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WILDLIFE LEARNING CENTER
After getting a hummingbird feeder, the next step is to fill it. You have two choices at this point: you can either buy one of the commercial mixtures or you can make your own.
Homemade Mixture Recipe
1 part sugar (do not use honey)
4 parts water
Boil for 1 to 2 minutes, let cool.
You can store any extra in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
The concentration of the sugar is important. We recommend a 1 to 4 ratio of sugar to water because it approximates the ratio of sugar to water found in the nectar of many hummingbird flowers.
Boiling the solution helps retard fermentation. Sugar and water solutions are subject to rapid spoiling, especially in hot weather. Do not leave sugar and water in a hummingbird feeder for more than 48 hours when the temperature is over 65 degrees.
Never Offer Honey
Do not use any honey or artificial sweeteners in place of sugar when making a feeding solution. Honey ferments easily and can cause a fungus that affects the hummingbirds' tongues and can be fatal. Artificial sweeteners should be avoided because they have absolutely no food value, nor do they provide the birds the calories that they need.
Is Sugar Enough?
Wild hummingbirds get their nutrition by eating many other things besides the sugar water from feeders and the nectar from flowers. All hummingbirds eat a substantial number of small insects and spiders, gleaning them from twigs and leaves like warblers or catching them in the air like flycatchers. They also eat the tiny insects inside the flowers where they get their nectar.
Commercial Mixtures
There are now commercial instant nectar mixtures available for use in hummingbird feeders. Some are powders to which you just add water. Others come pre-mixed as a liquid containing pure water, vitamins, and minerals to which you just add sugar.
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