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What do you feed your robins?

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  • 21-12-2010 3:19pm
    #1
    HardyEustace
    Registered Users Posts: 1,462 ✭✭✭


    I've a lovely robin arriving in the garden now.

    I've peanut feeders, sunflower seed feeders and mixed seed feeders up.

    On the ground I'm scattering multi-seed mix and a high energy mix which is like granola. I've started putting out halved apples (I know the black bird eats these).

    However what can I put out for the robin? I have googled it and noticed they mentioned meal worms. Where can I get these? Where do I store them? (I'm in a house share so I'm sure my house mates wouldn't bet thrilled with a fridge full of worms.

    Thanks


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    #2
    littlebug
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,832 ✭✭✭littlebug


    Hi HardyEustace,
    Your birds came back then!

    You can get dried mealworms in Woodies or any of the garden centres I imagine (I got mine in McGaughs). They come in a tub. No need for refrigeration!


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    #3
    HardyEustace
    Registered Users Posts: 1,462 ✭✭✭HardyEustace


    Yes, birds are back with a vengeance!

    In fact, I'd say I've about forty in the garden at certain times. I'm getting a much wider variety as well. And far more ground feeders so I've started scattering food a lot more now.

    Will search for the meal worms this evening.

    Thanks.


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    #4
    kincsem
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,013 ✭✭✭kincsem


    I was out the back of the house at 15:00 trying to re-insulate the garden tap and pipe. Its frozen so probably too late. It is now bubblewrapped.

    When I was out here a robin landed on top of the birdfeeders (3 x sunflower; 1 x nyjer; 2 x fat cylinders). The robin was singing his head off. On the ground I have a seed tray. I filled it this morning with a robin friendly mix. I had a look and saw there was two inches of fresh snow on it. I filled a kettle with water from the hot tap in the kitchen and melted the snow on the seed tray. The robin was down feeding in a flash. Clever fellow. He got the message to me. :)


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    #5
    doctor evil
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,114 ✭✭✭doctor evil


    I put some grated cheese out for the Robin and Wrens. The Robin will also take apple and will sit at the bird feeder which has sunflower seeds, fat covered oats, niyjer (sp?) seed and spilt peanuts.

    I made two small fat balls with crushed oat bikkies, let over mars bar, raising and glace fruit. They are in two containers dangling from the top of the feeder I too have lots of halved apples out. It did not stop snowing at all today!


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    #6
    BengaLover
    Registered Users Posts: 2,090 ✭✭✭BengaLover


    I bought a 20kg sack of layers mash, normally for hens, but high in protein and comes nicely seeded and not in a size that could choke them..
    Only costs under 10 euro a bag and will last forever.
    You can buy 3kg bags of mixed corn for 3,50 a bag too, in poultry/farm supply shops.


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    #7
    Wheelnut
    Registered Users Posts: 977 ✭✭✭Wheelnut


    I hope I'm not hijacking by asking a related question... how big is a robin's territory? We presently have bird feeders in the back garden of a bungalow and there is a very bossy robin there who seems to be ruling the roost. However, I sometimes see a robin at the front of the house and I don't know if it's the same bird or a different bird. I might think about putting a feeder at the front if it's a different bird.


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    #8
    Kess73
    Registered Users Posts: 25,560 ✭✭✭✭Kess73


    Wheelnut wrote: »
    I hope I'm not hijacking by asking a related question... how big is a robin's territory? We presently have bird feeders in the back garden of a bungalow and there is a very bossy robin there who seems to be ruling the roost. However, I sometimes see a robin at the front of the house and I don't know if it's the same bird or a different bird. I might think about putting a feeder at the front if it's a different bird.


    It can vary in how big it is. Can be anything from a small garden in size right up to about an acre. Really depends on how big the robin population is in an area.

    I have a situation that is similar to what you think you have, in that one robin has his territory at the back of the house and in the trees behind the house, and another robin has set up camp towards the front of the house. I often have them singing at the same time from each garden.

    The one at the front of the house is one of this year's batch and he has hand fed from me from before he fledged into his full colours. He will come to the window to be fed, and will respond to being spoken to. As in if I pull the car into the driveway and he is up the tree. I can talk to him and he will come down to the branch level with my face and give a little subsong. He also knows not to wait on the windowsill for food until he gets a tap on the window. He will sit on a branch or in a bush and stare, and will not fly out until I tap the window with my finger.

    The robin out the back is an older bird who got the territory when my regular adult bird out there died this year.

    In colder weather the lines between territories can get a bit blurred though as need for food can cause them to overlap, and you may also find that you get an extra robin that gets tolerated as in many cases a female robin loosely pairs up with a male on his territory in preperation for the breeding season a few months later.


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