Mouldy Peanuts!

[sarah]

Hello All

I have only just started feeding birds - I bought a gardman pole with all the bits on as a cheaper alternative. One month down the line I am pleased to have seen a few birds, however, on inspection this morning I have noticed my peanuts are mouldy.

I am presuming I should remove them, but having (rather stupidly) filled up the whole feeder I will be throwing rather a lot away if I throw it all out. Should I pick the mouldy ones out or just throw it all away (I am open to either, whatever is best for the birds!).

Thanks
Sarah

[Solomon]

Personally speaking, Id be inclined to get rid of the lot, just in case the mould spores have spread through the feeder. If its only the top section, it might be worth removing just that, but for the price of peanuts, I suppose you have to ask "is it worth it?"

[sarah]

Thank you Soloman, I do agree, I will throw the whole lot away and learn my lesson - I shalln't put so many in next time..

Thanks for your reply.

Sarah

[Jenny]

Hi, Sarah.

I'd definitely get rid of the peanuts, if they've gone mouldy - Solomon's right - the spores can spread. I had to chuck nearly 10 litres' worth once - been away for a weekend and came back to find that my dustbin of peanuts had been blown over and the clips broken - sodden peanuts, already going off! I was not a happy bunny! If you can spare the time, until you get more birds, don't fill the feeder so full. Oh and clean the feeder thoroughly and dry it before re-filling, just in case. Hope you get lots of birds coming in soon - you probably won't have to worry about mouldy peanuts then! J.:)

[sarah]

Hi Jenny

Thanks for your message. All are now thrown away and my feeders are clean, sadly I also noticed on thorough inspection that my fat balls also needed to be thrown away... Not very good, but as I have said, I have learnt my lesson.

It is amazing what a difference a week makes - I work full time so am away between 8am and 6pm and rarely see anything in the week. The weekend before last I only had a few sightings, but this weekend was lovely, lots of sparrows and a robin, they seemed to love the bread, horray!!

Thanks for your help
Sarah

[storye_book]

hi sarah -

don't know if this will help, but here it is -

over the years i've found that black sunflower seeds in a tube feeder will last the longest in wet weather, without going mouldy - so long as the birds are gradually using it up. however you do need to let the birds empty the feeder before refilling; i.e. don't keep topping it up when still partly full. the reason is that dust, husks and bits of seed collect at the bottom, and eventually go off. before refilling, shake any bits out of the feeder, and wash it when necessary.

niger seed will also last well in the same way - so long as you've got goldfinches eating it down, gradually.

i've found in the past that the husk-free sunflower seeds and mixes do not last so well in feeders if the birds are not eating them up fast. they also get damp in wet weather, which stops them flowing well, so you have to go out every night and tap the tube to make them flow down - but on the other hand it's worth it because husk-free seed attracts a larger variety of birds, who can't all break through husks.

i hope that helps - good luck and have fun.

[sarah]

Thanks Storye Book, that is helpful. Sadly no nyger seed for me (yet!) as I have yet to see any goldfinches (here's hoping!).

I will have to think about the black sunflower seeds, initially as you said I just bought a mixed bag of seed and didn't really think about it. I certainly had no idea about the range of foodstuffs you could buy. I am thinking about putting a feeder in a small tree/bush that is in the garden as the birds I have seen are always flying from my exisiting feeder straight into it, perhaps a smaller feeder will be better there. And as for deciding which type of bird table to buy, well that's a whole new topic! There are just so many to choose from..

Thanks again
Sarah

[Janet]

Hi all, just a quick message, not aimed at you Sarah as I know yours have gone, but for anyone reading this in the future I just wanted to emphasize the point.

Mouldy peanuts are very toxic to birds. I once heard about a bird (GSWoodpecker I think it was) that had been feeding on peanuts for about five mins when it literally fell to the floor and died. The person went out and saw the nuts were mouldy. A very tragic way to find out. I don’t know if this story is true but have no reason to think it is not.

I find they need to be checked and often replaced after just two weeks.

Hope you get more birds soon Sarah, I’m sure they’ll come to you with the cold weather.

[storye_book]

hi sarah - sorry the previous message posted itself when unfinished (don't know why). i continue:

WOODEN ROOFED TABLES ON WOODEN POLES: look nice but
a. you need long pole and dedicated squirrel baffle for wooden poles
b. you can't take the table to the tap/bucket to wash it
c. you can't raise/lower the roof to allow/exclude pigeons and crows who wolf everything and poo all over the food.

GROUND TABLES
a. must be cleaned off or removed at night or you'll get rats
b. (unless you've got foxes and badgers and night-vision bins)
c. cj's mesh-based ones are best if you're going to leave food out more than one day.

NON-WOOD HANGING OR POLE TABLES WITH MOVABLE ROOFS
a. you need a squirrel-baffle unless the food table doubles as a baffle (the bigger droll yankee ones do that)
b. you can usually lower/raise the roof to allow/exclude pooey greedy pigeons and crows.
c. you can usually dismantle it all for proper cleaning.
d. you can leave food out for a week before cleaning (depending on the food and table drainage system).

COMPROMISE
at my new feeding station, i'm trying one of cj's pole tables with mesh base - but i've used one section of pole, pushed well into the ground, so the table is only a foot high, to attract blackbirds (i hope). so far i've brought out food and worms in little containers, but of course i have to bring the stuff in at night. however we have a spare tall birdtable pole in the garden, and i'm wondering whether to put the table up on that at night. there are tawny owls passing over at night - they might come to the table if there are worms on it?? anyone tried feeding tawny owls? or do i have to tie live voles by their back legs to the table? eewww. i guess i'll have to get a pair of night-vis-bins?

good luck

[sarah]

Hi Storye Book

Thanks so much, that is really, really helpful! Assume I know nothing and then I'll learn a lot!

It is interesting that you have mentioned the pole table as this was exactly what I was thinking of getting. My only slight concern was that the food may get really wet and a roofed table would prevent this a little. I am lucky (sort of) that we have no squirrels near us as we are on a housing estate, I do, however, have a two year old and that means the added worry in the summer of a big birdtable toppling on him.. Not ideal, so I thought the pole table would be good as obviously it can be pushed firmly into the ground and I expect it is reasonably light? What you were saying about cleaning - does this mean you can easily lift off the mesh part of the table to clean it? I would be interested in this too as it would make life a lot easier if it does.

Re the feeder in the bush/tree, that was interesting, I had not thought about which food to use. It would probably be better to have the peanuts in the shelter of the bush anyway, it might stop them getting so wet. I will have a think on that one. I have yet to think about the joys of a ground table, this may be one for the future!

Thanks very much for your help, I really appreciate it. And good luck re feeding the tawny owls, I hope you keep us updated on this one!


Janet, I am glad that you cleared up this query re the mould, I had done an internet search and it hadn't really turned up a definitive answer so I am glad I finally know that they are indeed poisonous. Thanks for your reply.

Sarah

[Jenny]

Storye_book - thanks for tips about tables - my wooden one has just deceased (recent rain and gales too much for it) and a replacement is needed. Fortunately no squirrels (though would love some reds) here.

Your comment about tawnies has led me to put up another thread.

[storye_book]

hi sarah

glad to be of help here and there. a few points you bring up:

WEIGHT OF CJW MESH BIRDTABLE:
(a) the wooden frame does make it quite heavy, and you wouldn't want it falling on a toddler. it wouldn't fall off by itself (provided the toddler couldn't reach it) because it fits on the top of the pole using the standard cjw plastic plug. however as the child gets stronger, he/she could theoretically pull over the top parts of the sectional pole (my opinion only). i guess it depends on the child and how they grow up used to that kind of thing. my four-year-old granddaughter wouldn't interfere with birdfeeding furniture, though she would definitely put the seeds in her mouth if not given her own bird-bread in advance. however we've fixed almost all of the birdfeeding stuff well out of her reach.
(b) i had expected to be able to lift the birdtable easily with one hand to the tap, and brush it clean with the other hand, but i'm a wimp (getting on a bit plus osteoporosis) and the wooden frame does make your arm ache, doing that every day. so i started by putting all the food on lids/dishes and washing those each night instead. i had to do that with the worms anyway. then i got another little 8in square mesh birdtable (made by gardman) at my local petshop. i wish cjw would make one that fits on a pole. this is light to carry and clean, and just big enough to hold enough food for the day. i put it and the worm bowl on the cjw table - so it's out of the way of rodents, squirrels, etc, and cleaning is no longer a problem.

CJW MESH TABLE CONSTRUCTION: no, you can't remove the mesh for cleaning - the table has to be cleaned all in one piece. that said, it's very well made, and would last for years. if you were to fill it with just feeder seed or ground seed, and clean the table once a week, the rain would do no harm in my opinion. but in my garden the table would have to be positioned out of the reach of rats if there was food in it overnight - so in my case i've had to forego that luxury, because i wanted the table low down for blackbirds etc.

[Jenny]

I'm with you there, Storye book. I would love a lightish weight mesh feeder on a pole - come on CJ - idea for 2007! With our winds, their poles stand up to some really serious battering - hence death of two wooden ones due to rain and wind!

Good point about the ground feeder, though there's often not much left and the hedgehogs often clear that up before rats get a look in!

A tip for anyone who has a steam cleaner and bird tables relatively close to the power source - you can use this to loosen up any soggy seed etc. on a bird table that's otherwise heavy and awkward to move - makes cleaning much easier. Of course, you need an RCD and observe safety issues, but I've found it very useful.

[storye_book]

hi jenny

thanks for the idea about the steam cleaner. meanwhile we've got a pressure hose for the cobbles. hmm . . .

[Jenny]

Hi there, Storye Book

Think the PSI in pressure washer might be a little harsh?? :confused:

Reckon I'll get slated for having a steam cleaner and using all that electricity but the plus side in no chemicals!

Does your pressure washer deal effectively with moss on drives, bitumen paths and slime on patios? I'm not using it for my car - I have a genuinely off road dirty small 4x4 on lpg and do not clean it - helps avoid abuse from the type of visitors who drive hundreds of miles here, whinge about our patchwork quilt of filled potholed apology for roads and then wonder why many of us have 4x4s!! :rolleyes: But I have a moss nightmare and with a very elderly mum who's not too hot on her pins if a pressure washer would deal with the problem it's a million times better than the chemicals.

It might also help clear off the undoubted offerings I'm likely to get on my next project - a drying tent - no more tumble dryer (unless emergencies/time factor)! These are made of heavy duty plastic but have consulted experts and the CO2 from manufacture should be offset in 18 months - even running the tumble dryer for four hours a week. Their lifespan is 15-20 years so should be on the plus side at the end!

Have a good Christmas, J

[storye_book]

hi jenny

sorry i was being funny. the pressure washer would blow the birdtable across the road.

but seriously it does clean off moss and slime from paths. we have yorks sandstone victorian cobbles out the front, and yorks paving down the side: it de-slimes the lot. but sandstone is soft, and we worry that if we use it too much it will take the surface off these antique cobbles. i do find that if i can sweep the side path daily, it doesn't slime up. trouble is - there's so much going on that there isn't always time for that.

it's worth adding that people don't need to use chemicals in pressure washers: we've found that sliming-up reoccurs as quickly with chemicals as without chemicals. in our area the water from pressure washers goes straight into the storm drains which drain directly into the beck. this beck contains a brown trout breeding area, and supports various other wildlife. i've asked the council to inform the public but nobody cares.

good luck with your tent. for years we've dried all our washing on the line outside and on radiators when it rains - but i suppose radiators leave carbon footprint thingies? i don't know about all that stuff. maybe you can enlighten me?

happy xmas

[sarah]

Hi Storye book

Thanks for your message, I received my pole table last week and it was a good buy. I am not quite sure how many birds are using it yet (work really is getting in the way of watching out for birds!), but hopefully with a week off around Christmas I may see some more action!

It is a very good design and was so easy to put together, I was very impressed.

Thanks for your help and merry Christmas to all.

Sarah

[Solomon]

Increase airflow and cut back overhanging trees to prevent moss/slime. It will only grow where its cool and damp.

[Jenny]

Hi Solomon! In our climate (cool, wet and very windy) here, the moss is growing like mad! The two big trees are pollarded and don't overhang the paths and driveway. So I'm not quite sure what I can do. This is why I'm asking how effective a pressure washer would be in loosening the darn stuff! :confused:

[Jenny]

Storye book - yeah gathered you were joking - just hit the wrong smiley!!

Anyway, thanks for the comments and the tips - like you don't have time for daily sweeping. Bit shocked about your storm drains emptying in to the beck, but then our storm drains are usually blocked so they flow down the road (usually creating vast potholes, the debris from which adds to the problems) !

No radiators - storage heaters - and no AGA!!! (Had 3 houses with Aggies and MISS having one!) Plus not a lot of places to stand drying inside with dog and proper wood floors. Hence tumble dryer. Use washing line whenever possible, but it does mean that you have to be home and keep a weather eye out - hence drying tent! Latter will probably infuriate new neighbours to be in new houses being built , but their homes are being built on land where oak trees are being taken out - no real energy saving devices being put in new build here! However, it is being screened (more trees and large shrubs) - the snag is that that these will block not only their view of my drying tent but their "superb views over the bay" and their view of my bedroom! We've (jokingly) been suggesting a (low energy of course) red light over the back door! ;)

Anyway, this has come a long way from original posting and subsequent bird tables (my fault for digressing) so had better shut up and just wish all a merry Christmas.

[Solomon]

Even a 100bar pressure washer will shift moss, but it wont stop it from growing back.

Wickes sell a fairly cheap 100bar washer - http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/167258 - but they sometimes have "up to 40% discounts" on them, so don't rush out if you want to save.

Is the drive perfectly level, with no slope? Can water sit on it and form small puddles, instead of running off?