Hummingbirds???????

OK, if Jag can ask for gun advice, then I'm going to ask for bird advice. Yesterday I got a hummingbird feeder, but it didn't have any directions with it. I wanted to make my own "nectar" rather than buy the expensive stuff they sell in stores. Is it 3 parts water to one part sugar, or is it 4 to 1? Do I have to boil the mixture? What about that gunky red dye? Do I have to put that in? I suppose I could try looking this up on Google, but I'd like to hear from someone who's actually had experience feeding hummers. Thanks!

Originally posted by marichiko
Is it 3 parts water to one part sugar, or is it 4 to 1? Do I have to boil the mixture? What about that gunky red dye?

I'm not Jag, but I've done this for my parents, who live in Hummingbird Central, AZ.

1:4 is the right ratio, just heat the water up enough to dissolve the sugar, and no red gunk necessary. Watch for ants, tho! A coating of vaseline on the hook may help keep them out. Wash out and refill the container with fresh nectar once a week, whether or not the birds drink it all.

- Pie

Cool, I've thought about getting one of those... let us know how it works!

Originally posted by Pie

I'm not Jag, but I've done this for my parents, who live in Hummingbird Central, AZ.

1:4 is the right ratio, just heat the water up enough to dissolve the sugar, and no red gunk necessary. Watch for ants, tho! A coating of vaseline on the hook may help keep them out. Wash out and refill the container with fresh nectar once a week, whether or not the birds drink it all.

- Pie

Thanks, Pi. I was thinking 3:1. The little guys would have gone into a sugar od, and God knows what atrocities they might have committed! Thanks for saving me from a horrible incident with greenpeace or something!:D

Originally posted by marichiko
Thanks, Pi.

You're welcome. Just for the record though, it's Pie, not pi. I believe there is another user named pi; wouldn't want him/her to get my flames. :)

- Pie

What kind of Pie?

Originally posted by DanaC
What kind of Pie?

4 and 20 humming birds, baked into a pie!


Sorry about the mis-spelling, Pie. I was on my way out the door and didn't have time to do an edit!

the reason for the dye is to attract them. my ex-grandmother-in-law did a test near Ft. Hood (Copperas Cove) with one feeder being dyed red and the other clear. for some reason they prefered the red one......hope this helps.....

Originally posted by DanaC
What kind of Pie?

Sweetie-pie, I think. At least, that's where the nic came from.

Today, though... Probably a strawberry tart. With whipped cream. (:)

- Pie ("New selections available on a daily basis -- ask your server!")

Hummingbirds naturally gravitate to the color red when they are looking for nectar, but the effects of ingesting red dye haven't been studied (to my knowledge - haven't done the google/single click research). It's safer to have a red-colored feeder or tie a red strip of cloth to it.