I sure hope it works! I miss my bluebirds. The darn starlings and grackles have taken over! I found a site called thebirdhousechick. Has a lot of good reviews. But it looks interesting. Its called the Gilbertson Hanging Bluebird Feeder for mealworms. Probably can google and find it other places as well. Our bluebirds are big, especially the males, and none of the caged feeders work and none of the glass enclosed ones with the little holes work either.
Can someone recommend a feeder that actually works? Thank you! I am thrilled to say bluebirds have been pigging out at my tube feeder filled with only sunflower chips since mid-December!
I have added meal worms recently. I had only observed droves of bluebirds arrive here in central South Carolina in January and February, usually on very cold days. They were ground feeders then so I found it unusual when they showed up at my backyard feeders. One of the best ways to attract bluebirds to your garden is to plant winterberry Ilex verticillata. The female plants bear fruit, but you need a male pollinator. Since I had limited space, I got one small female plant, and one small male plant, and planted them together in the same hole next to my deck.
They have grown up together to form what appears to be a single clump. This winter—three years after planting—We have a bumper crop of berries and bluebirds hanging out on our deck railing. I encountered this same problem to the extent that territorial birds would claim my feeding zone and chase other birds away. I had to remove ALL bird feeders for at least three months inorder to regain territory for the less aggressive birds.
Mealworms are what attracted the larger, territorial type birds. So regretful that i cannot put mealworms out for my bluebirds I am hoping that the bird box with two very small holes on either end may provide a solution.
The modern transparent dome is big enough to cover the small round mealworm bowl when it rains. The design is elegant and easy to clean. I have a bunch of bluebirds year-round in VA. So fun to watch the babies getting fed by the parents. My problem is aggressive robins — of all things! I found out that squirrels love mealworms so I took down my dome feeder.
Was happy to see feeder 3. Hopefully will solve my problem. In a very cold, deep snowy storm, I put out leftover turkey dressing made with cornbread. The bluebirds were all over it! Since the deep snow was there for days I kept it out along with some dried mealworms and they cleaned it all up. Thank you for all your info! I am lucky to have a large number of bluebirds visit my backyard every day. They do eat seeds. I know because they frequent the hopper feeder several times a day and I use a no mess blend of sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, peanuts, etc.
They do love the freeze-dried meal worms but those I put in a fly-through feeder. They often visit the hanging platform feeder, too, where I also do not put worms. I have two houses and am seeing a lot of interest in one of them.
I have about 8 bluebirds that stay pretty much year round and will come within a few feet of us sitting on the deck. They LOVE the blue meal worm tray type feeder and guard it when meal worms are in it. They also seem to enjoy a bite of chopped up raw fruit once in a while. Beautiful birds. Plus they eat mosquitoes. I have been feeding a few peanuts daily early morning to two Blue Birds who come every day.
They love them but I am wondering if it is healthy for them? My bluebirds will ONLY eat from the seed feeder — they completely ignore the live meal worms in the feeder hanging beside the seed feeder. I have been fortunate to have bluebirds all year round. Each spring, they nest in our boxes, and currently we have four babies just born. Any suggestions on getting them to use the enclosed feeder? Want to try again this season. They also like scrambled egg no salt or pepper and cut it up fine, I also give them finely chopped apple.
They will only eat scrambled egg in the winter or cold spring not in the summer. Ensuring your garden birds get their fill while keeping your garden mess-free can be a challenge, which is where our excellent selection of wild bird mealworm feeders step up to the mark. Designed to contain the mealworm feed while allowing easy access for hungry bird beaks, all our mealworm feeders can be used with both live and dehydrated mealworms.
Shop from our great value mealworm bird feeder plus mealworm feed range and give your garden birds a delicious meaty treat, any time of the year.
All our Bird feeder products come with reward points every time you shop, and you get free UK delivery as standard on all orders over Free delivery over Home Feeders Mealworm Feeders. Open Category Filters. Click through for details. Mealworm Feeders. Wild Bird Mealworm Feeders A favourite of most wild garden birds, mealworms are an excellent source of energy and protein as well as tasting good, so serving them in a specially designed mealworm feeder is always a good idea.
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Add to Compare. One Size. Add to Basket View Product. Filter by. Compare Products. Remove This Item Compare. Clear All. The breeding and fledgling seasons are unquestionably the best because although adult birds at all times of the year will benefit from eating live mealworms , the real benefit is for young birds and fledglings in the nest.
Outside of the breeding and fledgling seasons, garden birds benefit from a supply of live mealworms simply because of the vast reduction in invertebrate numbers. Moulting is the process in which birds shed their old feathers and grow new ones in an annual process - and generally occurs after the breeding season in late summer. In addition, birds such as robins and blackbirds become more reclusive because their flight ability is often impeded, therefore they're more vulnerable to predators.
So a relatively easy supply of protein-rich and fluid-rich food close-by is hugely beneficial. In times of low rainfall, ground-feeding birds such as Blackbirds are often unable to find sufficient natural food, and in particular, earthworms, as the worms are well below ground level and in damper soil. In these conditions, live mealworms are the best food to put out for garden birds, as they're not only high in fat and protein, but also moisture which is very important when adult birds are feeding their young.
Blackbirds, Song Thrushes , Starlings and Robins will all readily feed on live mealworms. For anyone feeding the birds in their garden, there are few things more rewarding than putting out live mealworms in the breeding season. The main issue, as we see it, is that most people are keen to feed birds such as Robin, House Sparrow and Blackbird with live mealworms — with all of these species readily taking them — but larger species, such as Magpie , are not so welcome, plus Starlings will often arrive in numbers and can make short work of a bowl of food.
However, if a caged feeder is used it will allow small birds to feed and certainly keep out Magpies, Jackdaws and Starlings, but will also prevent Blackbirds from feeding, too. So, the answer is to definitely use a Caged Live Food Feeder to allow Robins and other small species to easily feed and with no risk of larger species taking the mealworms, but also provide a more limited supply in a feeder such as our Live Food Bird Feeder.
Depending on which species you have visiting your garden, it could be emptied fairly quickly, but that's just something that has to be accepted — and you can, of course, leave it for an hour or two before refilling. If the Live Food Bird Feeder is used or the slightly larger Robin Feeder , then positioning it relatively close to your house may deter larger, shyer species such as magpie from visiting it.
In addition, hanging the feeder from a tree or feeder station may also help keep larger species off as it will be difficult — though probably not impossible — for them to cling on to the feeder. That said, hanging the feeder up also makes it more difficult for blackbirds, as these species are naturally a ground feeder. Of course, the best solution will vary between different gardens and dependant on various factors and, in particular, what species of bird occur locally, but overall having both a cage feeder and an open one, which would ideally be on the ground or on a table, is the best approach.
The reason for these conditions is because it causes the mealworms hormones to go dormant and keeps them from morphing into a beetle. If stored correctly they should last several weeks. Therefore, offer live mealworms in small quantities, occasionally. Your wild birds will come to depend on your bird feeders stocked with seeds. This is true whether you feed year-round or just in the cold seasons.
During the spring, you can increase the frequency of feeding mealworms. Laying eggs and feeding youngsters is protein-intensive. If you are feeding dried mealworms: they can be offered year-round but in small quantities. You can place dried mealworms in their own feeder or mix them in with seed or suet. Your birds might not take to dried mealworms right away. You can tempt the birds to start eating them. If sitting out on their own, dried mealworms can be moistened a bit to make them more appealing.
However, do not leave damp dried meal worms out for more than a day or two. As soon as one bird catches on about the dried mealworms, its friends will partake, too. There is no hard-and-fast rule on the best type of feeders for mealworms. Some bird enthusiasts use simple, hand-made bird feeding trays.
However, the best types of mealworm feeders will have these attributes:. This picture is an example of an ideal feeder for mealworms. In case some water gets in, there are drainage holes. The feeder discourages squirrels if placed in the right spot on the window. Many hanging birdfeeders are also suitable. Bird feeders with lids or squirrel-resistant domes baffles protect the food from rain. Ideally, place the mealworms on a tray.
Laying them out helps the birds spot the wiggling if they are live and easily get at them. If they are dried, keep them sealed in their bag. Dried mealworms will last a very long time if stored without air circulation.
Live mealworms will last many months; however, you need to keep them cool. Warm mealworms will mature quickly into pupae and then beetles.
Keep them at around 40 degrees. Since this is the interior temperature of a typical refrigerator, put them in the fridge. Before refrigerating, you can make them grow a bit larger by feeding them. Small slices of potato, fresh carrot pieces and little bits of orange rind are perfect. Never add more than they can eat before it goes moldy. If the food gets moldy, your mealworms will die. When they have fattened up a bit, put them in the fridge and they will go dormant.
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