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Feeding robin .

alfmurph
alfmurph Posts: 233 Forumite
Eighth Anniversary 100 Posts
Have positioned garden pot full of compost under a tree trunk to feed robin seeds dailly .    -----     Unfortunately neighbours pigeons have discovered the hiding place .    -------     How to keep them away any ideas .

Comments

  • singhini
    singhini Posts: 1,197 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Try robin friendly feeder or scatter the food in anumber of places. Also think about feeding early in the morning when Robins are more active and pigeons less so.

    I personally fill an empty plastic takeaway food container and scatter that across a 4-6 foot area and let them all have a bit (Wrens, Robins, Crows, Blackbirds, Pigeons, Jackdaws, Magpies). 

    12.5kg bag of seed from B&M £6.49   (lasts about 3 weeks)

    PS dont forget to stick a bowl or two of water out aswell 

    Thanks for feeding the wildlife 👍 
    I have a tendency to mute most posts so if your expecting me to respond you might be waiting along time!
  • Sapindus
    Sapindus Posts: 706 Forumite
    500 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper
    I had a window feeder for my robin.  After a while if it was empty he would sit and stare at me.  Then it got to the point that when I put my hand out to fill it up, he would be there before I'd shut the window.  So shortly after that I had him coming to my hand.

    I say "he" because in the breeding season Mrs Robin would sit in the tree and wait for him to bring her treats.  She wouldn't come to my hand.

    I fed them suet nibbles.  Never had a problem with pigeons coming to the window feeder.
  • twopenny
    twopenny Posts: 8,148 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Try mealworms. Robins naturally eat worms and bugs that's why they follow you round the garden when you're disturbing stuff.
    I pigeon proofed the bird table by putting a bit of fleece making the entrance smaller reducing the pigeon getting in.
    Also a block of fat with mealworms.

    The pigeons then will clear up any dropped seed so you don't get rats.

    This is a good site 
    https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/12/what-do-robins-eat/

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  • p00hsticks
    p00hsticks Posts: 14,745 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Yes, I was also going to recommend mealworms
  • Dustyevsky
    Dustyevsky Posts: 2,823 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Homepage Hero Photogenic
    We have hanging feeders of different types offering a variety of food, ranging from tiny niger seed to peanuts and fat balls. The pigeons and doves never try to eat from those. They do, however, make themselves useful, cleaning-up after the smaller birds. Robins swing both ways, on the feeders and the ground.
    "A week is a long time in politics." Harold Wilson
  • Slinky
    Slinky Posts: 11,328 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Don't forget to soak mealworms before feeding them to the birds. Dried ones will cause dehydration.
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