The choice of bird food on the shelf in the garden centre can be bewildering, and not to mention expensive. And, did you know that some mixes are stuffed with cheap filler ingredients which only keep the pigeons happy? Why not invest in a premium, balanced mix that will satisfy all our feathered friends through the year, and giving them the nutritional balance to live a happy and healthy life!
Having bumper value packs delivered to your doorstep means you’ll never run dry, and can be a reliable source food-stop for your neighbourhood birds too. Home delivery also allows you to order bigger, heavier packs that last longer.
Gardening Expert Richard Jackson has been busy studying the bird food market, and chose to develop his own formula which addresses the shortfalls of ‘off the shelf’ mixes. Many birds up and down the UK have been enjoying the Premium High energy bird food blend for 5 years now. Richard talked to leading experts across Europe, blending different formulas and adding a few fresh and before unknown ingredients.
Richard, and many customers of the shopping channel QVC, have been delighted with the results in their gardens, with some gardeners being kind enough to call it “the best bird food they’ve ever used”.
Soon to be available as a 24 hour special offer on QVC, Richard has written exclusively for Mr Plant Geek about the reasons why this Premium High Energy bird food mix will make the birds in your garden happy:
1. Uncompromising on quality
When Richard noticed that the quality of the bird food had begun to deteriorate, he decided to develop a better type of bird food. Experimenting with many different bird foods. he discovered some are much better than others! Shockingly, many are packed with fillers like wheat (sometimes making up to 50% of the mix), which the RSPB states have no real nutrimental benefit and are only suitable for pigeons. Richard’s blend has a total of 13 ingredients, with no filler.
2. Giving the birds the energy they need
This Premium High Energy bird food is packed with all-important extra energy. Part of the innovative ‘energy shot’ to the mix is the addition of suet pellets. As a high energy superfood, the high fat content of suet provides the birds with a fast-acting source of energy, helping year round. All in all, this mix offers up to four times the amount of energy compared with standard bird food.
3. An unrivalled source of nourishment
Each ingredient was chosen for its unique nutritional benefit, and especially their oil, protein, vitamin and energy levels. For example, there’s a high percentage of sunflower hearts, a rich source of oil and protein for all birds, and as oyster grit, which provides a natural source of calcium essential in the breeding season. Other ingredients include naked oats, red dari, red millet, kibbled peanuts, canary seed, white dari, suet pellets, hempseed, nyger seed and Japanese millet. Regular wild bird seed has up to 10% oil-rich (energy rich) seeds, while high energy feeds tend to have a minimum of 20% oil-rich seeds, the Premium High Energy blend has 34%!
4. It’s for all species of bird in your garden
The specially formulated mix actually comprises 11 different seeds, which is designed to appeal to different size birds, with different sized bills. Once you get into birdwatching, you’ll notice that greenfinches (with their bigger bills) enjoy the larger seeds, whilst goldfinches prefer smaller seeds like nyger. You’ll also notice that the robins have a penchant for the suet pellets!
5. You only need one feed all year round
There’s a bewildering range of bird food to choose from in the garden centres and pet shops. Richard counted up to 22 different feeds, ranging from winter warmers to special feeds for specific birds. Was this simply a marketing ploy or distinctly different formulas? Either way, Richard has created a mix that supersedes all 22 of those mixes, and attracts the widest range of birds, all year round. The spring breeding period and summer fledging stages are periods that are often be overlooked with some blends, but the Premium High Energy caters for them perfectly!
6. The mix has all the winter essentials
Energy is crucial during the winter months, and some birds can spend up to 85% of their day seeking out food just to survive. Without food reserves, smaller birds can also consume up to 30% of their own body weight each day. It’s clear that they need a helping hand from us.
7. The blend is versatile
There are a number of ways that we feed our birds in the garden. You’ll find that the composition of this formula mix allows you to use it in all sizes of feeder, on bird tables, or sprinkled onto the ground, so even the shy birds can get their feed!
8. Less mess!
The Premium High Energy blend is an ‘eat all’ mix, and doesn’t include any husks, meaning less waste around bird tables and dripping from feeders. For example, by mixing in sunflower hearts rather than sunflower seeds, the birds can eat and disgust them quicker and easier, and you won’t be sweeping up every day!
9. Bring life to your garden
One of the biggest enjoyments in the garden can be feeding the birds. The parade of different shapes, sizes and colours will be a constant source of enjoyment to you, and kids will love it too! Once the local birds get to know that your feeders are stocked with the very best, they’ll be flocking, and bringing colour, life and sound to the garden with them!
10. Untouchable value!
With many gardening products, it pays to buy larger packs when possible. However, how can you easily get those hulking great packs from the shop to your home? Mail order is the answer! And, did you know that smaller bags cost proportionately much more because VAT is included in their price. Bags weighing more than 12.5kg are much better value as they are VAT free, so you know it all makes sense!
The mix keeps improving too!
After developing the original mix, Richard added extra energy-rich sunflower hearts and added protein-rich dried mealworms (which young fledglings enjoy)in 2017. With 2018’s formula, he has added more high energy suet pellets, which are one of the ingredients that birds love the most, and which does the most good!
Tune in to QVC from midnight on Saturday 6th January 2018 to see Richard’s full presentation of the Premium High Energy bird food mixture, and to order your own superb value pack, saving £9 on the normal price.