Is Cracked Corn good for wild birds

It can seem like your run of the mill but random wild bird feed, yet cracked corn is more than that as its filled with vital high energy nutritional value.

Cracked corn is in fact highly nutritious for our wild birds, who can consume large amounts of protein, fiber and a good amount of fatty oils found in cracked corn. As a great source of energy, you will want to trick wild birds into eating more of this popular bird feed, by added it in with wild bird seed mixes.

While cracked corn isn't part of our wild birds natural diet in the wild, its still a highly nutritious food we feed to birds due to its multiple health benefits.

Among them, is its high in protein content which will ensure all size wild birds can keep up their energy as they forage or fly during the day.

In the fatty oil found in cracked corn, however little it may be, wild birds are sure to benefit in restoring lost body fat which wild birds lose in wintertime especially - as wild bird feed becomes scarce - wild birds will naturally lose weight at this time of year.

Birds also benefit in fiber which is how wild birds will sustain a healthy digestive system, and fight off illnesses.

Many wild birds can eat cracked corn, which doesn't have a hard-like texture, but a soft enough texture most birds can eat along side wild bird seed mixes.

What wild birds you can expect to eat cracked corn can include most common backyard birds, like: Jays, Juncos, a few Woodpeckers, couple of Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, Doves, Cardinals, a few Finch members, Sparrows, and Nuthatches.

As you can see, in case of Cardinals and Blue Jays, putting cracked corn in a small confined feeder will prevent them both feeding. While at the same time the smaller species, who are more capable at seed feeders, will happily eat cracked corn - with no limitations due to lack of dexterity and ability at feeders.

Like wild bird seed mixes, cracked can can be put in a bird feeder; throw cracked corn over the ground; or heap some on elevated surfaces around the yard.

If you can't feed any of these wild birds this must have wild bird feed, then force it down them by mixing this safe yet easy to eat bird food in wild bird seed mixes.

Source of energy

Cracked corn is probably one of a few highly beneficial wild bird feeds you can supplement at the bird feeders all year round.

Why that is, because cracked corn is filled with fat, protein and fiber, all of which provides a way to keep the wild birds bodies in working order - along with protein that sure to give these highly energetic wild birds the energy they require.

Birds use up a lot of energy in the wild and in doing so it can be replaced with cracked corn, which is extremely good for all backyard birds who will eat it.

With proof how cracked corn is good for a wide variety of wild birds, like Blue Jays to Indigo Buntings, is how this wild bird feed is regularly added to wild bird seed mixes you would normally put in tube-like bird seed feeders.

With that, wheat and oats are also readily found in bird seed mixes with either not really able to provide the health benefits, cracked corn can.

In fact, cracked corns many health benefits would see it put into many types of wild bird feeds, such as suet.

Its not just wild birds either, cracked corn is added to pet bird food like Parrots feed or outdoor birds like Chickens.

While you can feed popcorn kernels to few wild birds, don't confuse the two as popcorn itself isn't nutritious like cracked corn is.

Continue to feed all common backyard birds on plenty of cracked corn as way to keep up their energy all year round.

Eaten every day of year

And that's just it with cracked corn, how good this simple but highly nutritious wild bird feed is, it can be fed to wild birds all year.

Why you'd feed it to wild birds in spring through summertime is to provide the energy wild birds need during the breeding season especially.

And why you'd feed birds on cracked corn in the fall through wintertime, is to allow wild birds to feed on that precious fatty content; which will help wild birds replace body fat which will be lost as they forage in winter when natural bird feed becomes scarce.

Cracked corn isn't obviously a natural wild bird seed but it will mostly be eaten be seed-eating birds.

Seeds are fed to wild birds on the ground or inserted in suspended bird feeders all year, thus there's no difference to how cracked corn is fed to birds in the yard than how you feed birds seeds. Feed birds both seeds and cracked corn separately, or mix them all together to make a highly nutritious, popular with a variety of wild birds' seed mix.

Do remember to hold some cracked corn back to feed birds in multiple areas of the yard, while replenishing any snow or ice covered bird feed with more cracked corn.

Make it accessible to all

As good as cracked corn is for a multitude of wild birds in our yards, your wild birds will only benefit remember if they can access the cracked corn in the first place.

With that in mind, cracked corn would ideally be placed in various areas of the yard, to ensure ground feeding, or higher up foraging wild birds can eat.

Remember, not all wild birds will forage on the ground as its not part of their natural feeding behavior; nor can some ground feeding birds eat in places higher off the ground, that happens to be a too tight spot.

Provide some cracked corn on its own or mixed it into wild bird seed mixes in the confined seed feeders, usually suspended on bird feeder poles. You'll then be able to feed Sparrows, Chickadees, Titmouse and Finches on this highly nutritious bird feed.

You'd then throw or carefully heap cracked corn on the lawn or patio in order to keep it accessible to Blue Jays and Cardinals, who are both large with little agility.

Cracked corn can then be placed on elevated areas around the yard like the fence post, walls, garden furniture and railings, which is where most wild birds are happy to feed on.

Better than all that is, to put cracked corn on top of a platform bird feeder, or within the dish/tray usually mounted or hung on a bird feeder pole.

Conclusion

While cracked corn will appear as a kind of dried sweetcorn that isn't really popular with wild birds, cracked corn has had a long and beneficial relationship with all pet and wild birds, for a very long time.

If you've ever fed wild birds on readily available seed mixes which is put in seed bird feeders before, then you may have very well used cracked corn to feed birds previously.

Cracked corn is readily added to wild bird feed mixes which isn't just an empty filler, providing no real health benefits; cracked corn is actually highly nutritious for any birds who eat it, with fatty oil, protein and fiber included.

Where protein will provide wild birds the necessary energy to go about their lively lives, the fiber will keep their digestive system in working order.

Additional fatty contents found in cracked corn isn't a bad fat at all, as this kind of fat can re-store lost weight in wintertime while help keeping their energy up as they forage.

Protein benefits wild birds all year like peanuts do, yet the fiber in cracked corn is something to benefits birds all year.

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