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 Barnyard Buddies
 Hummers are BACK!
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Author Barnyard Buddies: Previous Topic Hummers are BACK! Next Topic  

suny58
True Blue Farmgirl

4314 Posts

Dianna
Jack Al.
USA
4314 Posts

Posted - Mar 24 2017 :  5:27:21 PM  Show Profile
My heart is so happy today! I've had my hummingbird feeders cleaned and filled and placed out for the hummers since February 10th!!! This is when they came back last year! This year they are running late. (Hopefully not because of storms or anything!) Of COURSE I change the food and clean my feeders every 3-4 days so as NOT to make them sick! Summertime heat I change every 3 days.

Yes, hummingbirds can get VERY sick off mold and fermented fluids AND RED DYE! This is why I am mentioning the hummers to you! HOW I love them and year after year they come back to me along with a few more friends. I've learned the hard way over long years and wildlife rehabilitation experience how harmful red dye is to the hummingbird as well as not keeping your feeders cleaned properly.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/should-i-use-red-food-coloring-in-hummingbird-food/

So, with the excitement and celebration of these happy little hummers coming back to their home away from home I ask you to please think about your hummers also and care for them as you would a child. They are very dependent upon us once we place a feeder out for them. Keep it fresh, keep it filled and please keep it chemical free! I cup of WHITE sugar to 4 cups of water, bring to a quick boil and turn off. Stir until all is dissolved. You can store any left over in the fridge for up to a week! If they make your heart happy like they do mine you'll want to keep them healthy and alive!

Happy SPRING!!!

Farmgirl #7703
Dianna
"Blessed are they that see beautiful things in humble places, where other people see nothing." Pissarro

Edited by - suny58 on Mar 24 2017 5:51:32 PM

janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl

1022 Posts

Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts

Posted - Mar 24 2017 :  8:53:59 PM  Show Profile
How sweet, how many years have the hummingbirds been coming past your place? You have posted some great information regarding proper care. I have one hummingbird that makes an appearance every year in my garden usually at my tigertail bush.

Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com

Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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hudsonsinaf
True Blue Farmgirl

3162 Posts

Shannon
Rozet Wyoming
USA
3162 Posts

Posted - Mar 25 2017 :  07:06:30 AM  Show Profile
Dianna - I did not know any of that about hummingbirds. Thank you for sharing! I'll have to find out if they are in this area and put some out...

~ Shannon, Sister # 5349
Farmgirl of the Month - January 2016
http://hudson-everydayblessings.blogspot.com/
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suny58
True Blue Farmgirl

4314 Posts

Dianna
Jack Al.
USA
4314 Posts

Posted - Mar 25 2017 :  7:19:44 PM  Show Profile
Evening Jana! This is the third year we've been living on this property and the third year they have come! It was the same way at our older home that we had been at for years! The same ones would come back year after year and I began naming them! This year if the same girls come back I kind of know where they are nesting and may be able to get pictures this time! :) Thank you Jana!

Shannon, here is some info for you! I wish you great luck and pray you enjoy them as much as I do!!
http://www.wyomingextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B986.pdf

Farmgirl #7703
Dianna
"Blessed are they that see beautiful things in humble places, where other people see nothing." Pissarro
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl

1022 Posts

Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts

Posted - Mar 26 2017 :  07:01:40 AM  Show Profile
Great information Dianna, thank you!

I have a small front yard garden that includes a butterfly/hummingbird flower garden, roses and vegetable garden. It is quite the collection, one that many apartment/condo residents enjoy walking by and watching all the little critters (bees, butterflies, birds and even squirrels all living in harmony. It is a lot of work, but I too love tending and watching it grow each year. Gardening to me is such great therapy!

Jana
#7110
http://www.emhardt.com

Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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suny58
True Blue Farmgirl

4314 Posts

Dianna
Jack Al.
USA
4314 Posts

Posted - Mar 26 2017 :  09:17:06 AM  Show Profile
Omgosh Jana you rock my nature loving friend! That's so awesome! You are helping the bees too! I just got done planting MORE flowers and bushes this past week than veggies!! Lol. It so nice when others share the enjoyment from your 'therapy'! I too feel the same way. Just read an article how soil contains microbial anti depressants! Making gardening great therapy!! Lol

Farmgirl #7703
Dianna
"Blessed are they that see beautiful things in humble places, where other people see nothing." Pissarro

Edited by - suny58 on Mar 27 2017 5:30:11 PM
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl

6625 Posts

Krista
Utah
USA
6625 Posts

Posted - Mar 27 2017 :  11:13:59 AM  Show Profile
Dianna, thank you for sharing this information. I too was unaware of this. My last home had tons of hummingbirds but I have yet to see one here at my new home. Maybe if I put some food out I will see some!

Krista
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suny58
True Blue Farmgirl

4314 Posts

Dianna
Jack Al.
USA
4314 Posts

Posted - Mar 27 2017 :  5:36:44 PM  Show Profile
YW Krista! Last year I had 4 feeders out and over 20 hummingbirds! Took videos because my barista didn't believe me. She had her food out half the summer and no hummers. I asked her what she was using as food and of course she said "the red nectar from Wal-mart!" "Egads woman!" I told her, "no wonder they are not coming". Then I shared with her the above info and in less than a week she had hummers and by the end of the summer she had LOTS of hummers!!! :) She was so happy! It's really important here in the South to wash them out Often because of mold build up and the sugar water can ferment. Both of which don't make for healthy hummers! Anyway, they are a blast and I love them! Hoping you get yours and enjoy the feisty little tykes!!!

Farmgirl #7703
Dianna
"Blessed are they that see beautiful things in humble places, where other people see nothing." Pissarro
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl

13055 Posts


Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts

Posted - Aug 10 2017 :  1:21:01 PM  Show Profile
I noticed the hummingbirds are getting low in number. I've only seen two of them today.
Marly

"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross
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RachelLeigh
True Blue Farmgirl

634 Posts

Rachel
Rainier WA
USA
634 Posts

Posted - Aug 10 2017 :  4:01:49 PM  Show Profile
I had a huge onslaught of hummingbirds in June and early July, but they are gone, gone, gone now! I miss those feisty little things. We have Anna's Hummingbirds year round, so I'm not sure where they went because they don't migrate.


Farmgirl Sister #127
My blog: http://14thandoak.com
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AuntJamelle
True Blue Farmgirl

569 Posts

Jaime
South Bend Indiana
USA
569 Posts

Posted - Aug 11 2017 :  05:54:32 AM  Show Profile
We love the hummingbirds too! Always have plenty of them around in the summer months. That is one of the things I love about our property - it's far enough out of town to feel like the country - lots of wildlife, lots of bees (which I know is a good sign for the environment but can be irritating - especially when they drill into the wood beams over our deck! lol)

My son recently hung a little "decoration" on the glass doors that open onto our deck - a little circle of red paper dangling from a string - the other day a hummingbird was hovering outside trying to get at it - :)

I couldn't trust myself to keep a feeder filled regularly and I know that you have to once you start - they do become dependent as was mentioned. Same with bird feeders I've heard too.

They are like little jewels flitting around! Love them! And all the butterflies!
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katmom
True Blue Farmgirl

16962 Posts

Grace
WACAL Gal WashCalif.
USA
16962 Posts

Posted - Sep 02 2017 :  10:48:25 PM  Show Profile
yep,,, luv hummers,,,
I clean out their feeders every 3rd fill and I make my own 'nectar', a 1 to 4 ratio,,, 1c sugar to 4c water... boil water, dissolve the sugar in the water,,, then I store the nectar in the fridge.
They are so fun to watch.... and they hoover over me as I refill their feeder....

>^..^<
Happiness is being a katmom and Glamping Diva!

www.katmom4.blogspot.com & http://graciesvictorianrose.blogspot.com

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suny58
True Blue Farmgirl

4314 Posts

Dianna
Jack Al.
USA
4314 Posts

Posted - Sep 03 2017 :  08:12:50 AM  Show Profile
You are a perfect hummer mama!! Exactly the same here Grace!! I do so love my group!!!

Farmgirl #7703
Dianna
"Blessed are they that see beautiful things in humble places, where other people see nothing." Pissarro
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