Is Baking Bird Seed
A Smart Thing To Do?

Baking Bird Seed

Among the most often-asked questions heard at birdfeeding.org is, "Should I bake bird seed to stop sprouting when it falls to the ground?"

birdfeeding.org simply does not recommend baking seed because it may change the value of its nutritional content, which defeats the purpose of using it in the first place.

According to Karen Burns at ETO Sterilization, Inc., in heat treatment experiments, conventional baking of sunflower seeds did not stop its germination.

Dave Dornacker at the Knight Seed Company added, "Sunflower seeds will dry out in the oven, and in the microwave all the oil that runs out will make a mess."

Time favors sprouting seeds. If the birds don't eat what you put out fast enough, what falls to the ground will germinate.

Inexpensive seed, packaged with lots of filler such as milo that many birds do not eat, often gets kicked out of the feeder. But the ground feeding birds won't eat it either.

Adequate trays placed underneath all your

Super Spiral Finch feeder (Highly Recommended)

feeders will minimize waste as well as the problem of sprouting weeds. There are wonderful attachments available for almost every kind of feeder.

birdfeeding.org suggests using a reasonable amount of packaged seed in an appropriate feeder fitted with a tray.

If there's anything left over after the ground feeding birds have visited, get out your rake -- or your vacuum.

But maybe noted wild life biologist Scott Shalaway, who agrees with birdfeeding.org's position, said it best: "Baking seed is just another step that makes enjoying backyard birds a bit more complicated."

©2003 birdfeeding.org

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