Homemade Hummingbird Food
I made my own hummingbird food this weekend. The hummingbirds just love my homemade juice. They are drinking it up so fast I can’t believe it. In the past I had the red granulated mix that you buy from the store, but this week I ran out. So I tried my own homemade brew for the birds. I used the 4 to 1 mix which is 4 cups water to 1 cup sugar. I did not use food coloring and the birds don’t seem to care at all. They are still attracted by the red on my feeder and don’t need any artificial coloring.
Just check out these shots of one of my girls enjoying her natural hummingbird food. So if you feed hummingbirds, please consider making your own diy food. It will save you money and the hummingbirds will love your homemade brew!
Tags: hummingbird, hummingbird-food
Jun 12, 2010
Great pictures! Do you have a bird cam? Now I want to get a humming bird feeder. Thanks for the recipe!
.-= Kristy´s last blog ..One Year Anniversary of My T.V. Show! =-.
Jun 12, 2010
@Kristy– No I don’t have a bird cam, I just snapped a few photos using my old camera with it zoomed in. Several of the photos were blurry but I did finally get a few good ones.
Jun 14, 2010
These are fantastic, the birds are beautiful. Of course we don’t get humming birds in the UK. I do get a huge variety of birds in my garden and enjoy putting out different foods to see what I can attract. Unfortunately, I also get wood pigeons who are as fat as turkeys!
Jun 14, 2010
Stunning picture, and great recipe!!!
Jun 14, 2010
These pictures are incredible!
Jun 22, 2010
That’s fantastic! I’ve been meaning to mix up my own nectar, but couldn’t remember the correct proportions I had seen in a You Tube video on humming birds. I’m going to go mix up a batch asap for my lovely little feathered friends. Thanks!
Jun 29, 2010
Love your hummingbird pictures, they are so hard to capture on camera! And yes, my hummingbirds love my homemade stuff alot better than the store bought, too. My mom will only buy the stuff in stores, but then complains that she doesn’t see that many birds at her feeder. I have two feeders and can’t keep them full, and we have lots of hummingbirds to watch! It’s so easy to make, I can’t see why bother buying it.
I just recently found your site while searching for this new “plarn”thing I’d heard about. I love your site and will be definitely coming back for more! And I will definitely be trying out one of your plarn patterns. Keep up the great work!
Sep 07, 2010
Yes, you will get many hummingbirds with this mix. However, there’s no nutrients in this mix and the birds won’t be as healthy as they need to be to reproduce and flourish…try mixing with ‘store bought’ mixes so they will get all the nutrients they need to produce healthy babies…I have also found that salt softened water is not good for them, use bottled or unsoftened water. Happy bird watching!
Apr 03, 2011
Note:
If you boil the water it will eliminate chlorine and fluoride that is not healthy for the birds. Also I have read/researched that most hummingbirds gets their nutrients from the bugs that they eat.
Enjoy!
Apr 03, 2011
@Ashley:
Thank you for your comment. I am on a well so we don’t have chlorine or fluoride in our water but this is good to know for people on public water systems. I am looking forward to the hummingbirds coming back now that spring is here. I still have some snow so it might be a bit for them to arrive here. I think they say in May they should be back here in the mountains.
Apr 04, 2011
@Cindy:
I hope my tid-bits help. I didnt get any hummingbirds last year so I am hoping with this recipe I will get at least a few. I live in a small city, so we will see.
*Enjoy
Mar 06, 2012
I make my own nectar too. I have problems with the bees taking over the feeders though that half way thru the summer the hummers stop coming. Any tips?
Mar 07, 2012
Mindy – Sorry to hear that the bees are taking over your feeder. I haven’t had that problem but maybe try one of those bees catchers where you put some attractive in the trap and the bees go inside and can’t get out. I’ve heard those work pretty well. I have also heard of putting a hotdog out away from your house and the bees are attracted to the hotdog and stay away from your house. Not sure if any of these ideas will work but it may be worth a try.
Aug 10, 2012
I have used this recipe for years now and they really do love it, I did find a easy to clean feeder that works great too, it’s called the hummzinger, you should check it out.
Sep 01, 2012
I just heard that putting vicks vapor rub on the feeder fends of the bees. Anyone else heard this. I put mine all away because the bees were awful
Sep 01, 2012
@Belinda– I checked and several sites caution about using Vicks and other petroluem-based products as they are water-insoluble and can gum up the feathers of hummingbirds. World of Hummingbirds said Vicks does deter bees but you should not use it around or on the feeders as it’s not good for the hummingbirds. They suggest cleaning the outside good after filling so the sweet juice isn’t outside on the feeders which attracts bees. And making sure your feeder isn’t leaking.