The price of Sunflower Hearts and Peanuts

[nightshade]

I ran out of Sunflower hearts and Peanuts, so took my first run in the car for six weeks. Jolleys being open on a Sunday got the business ..... almost!
13 kilos of sunflower hearts had gone up from arond £21 to £25 the chinese are growing more confectionry quality seeds and have cut back on bird food seeds
Same with the peanuts, big price hike, due to shortage.
The giant Chinese economy (now the worlds 3rd largest) has cornered the commodities markets, metals etc.

[Kayleigh]

I am worried with all the price rises over the next year our birds will suffer as people will prioritise where the income goes and the birds will be low on the list, its frightening..
I will have to look elsewhere for seeds as my usual seeds from Haiths have filled them out with the less palatable striped sunflower seeds I spent £40 on seeds I have had to make into fat balls as the birds will not touch them otherwise.

[RobinP]

My local supplier charges £27 for 22.5 kilos of hearts, they come from Canada.

Robin

[Deb London]

I pay around £ 25 for 13 kg (RSPB). I have to budget quite tightly and part of the reason I'm thinking of growing a patch of teasel is because of the cost (as well as reducing disease risk).

[JeffH]

Prices have rocketed around here as well. On my last visit to my local supplier I spent £63 on a 20kg bag of mixed seed, a 13kg bag of sunflower hearts and a 20 kg bag of peanuts.

What with the Badgers and Muntjacs getting through a bowl of hearts and peanuts every night and the birds emptying my feeders on a daily basis I'm going to have to start rationing

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers, Barn Owls and Avocets)

[RobinP]

22.36KGS SUNFLOWER HEARTS

[nightshade]

Thats very good @£1.52 per kilo including postage (£7) thank you RobinP

[FUDGEY]

I was spending £70 a week at one stage in the cold weather. My feeding station has over 20 feeders and they were getting emptied daily. I also have a few in my garden and some at my work. Down to around £30 now thanks to the Sparrowhawks being there more than not I spent £70 a week on cigs but I quit 6 months ago so dont grudge it one bit.

[darrenm]

I am not having a dig at anyone here before anyone gets upset and i am not questioning the ethics of feeding wild birds in gardens or elsewhere and overall feel we are doing a lot of good when wild bird populations here are up against so many factors.

Like of people here i enjoy feeding my local wild bird populations in my garden and upon a a local nature reserve where i do some work on a regular basis and i feel i am doing some good but it does make me wonder at times what the real cost and affect it is to the natural Biodiversity of the area or country in which these crops are grown.

A lot of these seed products are being supplied to the wildbird/ petfood food trade from other countries because we do not have the climate to produce these crops on mass and it makes me wonder if we are not helping to lessen Biodiversity in these countries/areas and not seeing the real cost on a much wider scale. Also how much in the way of pesticide and herbicides are being used in the production of these crops???.

In short a lot of the time we do not know what is happening in a lot of the countries or areas where these crops are grown so we can continue feed our own wild garden bird populations and help maintain them. Maybe the real cost on a wider scale is more than financial.

[darrenm]

Maybe with the way things are across the board in financial terms today a lot more of us could consider growing some of our own wild bird food in our gardens if we have the space. We would also know that the plants havnt been subjected to pesticides and herbicides and would be hleping to lessen the impact of importing wild bird food and we would also be helping local insect populations too. I am cramming my newly dug garden with a lot of sunflowers soon and a few other plants which wildlife prefer and dont care if the nieghbours get upset