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feeding bluebirds

11 years ago

We have a new nest in our bluebird house. No eggs yet, but the nest is there!

We bought refidgerated mealworms and a feeder. We tried Bluebird nuggets and dried mealworms from the feed store with no luck. What else do they like to eat that we can provide to keep them close to the nest?

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Comments (2)

dzyg
11 years ago
I am assuming you mean live mealworms that you keep in the fridge right? In order to attract the blues to the mealworms you first need to watch and see where they normally perch and set a glass dish of the worms underneath that spot. The blues will see the movement and drop down to see if it is food. Once they know there is food in that dish you can then move it to a feeder and they should find it. I would not put the feeder real close to the nestbox as lots of other birds like mealworms and this may attract them. I have my mealworm feeder up on the deck. I normally feed mealworms and waxworms, they also love crickets but you need to remove the back leg of the cricket so it cannot jump out of the dish. Some people have luck with suet and nuggets but I haven't. Earlier this Spring my male blue was eating peanut chips though. A tip regarding the dried mealworms, they like them better if you rehydrate them first. Just put them in a cup of hot water, once the water cools, drain it pat them a bit with patper towel and put in a dish for them. I switch to the rehydrated ones later in September once live food is more scarce. Good luck!

donna
tmjoseph
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks Donna! We bought a plastic dome mealworm feeder. The bluebirds have landed on it but no worms are missing. The worms are dead again! The Bluebirds are fussy eaters ! I wonder if it is because it is so buggy here?
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I whistle and I call them by name (if I've named them) or I whistle and holler "Come on Blues" This year I just have a generic pair. LOL Believe me they get used to that. They will even come to the sound of a screen door slamming after a while. I have a bowl that I put a piece of blue painters tape on the side At first I just put it out near their box and then move it to where I want. You could put some tape on the bowl inside the feeder. They are attracted to blue and usually investigate. Good Luck Cathy
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That's so cool! Could you take a photo? Just press the photo button below the comments section & insert it. I'm guessing it could be a juvenile since it's feeding itself. If it had recently fledged, the parents would still be feeding him/her. The best thing to feed bluebirds are live mealworms, which you can get at the local pet store. If you find that this is something you want to offer on a regular basis, buying them online is much cheaper. You could try dried mealworms, which are also offered at local pet stores in the wild bird or reptile section. Good luck! Nicole
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