they are sharing with children/relatives and still guarding their feeders. The weather is not too hot yet, but they are sucking down 4 ounces a day with visits every 5 minutes or less. I live in hot weather in the summer and change the nectar every day regardless of the level.
It goes bad very quickly in 90 - 100 degree weather. There are tons of wildflowers this year due to much rain, but the rain makes hummers show up more. Probably fewer bugs to eat. I bought 40 new feeders this year from GrayBunny, these little plastic 2 ounce feeders with a fake yellow flower from amazon. These work best for me, although there is no perch and on windy days are much more difficult for them to feed from than Aspects highview or Hummblossom. Please share your thoughts...
