What do you put in hummingbird feeders?

Answer 1

Someone wrote: It drinks boiled water cooled of with red or orange food coloring mixed with sugar.

Actually, food coloring is not good for them or necessary. Some people use it to attract the hummers, but it's better to use a red feeder. Once they find you, they don't care about colors.

The mixture is sugar & water. You don't have to boil the water, it just needs to be hot enough to dissolve the sugar. The ratio is 4 water to 1 white sugar (like mix 2/3 cup of hot water to 1/3 cup of sugar).

Answer 2

You can make your own "nectar", which is better than the store-bought nectar because it doesn't contain dye.

The ratio is one cup of sugar to four cups of water. Use cold water. Mix the sugar and water together until the sugar is completely dissolved while heating over high on your oven. Bring the mixture to a complete rolling boil and boil for one minute. Cool, and then refrigerate whatever is left that doesn't fit in your feeder.

Keeping the mixture at a complete rolling boil for one full minute is very important since this kills any bacteria that might be in the water and possibly sicken your hummingbirds.

Make sure you keep your feeder clean. In very hot weather, change the nectar at least every three days and make sure to clean the feeder well. There is no need to use soap; as a matter of fact, don't use it unless you rinse the feeder VERY well as soap can also sicken the birds. If mildew builds up on your feeder, soak in a mixture of one half cup vinegar to one gallon water and then scrub well. Remember to also rinse VERY well.

Good luck!

Answer 3

What do you put in a hummingbird feeder