WILD BIRDS

The Bird Food Standards Association

In their passage from country of origin to your bird table or feeder, bird food products are likely to change hands several times. It was in the spring of 1989 that a group of concerned companies involved in the bird food trade decided that there was need to regulate the standard of products sold for wild bird feeding and the Bird Food Standards Association (BSA) was formed. "Safe Nuts" scheme was the first initiative of the BSA and set out to confront a real risk to the health of garden birds in the forms of aflotoxin poisoning. Johnston & Jeff Ltd were one of the founder members of the BSA and all nuts supplied by Johnston & Jeff have been tested as free from aflotoxin and the logo is a seal of quality approval for this commodity.

Top Feeding Tips

Your help to the wild birds will be appreciated by them and I hope that you receive much reward in your garden.
Please remember that these birds rely on regular food from these feeding points and once you have started to feed please do not stop. Your local pet shop is a good source of advice on all feeders and foods available and will be pleased to help you with your requirements.

1. The more feeding stations you have available the more birds you will attract to your garden.
2. The wider variety of food you have available the more birds you will attract to your garden.
3. Carefully choose the positions in which you place your feeders.
4. It is advisable to make fresh water available.
5. ONCE YOU HAVE STARTED DON'T STOP!

A Guide To Feeding: When, What & Where.

When To Feed:

We should be feeding our wild birds NOW.
Many people think this advice only applies to the winter months when wild birds need a higher proportion of fat to maintain their body heat. Wrong!
For a variety of reasons, many birds are not able to get the nourishment they need to stay fit & healthy enough to cope with their strenuous lives. Feeding birds through the winter helps them survive and also gets them in condition for spring breeding. Often when their young are born, adult birds go without food to ensure their young are fed properly. They are therefore still reliant on us for food.


What To Feed - Our Selection:

If you wish to see many different varieties of birds in your garden, a wide selection of food is recommended.

Standard Wild Bird Food
Wheat, Small Cut Maize, Black Oil Sunflower, Natural Groats, White Millet, Rapeseed, Linseed.
Available in:- 25kg - 4kg - 2kg - 1kg

Superior Wild Bird Food
Small Cut Maize, Canaryseed, Naked Oats, Red Dari, White Millet, Hempseed, Wild Seed, Flaked Maize, Currants/Raisins, Dehulled Sunflower, Wheat, White Dari, Black Rapeseed.
Available in:- 25kg - 2kg

Softbill Food
Oat Flakes, Raisins, Peanuts
Available in:- 1kg

Black Sunflower
Available in: 25kg - 12.5kg - 1.25kg
Fast becoming a more popular food choice than peanuts, black sunflower seeds are an excellent food source for a great number of species,particularly finches & tits.Particularly suited for hanging seed feeders, the only drawbacks are the husks.
Available in: 25kg - 12.5kg - 1.25kg

Peanuts
Peanuts are rich in oils and proteins and an excellent food for may species.
NOTE: Young birds in the nest or on the ground can choke on whole peanuts, so only feed peanuts from wire mesh feeders during this period.
It is for this reason that Johnston & Jeff do not include peanuts in their seed mix but do offer them separately. JJ peanuts are carefully selected and graded from sources around the world to ensure that they are free from aflotoxin (a poison) and moulds.
Available in: 25kg - 4kg - 2kg - 1kg

Fat Balls
JJ fat balls are manufactured in a dedicated plant and specifically formulated to attract those birds that require 'soft' nutrition rather than seeds or peanuts, especially smaller species. They are also important for mid-sized birds who need a high-protein food that they can swallow quickly rather than spend longer cracking and swallowing smaller seeds such as millet.
The fat balls are enriched with beef tallow of human food quality, used for two reasons: firstly it provides much needed energy & is an acceptable substitute for insect protein, which is lacking from wild birds diet in winter. Secondly, it renders the basic ingredients frost proof, making the food available in the harshest weather. Fledglings in particular need insect protein for healthy growth and development, so it is important to continue feeding fat balls all year round.
Small singles (netted & wrapped)
Large 500g (netted & wrapped)
Small 6 in a feeder.

Filled Half Coconuts Singles

Peckers Sunflower Peanuts

Selection Packs
1. Filled half coconut, sunflower pecker, nut pecker plus 2 fatballs.
2. Sunflower pecker, nut pecker plus 3 fat balls.


Where To Feed:

Just as different species of birds prefer different foods, they also like different feeding points. It therefore follows that the more feed points you have, the wider variety of birds you will attract.
It's important when siting the tables to protect birds from the environment & predators. Place feeding stations away from busy roads, and also buildings & fences which make it easier for cats to catch birds.

Bird Feeders
A wide ranges of feeders are available, from economy seed and nut feeders to the extremely popular RSPB approved feeders.
The RSPB feeders are available in a variety of sizes starting at 7" window feeders, up to a 41" metal seed feeder. Their initial outlay may seem expensive, but as their average life span for continuous garden use is around 15 to 20 years, investing in one is extremely good value.
The feeding stations are lipped, enabling rain to run around the feeder & not wet the seed, & the metal feeders have the added bonus of being squirrel-proof.

If you don't have an outside area for feeding birds, we suggest window feeders or wall hangers. These can attract birds to higher places such as tower-block flats & appartments.


Bird Tables
Bird tables are available either in specially treated wood (non toxic to birds) or with a rustic finish, & all have houses to protect both feeding birds and the feed itself.
A well designed table will have a house with an overhanging roof, ensuring rain falls onto the ground rather than the feed.
A range of tables with nest boxes is also available, but please note that although it is acknowleged that birds tend to nest where food is available, you should not site nest boxes too close to feeding points as birds nesting there will exhaust themselves defending their territory from other birds.