Niger Seed is rich in oil, easily to digest, high in energy and protein, extremely fine and should be fed in a specialist niger seed feeder, which has small slits in the tubing to prevent the seed blowing away on windy days.
Niger seed is sometimes spelt nyjer or njger and is often confused or mis-sold as thistle seed and is part of the compositae seed family that is closely related to sunflower seeds. The small black seeds are harvested from the African yellow daisy, they are very nutritious and appeal to a wide variety of wild birds, but are particularly attractive to Goldfinch, Tits, Siskin and Redpoll.
Due to the high levels amino acids contained in niger seed it is very useful for young fledglings and is also used by breeders of canaries and british birds to prevent egg binding, that's why you often find the seed in
Finch and
Canary Mix.Customers that purchase niger seed tell us that more and more goldfinches visit their gardens each year with their fledglings since they started feeding the seed, along with their other wild bird food varieties. Due to requests from our customers, we now sell
niger seed in economical 25kg sacks!Tips to attracting birds with Niger Seed
It's essential that you purchase a niger seed feeder to avoid wastage, as it's easily spilled and more expensive than most straight seeds. So we recommend only filling your feeder with a limited amount of niger, until you birds become accustomed to the new feeder in your garden, especially if you have not offered your birds the seed before. You can also mix the seed with your favourite bird food to help introduce the seed into your birds diets, so they recognise the seed if you decide to feed the seed exclusively from a niger seed feeder.
Please be patient as some times it can take several days or weeks, before birds feel comfortable about a new feeder appearing in the garden, but we suggest you place a niger feeder in the same area as existing ones, to encourage your birds to use and investigate what's on offer, then gradually move the feeder if you want it to be moved somewhere else more convenient or less crowded.
What birds like niger seed?
Niger Seed is eaten by the following wild bird species or seed eaters, that generally have small pointed beaks, as they can easily break open the tiny black seeds: Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Redpoll, House Sparrow & Siskin.
