Making your own hummingbird food is easy and much cheaper than buying the concentrate. Plus you can make it without the red dye, as it is generally unnecessary for attracting hummingbirds to your feeder.
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Steps:
Is it OK to substitute stevia for sugar in hummingbird nectar?
By amberwolfone@gmail.com from southern Ontario, Canada
I would not do that! The sugar provides calories for energy, and stevia is popular with humans as it is so low calorie. Also, it may not be metabolized safely by the hummers. Stick with ordinary table sugar.
No! Stevia is a sweetener for couch potatoes who can't resist sweets; it has almost no calorie value for hummingbirds, who work and need energy. Even greener stevia is close to calorie-free.
No. What is this latest " let me feed some phony stuff to the hummers. I'd love to fool them"? Hummers need sugar water. Always have, always will. If they have flowers for nectar they prefer them. In the season when they cannot get enough nectar, we help them to survive with sugar water. Please be kind and feed what is needed.
The mixture is 3 parts water to 1 part sugar. There is no need to boil the water, just use hot water, mix and stir. Add a tiny drop of red food coloring (so you can see when it is empty).
I have always used one part sugar to four parts water and it works for me. Clean out your feeder every time you change the food and you will eventually get hummingbirds.
How much sugar do I add to 2ltrs of water to feed my hummingbirds?
By D
Use 1 cup sugar to 4 cups water. This is what I have read every time I look it up on line.
When making hummingbird nectar at home, my solution turns golden before it comes to a boil. Is it being burned? I used medium-high heat and it takes forever to come to a boil (electric ceramic stovetop). Any suggestions?
By Mary D.
If you are using sugar, it could be that the sugar is being caramelized. I have a glass top stove, and mine using an on/off cycle to cook. The important question is; do the hummers like it?
Another question might be your ratio, are you using a 1 to 4 ratio? One cup sugar to 4 cups water is what is usually recommended.
When we make hummer food we put a cup of sugar in a metal pot, add 2 cups of water, bring it to a slow boil, stir it a bit with a spoon, take the pot off the heat and add the other 2 cups of water.
We let it cool pretty much completely before we put it in a feeder. We try to keep a good bit in a pot at all times. If we fill up a feeder and use up the juice we make more immediately and let it set until the next filling. We also rotate feeders (we have 3) and clean them each time we bring in an empty one.
The only time the fluid gets color is when they have set outside for a while. The water gets foggy and the birds won't eat it. This usually happens at the beginning of spring when only one or two hummers have arrived. When summer is in full swing we have no worries about foggy water (we're too busy trying to keep feed in them :)
Some friends are using a mixture (of what I call harmful) of 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water. This does really attract the birds, but I know that it must be very harmful for the birds. Am I correct?
By Joan from Signal Mtn., TN
Is using red food coloring in homemade nectar harmful to the hummingbirds?
By Betty
It can be; and it is not necessary. Save your food color, all you need is sugar and water! Four parts water to one part sugar. It is best if you can wash your feeder every night, let it dry, refill and put it out again; helps to keep the molds and fungi at bay (which can be harmful to the birds).
Does diluted pancake syrup make ok hummingbird food?
I would say no, only for the reason that it's full of preservatives and such. I do know that Hummingbird "food" is sold in the stores, WalMart and such.
Here is a recipe I found on-line, sounds a lot like the one my Grandmother used to use, but at that time they used the red food dye (it also helped us kids, we knew not to drink the bright red drink in the fridge!).
Hummingbird Nectar Recipe
1 part sugar/4 parts water
Boil the water first, then measure and add sugar, at the rate of 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water.
Let cool and store excess in refrigerator until ready to use.
Do not add food coloring, honey (which ferments), or artificial sweetener, which has no nutritional value.
You will need to clean your feeder every few days, with hot water and a mild (10%) bleach solution to inhibit mold. Rinse thoroughly before refilling with water syrup.
Hope that helps.
Michawnpita is correct. This is the recipe that I have used for many years. I boil the water for it gets the chlorine out and any impurities. Do not add color for it is bad for them. Do a Google on hummingbirds and it will tell you. We love watching the sweet little birds. They are outside if our slidding glass door and we watch them while sitting at our dining room table.
NO! Use only a mixture of sugar and water as given above.
On the nectar you buy in the store, the package directions say 3 parts water to 1 part water. What are they meaning? 3 cups water to 1 cup of nectar? Please help me clarify this. I'm not sure what that means? Can anyone help asap?
By Christina
