Offering This Food To Hummingbirds In Your Yard Is A Risk You Don't Want To Take

To attract hummingbirds to the yard, many people use store-bought and DIY hummingbird feeders filled with nectar. These feeders generally work pretty well, although they may attract insects and other animals as well. Hummingbirds spend a lot of time eating, so you may eventually start to wonder if there's anything else you can provide them with. Many people go a step beyond providing hummingbirds with a hummingbird feeder and feed them all sorts of other food as well. Unfortunately, doing so is often a big mistake. Hummingbirds can't eat just anything, and certain foods are dangerous to them.

In particular, you should avoid feeding hummingbirds foods such as bread, chips, and crackers. Hummingbirds can't digest these starchy foods very well, and they don't provide valuable nutrients that contribute to their well-being. As with all birds, bread won't provide calories that hummingbirds can metabolize properly – it won't keep them warm or give them the energy needed to escape predators. It will fill up their stomachs and prevent them from eating more nutritious foods. This is especially true of small birds such as hummingbirds. Hummingbirds could end up freezing to death quickly if it gets cold in the night. In addition, these foods can also be challenging for hummingbirds to eat and can cause them to choke. Avoid giving them bread and other starchy foods if you want to ensure the hummingbird population in your yard continues to grow and thrive.

If you want to try feeding hummingbirds something besides nectar, there are a few options you can consider. A hummingbird's diet generally consists of plenty of insects, including aphids, fruit flies, mosquitoes, and beetles. Some suggest that placing a piece of rotting fruit in a dish or compost pile in your yard can be worthwhile since it will attract small insects and fruit flies that hummingbirds feed on. For example, an overripe banana could attract hummingbirds to your yard easily. On the other hand, some advise against this since the hummingbirds may also end up eating bacteria on the fruit in addition to the insects.

Alternatively, you can also try providing fresh fruit to hummingbirds. Try hanging some ripe fruit near a feeder for hummingbirds to feed on. Ripe, juicy fruits such as oranges tend to work best. Hummingbirds like the high sugar content of the fruit, and it can serve as a good food source for them. However, avoid overdoing it and only feed them fruit in moderation since too much can lead to digestive issues. Of course, the best option for feeding hummingbirds is to simply add more plants and flowers that they absolutely love to your yard. Flowering plants provide plenty of nectar for hummingbirds to survive on and will attract them without the risks associated with feeding them non-traditional types of foods.