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House Finches fluttering around hanging seed feeder, Arizona

Are bird feeders Good or Bad idea

When looking for the good and bad in a feeder its important to remember, with all the bad things a feeder can lead to, bird feeders are only going to benefit our wild birds.

Bird feeders continue to be a good idea as they remain an important device to feed birds who have come to rely upon them on a daily basis. If you can keep up with the willingness to feed birds, it will pay off. Where bird feeders are a bad idea is due to poorly kept feeders that must be maintained.

What I haven't touched on is that bird feeders can be a lot of work whilst you can feel like you are responsible to your backyard birds who come to rely on you for food.

Indeed it can feel intimidating but to give bird feeders time you'll soon get used to the idea.

In fact, in due course the idea of replenishing bird feeders can give you a buzz with the effort to attract the regulars - and with the idea of spotting new bird species coming to your bird feeder, an exciting prospect.

Rest assured bird feeders can only be a good idea because after all, they only exist to feed birds.

Feeding birds can come at a cost initially but to buy bulk bird food can last for months.

What can be the downside to bird feeders is really on your shoulders; bird feeders are safe to use but poorly maintained bird feeders can lead to bacteria being ingested by your wild birds.

Scary as this can be it can also be avoided if you clean all bird feeders at least twice a month - along with switching out old bird food one to two times a month. Keeping in mind, bird feed must be throw out as soon as you clean feeders.

Feeders can be the cause of Salmonella being passed around in our yards, with local law enforcement advising against feeding birds in feeders until the mostly localized health hazard has been resolved.

Good idea when taking care

If you can keep up your enthusiasm for continuing to feed birds via your one or multiple bird feeders in your yard - then absolutely are bird feeders a good idea to use.

Enthusiasm can slowly twiddle the longer it goes on when bird feeders simply don't get used very often.

Its important to remember bird feeders can be used regularly on a daily basis, if only when birds find them for the first time. Its only thereafter can a group of bird feeders be used quite frequently.

First thing to do is find a way to attract birds to a new feeder, then you can proceed to follow this up with bringing even more birds to an improved bird feeder setup; which would of been refined over several months.

Bird feeders are very good for our common backyard birds as the most common ones come to our feeders - namely Sparrows or Finches - can come to rely on bird feeders of which, birds risk starving if feeders are taken away.

Take care of your bird feeders for as long as its takes to attract birds to them, then continue to replenish multiple feeders with difference kinds of bird food if you are ever going to stand a chance are bringing birds to your yard.

Bad if poorly maintained

With the positives of owning and operating just the one feeder while multiple bird feeders are needed if birds are ever going to find it - allow me to spell out what is bad about bird feeders - and what you can do to correct it.

What the bad stuff comes down to is simply a poorly maintained and cleaned bird feeder of any type - that lacks any care and attention on your behalf.

Bird feeders cannot be filled up with the corresponding bird food its made for, then with you probably hoping the feed gets eaten in a timely manner.

Early on when setting up bird feeders for the first time can take weeks or months until birds begin to show up.

With that in mind its important to maintain your feeders as frequently as you can.

What that entails is throwing out old bird food stored within a feeder two to three times a month - along with cleaning bird feeders one or two times a month. Frequency of cleaning bird feeders can depend on time of year or how quickly bird food is eaten up.

When bird feeders can be bad personally, is when they can effectively attract rats to the feeders - or indeed the feeders attract nuisance animals like raccoon's or squirrels rather than the wild birds they're intended for.

And with lack of regular maintenance on any kind of bird feeder, of course the likelihood of bacteria transmission to humans - although the risk is very low if maintaining personal hygiene - it can be problematic if feeders are never cleaned.

Worst still an unkempt bird feeder can be a breeding ground for Salmonella which can kill birds, who continue to pass it on at the feeder.

Bird feeder food relied upon

While bird feeders certainly can be both good and bad, its important to remember bird feeders can only be a good idea after all.

Why that is because wild birds can often struggle to forage when natural food in the wild as become scarce due to changing weather; which would be a cause in summer when in drought - or in winter when the ground has frozen over.

Bird feeders can guarantee one thing, and that is bird feeder adapted birds know there's food to be had.

Nothing like what they eat in the wild but readily available wild bird food to put in bird feeders can subsidize their diet for the time being.

In fact, some wild birds have been found to rely upon bird feeder food throughout their entire lifetime.

Its true though, your common backyard bird can come to rely on bird feeders being filled up with food that is close to their diet in the wild; thus its vital bird feeders continue to be used every day to keep wild birds fed.

Where you place the bird feeder can depend on your backyard layout, or indeed if you have limited space on the balcony or indeed if a window bird feeder must be utilize.

Birds who come to feeders aren't always able to use the more restricting but compact, hanging type of bird feeders, even if they are seen to try.

If you want your bird feeders, or indeed bird food to be accessible to all wild birds, its important to mix up different kinds of feeders to match the birds compatibility - whilst bird food in use can cater to many dietary needs.

You can use bird feeders that hang but what makes a good bird feeder are the feeder types that are open to the elements, thus the bird food contained within remains accessible to many bird species.

Summary

Bird feeders are good for your well-being whilst remaining a vital source of quality feed that we subsidize our birds when food otherwise disappears in the wild; temporary or permanently due to changing weather or seasons.

Bird feeders can continue to provide wild birds food in a safe and secure manner whereby keeping nuisance wildlife well off the food with feeders, intended for birds.

Of course all that doesn't matter if you can't keep up with your commitment to feeding birds in your yard.

Eagerness to feed birds can quickly twiddle when birds don't ever seem to be using feeders, let alone eating the bird feed you happen to have laid out at great expense.

Continue to attract birds to bird feeders in the way you know how because in time, your time and effort will pay off.

Why bird feeders can be a bad idea above anything else is due to cleanliness and maintenance.

For anyone to operate just the one or multiple bird feeders at the same time, you must at least once or twice a month clean the feeders with a disinfectant to kill off bacteria.

Bad as this can be, it can be resolved if you can at least keep up with a regular cleaning routine.

In the end, you're doing all this for birds who can come to rely on your particular bird feeders everyday - with bird food available that is a close match to what these birds would normal forage for in the wild.

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