Top 4 Ways to Feed Your Birds When You Go on Vacation

It's natural for us humans to worry about "our" birds when we're going to be gone for a few days. "What are the birds going to do???", we ask.

I assure you, they'll do just fine, but if you want to provide some foods that will last for the longest period of time after you leave, I do have a few suggestions.

WBU Birdfood Cylinders

When we're leaving home for a few days, our #1 go-to birdfood is large birdfood cylinders. Cylinders are made of a variety of seed and nuts, and some even have suet or fruit in them (with absolutely no fillers). The ingredients are compressed and held together with gelatin to form a round cylinder.

Large cylinders weigh over 4 pounds each, and they last longer than a comparable four pounds of loose seed in a hopper feeder.

When placed on a cylinder feeder with both a cover and a tray (to keep the cylinder dry and catch pieces as they break off) and on your squirrel-proof Advanced Pole System set-up, a group of cylinders will often last for many days into your absence. The Cylinder Cafe feeder with its large cover and ventilated tray is ideal for large cylinders.

To add even more cylinders to a vacation buffet, I take the hopper feeder off the top of one of my Advanced Pole System set-ups, replace it with a double crook, and hang two more cylinders feeders. When I return home, I switch back to the hopper feeder. This flexibility is one of the many advantages to the WBU Advanced Pole System!

Suet Cylinders

To provide suet while you're gone, a suet cylinder works well and lasts longer than a small suet cake. Below is a suet cylinder being enjoyed by a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. You can also put a suet cylinder in a WBU Dinner Bell feeder (pictured below with a small cylinder) that lets you lower the cover to exclude larger birds.

WBU Eliminator Feeder

Our Eliminator Squirrel-proof birdfeeder holds a lot of seed (3 quarts) to last many days into your time away. Squirrels are not eating away at the seed, so all of it is for your birds. It has weight-sensitive perches, so if you want to exclude larger birds, you can make the adjustment and the seed will last even longer.

Absolute Birdfeeder

This squirrel-resistent birdfeeder holds a LOT of seed - 10 pounds of it! Birds that tend to "sweep" at birdseed in search of the heaviest seed or nut will have a harder time doing that through the square feeder ports, so less seed is sent flying to the ground. (We say "squirrel-resistent" vs. "squirrel-proof" because we have had Red Squirrels and chipmunks figure it out.)

We fill ours with safflower seed, which the Purple Finches and grosbeaks love, but the Blue Jays don't prefer. That helps the seed last longer!

Now depending on how long you're gone and the availability of natural food sources, your results may vary, but these are the strategies I use to feed the birds as long as I can while I'm away from home. Now you can enjoy your vacation and not worry about your birds!!!

Comments

[The Zen Birdfeeder]

Patty, they just found other sources while you were gone. Fill your feeders only halfway until they realize the restaurant is open again!

[Patty]

Hi, we feed our local birds and we were away for a few days. Now we don't see the birds coming back to the feeder. Any thoughts why?

[The Zen Birdfeeder]

Thanks Linda! I'm glad you found this post helpful. Stop by often!

[Linda]

Gorgeous photos, and a very informative post. Thank you so much for sharing.

[The Zen Birdfeeder]

Thanks as always Daniel for your nice comments!

[The Zen Birdfeeder]

Barbara, I'm glad this post was useful for you.
Wild Birds Unlimited does have some stores in Canada. Here's the website to check if there's one near you. Good luck and have fun feeding the birds!
http://www.wbu.com/

[Daniel LaFrance]

Plenty of options for us backyard birders who set out feeders for our feathered friends. You've provided valuable and varied solutions for all of us. Thank you!

[Barbara]

What good strategies for keeping birds fed while you are on vacation Nancy - loved seeing these different kinds of feeders which I haven't before... being Canadian I'll have to check out our bird stores! Thanks for sharing!