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Is millet in mixes really that bad? (1 Viewer)

Lady Eagle

Lady Eagle

Well-known member
Most of the information that I've found about feeding the birds warns against buying mixes with millet in them. They claim that very few birds eat it, they kick it onto the ground searching for their favorite seeds in the mix, etc. But of the bird foods available in my area, most of them are mixes that do contain varying amounts of millet. One brand that I've been eyeing the most is Scott's (especially their No-Waste mix and their Fruit & Nut) http://www.scottswildbirdfood.com/

What are your thoughts on these mixes? Do you love em, hate em, and why? I'd sure appreciate your experience regarding this!

Thanks in advance! :t:
 
This is the only the 3rd summer of birdfeeding for me so I have no expertise but I have used No-Mess Blend from Wild Birds Unlimited, which is hulled Sunflowers, Peanuts and hulled millet. So far, I don't think I have an abundance of pest birds, House Sparrows and Starlings are more interested in suet. Junco, Towhee, White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows eat the millet. I also appreciate the fact there are no messy shells to clean up as well. Good luck with your decision.
 
I have heard that milo is bad, but that's not the same as millet. I'm no expert on seeds, but I think they are different. Milo is used as a filler and many birds don't like it. Millet, on the other hand, is very popular. I am putting pure white millet (by itself) in my tube feeders and everybody goes nuts over it. Those feeders are emptied out twice a day if I refill them. If you look at the ingredients on the mixes, I think you'll see milo and millet listed separately. Here's a link:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/SeedTypes.htm

Personally, I prefer to just buy the basic seeds in bulk by themselves - cracked corn, safflower, striped sunflower, black oil sunflower, millet, thistle and peanuts in the shell for the squirrels (and bluejays). You can mix these together as you like, or just put them in different feeders and see exactly who likes what. It's also a lot cheaper than buying those mixes, especially if you find a hardware or feed store that stocks the big 50 lb bags. I find it can be anywhere from 20-50% cheaper than buying the fancy mixes.
 
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i never use millet, my mixes contain sunflower seed, tree nuts, various different fruit and berries, pumkin seeds, and a bunch of other awsome hearty stuff. although right now theres millet in my feeder b/c im trying to get rid of a bag of finch mix, after the house finches never took their own finch sock i bought them... ;__;
 
Hi Folks,

I know our House Sparrows can be a nuisance in your country, not their fault as someone from the UK brought them over as a reminder of home, if that makes sense. Nobody thought of the consequences of taking either birds or animals to other countries, what impact they would have on native wildlife.

As you may know Sparrows declined in the UK and I have a small feeder with millet in which they adore as well as sunflower hearts and I am glad to say I have more of my "cheerful friends" back in the garden.

Ann :egghead:
 
Lady Eagle said:
Neil, what birds are going nuts for the millet in your tube feeders?
Click to expand...

Everybody clusters around the edges of the cage - sparrows (well, they fill the inside to capacity), pigeons, doves, grackles, the cardinals, even the blue jay hangs around and does some pecking. I think people confuse milo with millet quite a lot, I know I did until very recently. Try getting a small bag and put it in a feeder by itself, to see who's attracted to it. You might be surprised! I think, in a nutshell (hah hah) it's the ground feeders who really seem to go for millet.
 
Hi, Ann! I've heard that house sparrows can "mob" a feeder. So far, I haven't had that problem. I had 3 regular visitors, and I didn't know they were house sparrows. I thought they were some kind of chickadee, and they were my favorite customers! I loved their antics, and would get excited when they would show up for a meal.

Now I know they were the notorious house sparrows. Others may smack me, but I really miss them. (Grackles drove off all my birds) Maybe they aren't such a problem in Canada? Or are they?
 
Thanks, Neil! I kinda wonder, too, if people aren't confusing millet with the milo. I like your idea of feeding just some straight millet in a feeder!
 
I put a mixture of millet and niger seeds in a tube feeder and the Finches seem to like it OK, particularly Goldfinches.
 
I run 7 feeders during the summer, raising the number about to 10-12 in winter. I've tried just about every type of seed but find that the big three are BO sunflower, niger and cracked corn. I do have a feeder with safflower seed and it goes fairly well but is expensive. I have one with a mix of millet, sunflower hearts and niger (I mix it myself) and it gets some action but not huge. Hulled peanuts are popular as is suet. I consider these as precautionary feeders, there just in case something shows up that just won't go for anything but the high priced stuff. I usually only need to fill them every few weeks. I've tried millet, fed in it's own feeder and had poor results. I think also that you may find white millet better than red.
If you stick to the big three that i mentioned plus suet and you won't miss too many birds and you won't break your budget. Fancy seed mixes attract more bird lovers than birds is my feeling.
Have fun.
 
snowyowl said:
I run 7 feeders during the summer, raising the number about to 10-12 in winter. I've tried just about every type of seed but find that the big three are BO sunflower, niger and cracked corn. I do have a feeder with safflower seed and it goes fairly well but is expensive. I have one with a mix of millet, sunflower hearts and niger (I mix it myself) and it gets some action but not huge. Hulled peanuts are popular as is suet. I consider these as precautionary feeders, there just in case something shows up that just won't go for anything but the high priced stuff. I usually only need to fill them every few weeks. I've tried millet, fed in it's own feeder and had poor results. I think also that you may find white millet better than red.
If you stick to the big three that i mentioned plus suet and you won't miss too many birds and you won't break your budget. Fancy seed mixes attract more bird lovers than birds is my feeling.
Have fun.
Click to expand...

I agree but I would add a steel cage peanut feeder.
 
Lady Eagle said:
Most of the information that I've found about feeding the birds warns against buying mixes with millet in them. They claim that very few birds eat it, they kick it onto the ground searching for their favorite seeds in the mix, etc. But of the bird foods available in my area, most of them are mixes that do contain varying amounts of millet. One brand that I've been eyeing the most is Scott's (especially their No-Waste mix and their Fruit & Nut) http://www.scottswildbirdfood.com/

What are your thoughts on these mixes? Do you love em, hate em, and why? I'd sure appreciate your experience regarding this!

Thanks in advance! :t:
Click to expand...

Millet is really one of the best seeds for many birds as long as you don't mind house sparrows. Birds like Cardinals and Indigo Buntings like white millet which is liked more than the red millet. I only use millet to try to attract sparrows which is there favorite food.
 
by sparrows do u mean native sparrows because if u mean house sparrows then im confused... idk why anyone in america would want to feed house sparrows, although native sparrows are very delightful =P
 
Here I get loads of chipping sparrows and several song sparrows. Yes, I get house sparrows too, but I guess you've got to take the good with the bad.
 
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