Millet is an essential source of quick energy and essential nutrition for wild birds, making it a key ingredient in many birdseed mixes.
Feeder birds relying heavily on oil seeds or nuts can benefit from feeding on other sources as well. By scattering or placing feeders with these treats around their yards or gardens, this food attracts doves, quail, and sparrows that feed on ground-feeding species such as doves. It may help break them from their dependency by offering something more varied such as this option.
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WHITE PROSO MILLET SEED
White proso millet is an essential ingredient in many wild bird seed mixes, providing nourishment to birds such as sparrows, juncos and towhees that enjoy ground feeding activities.
Quail, deer and elk find this plant an excellent grazing crop. As part of the grass subfamily Panicoideae it uses C4 photosynthesis like its relatives: Foxtails, Pearls, Maize and Sorghum.
Proso millet is packed with protein and dietary fiber, as well as being gluten-free and boasting a low glycemic index – perfect for diabetics! Additionally, magnesium levels in Proso millet may help lower blood pressure while decreasing your risk for cardiovascular disease.
White proso can be offered alone or mixed into meals and works best when served from tray or platform feeders. Though scattered on the ground, be aware that wet conditions could quickly cause germs and bacteria growth; we therefore only advise offering white proso on dry days.
JAPANESE MILLET
Japanese millet (Echinochloa esculenta) is an annual warm season grass that can serve as a forage crop for wildlife. Often planted around lakes and ponds to feed waterfowl, it also works well in wetland habitats as a cover crop while being beneficial to upland birds such as pheasants and turkeys in upland fields.
Wheat free diets will find this grain to be an invaluable addition. Niacin rich food helps build cells, tissues and bones as a source of protein while low fat content makes this grain an excellent source of Vitamin A.
Millets research is still relatively limited, so additional efforts should be undertaken to develop germplasm resources and uncover QTL/genes that might enhance their performance agronomically. You can access further information about proso by searching the University of Nebraska Extension Publications online.
BLACK OIL MILLET SEED
This seed is an integral component of many bird seed mixes and highly sought after by ground feeding birds such as mourning doves, native sparrows, towhees and juncos. Bobwhite Quail, Cardinals and Indigo Buntings also enjoy this treat! For maximum efficiency this bird food should be scattered directly onto the ground or offered via low tray feeders.
Millet contains B vitamins essential to maintaining healthy skin, eyes and hair; in addition to niacin, magnesium, calcium and vitamin A. Furthermore, millet provides fiber as well as antioxidants.
No-Mess No-Millet is an excellent year-round bird feed and summer seed blend option, replacing millet with chopped tree nuts instead of classic No-Mess. This mixture can help attract doves if you live on an upper story without ground-feeding birds; or use it in heavily forested areas to attract bobwhite quail.
SUNFLOWER SEED
Sunflower seeds are a favorite among ground feeding birds such as finches, doves, towhees and juncos. They can be fed straight or mixed in with other types of seed for variety bird feed. Unfortunately, sunflower seeds don’t fare too well in tube feeders as the shells may block off openings.
As most species of wild birds don’t enjoy them, sunflower seed mixes that include red millet, oats or other fillers may quickly turn rancid due to bacteria and fungal growth; leading to wasteful production and contamination more quickly.
Sunflower seeds are nutritional powerhouses, packed with vitamins, minerals, protein and heart-healthy fats. Furthermore, sunflower germination produces secondary compounds with potential therapeutic uses in human health: antioxidants, flavonols, dietary fiber and plant-based proteins are produced during this process; allergy sufferers will find sunflowers an ideal alternative if nuts trigger an allergy attack.
