Without doubt, hummingbirds are amazing small creatures and everyone is glad to have them near your home or in your garden. In addition to being excellent pollinators, they are many gardeners’ favorite guests and a lot of us therefore put several feeders throughout our yards to keep these gentle birds near.
Unfortunately, if you fail to provide them with healthy nectar and clean feeders, they can become infected with serious infections.
How to Keep Hummingbirds Safe
Clean their feeders regularly and remove any mold or fungus because they may catch a fungus infection which may be deadly, as seen on Healthy Holistic Living. The infection is usually manifested by a swollen tongue and they will not be able to properly eat and thus, they will end up starving.
Mother hummingbirds can transfer the fungus infection to babies and thus, risk their lives too. Failing to replace the nectar regularly could lead to fermentation and fermented nectar may trigger liver damage and eventually death of the bird.
How to Take Proper Care of Hummingbird Feeders
- Make sure you go with a feeder which can be easily cleaned.
- Adequate cleaning of the feeder should be consisted of the following steps: rinse it with hot water and then with a bottle brush, scrub the sides of the jar. Avoid using soap; if you need to use soap, rinse the residue with vinegar and water mixture.
- If you notice mold growth while checking the feeder, leave it to soak in a mixture of ¼ cup of bleach and 1 gallon of water for 60 minutes.
- To prepare the nectar, combine 1 part of white cane sugar and 4 parts water. Boil the content and then leave it to cool down to room temperature prior to putting it into the feeder.
- Once the nectar becomes cloudy, it has to be replaced. Usually, a sugar solution spoils within two or three days. If the feeder is an hotter area or if it is too hot outside, the fermentation may occur only after 24 hours.
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