Cost of thistle seed

[JimMcD in SVAZ]

Does anyone know why thistle seed has gotten so expensive?  A clerk at the local ACE Hardware thought it might be because the thistle seed (nyger) is heated to prevent germination, adding costs that most other seed doesn't have.

Lots of finches here in Sierra Vista, AZ. 

Thanks,
Jim

[Esther]

Hmm. Mine seems to germinate just fine. DArn stuff is always sprouting in the bottom of the feeder and then I have to pry it out to clean the feeder.

[ladybug]

i haven't noticed it recently going up.  to me it has always been very expensive compared to sunflower seed.  it does last longer for me.  my goldfinches have really been chowing down lately.  i just bought a big bag recently and it was like 17.96.  considering the beauty of the birds that the seed attracts, it is worth it to me.
ladybug

[Joyce]

Thistle Seed has always been expensive, and there have always been the type that is heated or coated with some kind of premerge to keep it from sprouting all over your gardens.
(along with the non treated seed that will germinate all over)
Going to a local hardware store of any type is probably the most expensive place to buy it.
Going to Lowes, HD, Kmart or Walmart is a better deal.
Our local Agway has a 'Feathered Friends' program that greatly reduces the cost of feeding birds, including Thistle Seed. 

Moral of the story: Shop Around. 

[Bonnie]

Here the cost has gone up this year along with Sunflower Seed.  Luckily Sunflower Seed has gone down alittle from what it was during the summer.   The only birds that I feed during the summer are Hummers though.

[Freddie Peepers]

We feed the birds year-round. The costs have definitely gone up. We watch for sales and then stock up. I have noticed that the goldfinches in particular seem to know when the seed gets "old". I try to not have a large inventory of thistle for that reason. Black oil sunflower seeds on the other hand, seem to keep well and when they are cheap we buy in bulk. They keep fine in clean garbage cans in the garage. I also try to get beef suet from the meat market instead of buying those prepackaged blocks. The raw suet will melt in the heat and go rancid so we only use that in the winter. It is the best thing to get the woodpeckers in

[Mikey]

I get my nyger from a feed store where I also buy my fish food.  I take a deep breath and swallow hard as I plunk down $34 for a 25lb bag......  I use an upside-down feeder to discourage house finches but even that doesn't work real well.....  I didn't know the seeds were treated to make them sterile.....

In addition to the nyger for the gold finches I also used to get the cheap bird seed to attract mourning doves.  I have since quit feeding the doves.  I had millet plants popping up everywhere but even worse was that I noticed cats coming into the yard killing the doves.

[EagleEye]

I quit buying that stuff some years ago. I was tired of them only eating the top half of the tube and throwning the bottom half away, and I'm not paying that much for bird food. I feed other stuff.
They seem pretty happy to me

Steve

[Julles]

Is it safe to feed seed that has been treated to make it sterile?  Seems like that would kill all the nutrition, too.

[Joyce]

Steve, I quit buying it too.
The gold finches eat the sunflower seed just as much as they were eating the thistle.
Plus I didn't like the idea of feeding them anything with a chemical on it, or cooked/treated food.

Also, storing it is messy too.
It's too easy to spill, and SHARP.
Ever get a seed wedged under your nail? 

[marla]

I agree seed has definatly gone up, our local Ace is actually cheaper then the Home Depot up the road from it.  During the summer the finches seem to prefer the fresh seed, I love watching them perch on the Bachlor Buttons to get seed, always amazes me that the flowers don't fall over.

[PondmaninAL]

Why buy bird feed? Just plant a garden with all the right plants.

This reminds me of when me and my present wife came to Florida to look for a house. I use to have parakeets and when we came down, we packed a lot of clothes in the car. On our way back to Alabama, we got pulled over. They thought we might have been someone who had been stealing car stereos. Well, the bird food that I had fed the parakeets had sterilized marijuana seed in it and one had fell out of the clothes and into the floor of the car. The cops found that one seed and my wife's rolling papers that she use to roll her own cigarettes with since it was cheaper than a pack of cigarettes in England. They were trying to find anything they could since they couldn't find any car stereos. That happened in Douglasville, Georgia.

[EagleEye]

Hey Scott, that's a good one . I'll have to remember that one , might just come in handy some time.
Up here in Wisconsin I don't feed the birds in the warm weather, they can find their own food. BUT, when it's winter and feet of snow on the ground, I feed them.

Steve

[LeeAnne151]

I buy black oil sunflower seeds here at the local farm store far cheaper than any other kind of store. I don't buy thistle because I don't have goldfinches here in the city.