Taming Blackbirds

[pusskin]

What would you put on the ground to encourage blackbirds to come and hopefully get near you to feed off your hands? (I envy Barmaid!) lol
I have robins 2 foot away munching on porridge oats that i put out every day.
Any ideas please Abers x

[Barmaid]

Worms worms worms worms worms and more worms. the wrigglier the better. I don't put them on the ground (I know BBs are ground feeders, but I am trying to make them learn that in THIS garden, worms DO grow on trees). They are safer in the trees than on the ground.

[Manjo]

Wet a piece of bread they will feed it to the young they will be more friendly

[Prudie]

I have a robin who eats out of my hand, I use the flavoured suet pellets. The pair of blackbirds that live in my garden certainly will come within a couple of feet of me to pinch those.

[gness]

Also raisins, pusskin. My daughter has a blackbird that taps on the door for her to feed him with them. x

[MyBlackHen]

Raisins and grated cheese, mine come to the kitchen windowsill for those.
I put cooked potato out too, most of the birds like that.

[rsvp]

www.agway.com/know_how/wild_birds/bird_food/dont_feed_birds_bread.html
don't think I've copied this link correctly but I was always told not to feed bread to birds. Leads to malutrician and it's high in salt I believe.

[pusskin]

Thanks for replies abers.
When i said put food on the ground, i meant on a foot tall bird table.
We have bird feeders also hanging from a tall stand.
I put out all mashed up potato leftovers --soft wet wholemeal bread etc.
And will try some raisins tomorrow , to finish up the packet.
Most of our garden is now paved, so where can i get all the worms from?
Ah, will venture out to front garden tomorrow then, and start digging.

[Barmaid]

Agree with rsvp - bread has no nutritional value for birds. Just bungs them up. I never give the birds bread.

[pusskin]

Will try not to give them any more bread --shame as they love it.
Tiny tit bits of all sorts goes onto my little table that is a foot off of the ground.
I am so jealous of all you lucky Abers having such tame birds eating off your hand and stuff. Oh i wish ---

[pusskin]

Meant to say that I also have Seed Mix, sunflower seeds on feeders too.

[Barmaid]

Well the ones in our garden don't eat off my hand, but she will sit right next to me - literally on the same garden bench. If I am working in the garden she'll come and perch on the nearest post or hop around about 8 inches from me. I like to think she KNOWS that I am looking out for her and her babies. She also knows now that if I clap my hands, she needs to fly away quickly.

[society]

Is bread bad for ALL birds? Everyday my mum feeds her parrot bread soaked in milk. She's been doing this for many, many years.

[Barmaid]

don't know about parrots, but I was always taught not to give garden birds bread. I know also that I shouldn't give my chickens bread so I've kind of assumed it applies to all of them.

[annieigma]

What do you do about CATS!! there are two living along the road, and I spend my life chasing them away from the privet hedges in a neighbours garden where the finches nest. i have rescued one parent from the cats jaws, and it flew off and i think it survived, but they killed a thrush who had a nest with babies, and they all died. I even thought of capturing the cats and taking them to another part of town. They hate me, if they see me, they stop dead, then turn and run, and all I have done to them is to chase them away. I would nor harm an animal, but the birds are with young again. What it help if i had a dog?

[society]

For all of my life my parents reared and is still rearing chickens, ducks, turkeys etc. and they always feed their 'birds' with bread, cakes, cooked foods, dried corn. They always grew/grow up to be large and meaty, and always seems in good health.

Barmaid, thanks for answering my question.

[Barmaid]

I think for fowl its not too bad if it is really stale. But if it is soft it can block their crop (or so the bloke I got the chickens from told me, Society).

Annie, please do not catch the cats and take them to another part of town. That's cruel to the cats and to the owners and all you are doing is moving the problem elsewhere.

I have FOUR cats. And a hosepipe.......

[pusskin]

you Abers are great and i love to hear what you all do in your gardens, even down to keeping cats out.
Our 3 cats next door hardly ever venture into our garden, think its because they love me as i feed them when next door goes on holiday, haha.

[mrs.chappie]

Pusskin, they love mealworms. I buy them dried and rehydrate them but my MIL puts them out dry and they're still popular.

If you do buy some, get them in bulk as they work out much better value than those small tubs you see in garden centres. I get mine off eBay, 10 kilos at a time.

[pusskin]

mrs Chappie, i used to to put out meal worm, but they vanished in 2 mins!

it was always the starlings and they were going frantic in my garden.
If they stayed away i would put out lots more meal worm for the birds haha. Poor starlings

[mrs.chappie]

I know what you mean, Puss, we have that problem with the starlings. They come down en-masse and clear the lot.

Mind you, at the moment we've stopped putting food out - unfortunately we have a huge rat in the garden. We have a humane trap next to the shed, where we think he's living. If we manage to catch him, we'll take him to a country park about four miles away, and hopefully he won't come back.

I feel sad because we also have a regular pheasant, we've fed him for 3 years, but have decided we can't carry on putting the food out while this big rat is present. :o(

I just hope that he has others in our street looking out for him.