What could be more thrilling than trying a new nut for your birds? Pecans, it turns out, are a big hit.
As shelled pecans are difficult for birds to crack open and chocolate or spice coated pecans are toxic to them, only the raw kind of these nuts is suitable for bird consumption. Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Chickadees, and Wrens are all prone to eat pecan nuts because they provide much-needed fuel.
You are reading: Can Birds Eat Pecans?
Nothing prevents you from offering pecans to the birds in your yard instead of peanuts; these nuts are nutritionally equivalent.
Only birds that feed on nuts, such as the ones that enjoy cashews, would consume pecans if they were available in the wild.
If you provide pecans to birds without restrictions, you might witness Pileated, Downy, or Red-Billed Woodpeckers munching on them.
All the Chickadees, for sure the Blue Jays, and the Wren family are some others.
The birds will have free access to the pecans if you leave them out in the open, but you can put them in a peanut feeder if you really want to.
Great source of protein; helps birds replace the energy they expend flying around and eating.
Nuts taken from a pie or pecans dipped in chocolate, both of which are harmful to wild birds, are not as beneficial as raw pecans.
Pecans pair well with macadamias, pistachios, and even a seed mixture. That is also true of a peanut butter and nut combination.
Birds can eat pecans
It’s not at all strange to encounter a pecan nut, as they are endemic to both the southern United States and northern Mexico.
Wild birds are often discovered to appreciate peanuts in our yards, but people also often feed them pecans, so the birds do enjoy a pecan as much as we do.
Also, all the nut-eating birds in the wild are the ones pecans are most likely to attract.
The entire family of woodpeckers, which specializes in peanuts, will joyfully (and securely) switch to pecans.
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Although blue jays prefer unshelled peanuts, they will also take on a shelled peanut if given the chance. If you put out pecans on an open platform in your backyard and lure Blue Jays with the promise of a tasty treat, the birds are likely to make a beeline for your offering.
You can also attract wrens, Clark’s nutcrackers, titmice, and chickadees by providing them with unshelled nuts.
The only birds wanting to help are the pests, which you should avoid.
Pecan nuts must be natural
Any amount of salt is harmful to wild birds and can cause their death.
Never, ever provide any amount of salt to wild birds, no matter how small.
You should be aware of this because pecans, unlike other nuts, can be offered with salt contents when they are used in pecan pies and other sweets.
Several ingredients common in baked goods are harmful to birds, including sugar, salt, and chocolate.
If the bag says it’s uncooked, only then should you feed pecan nuts to your backyard birds.
There’s no need to spice up pecans that are already perfectly delicious on their own and provide a healthy and crucial source of energy.
Do not feed pecans with a chocolate, spice, or crunchy coating, as wild birds will consume any nut that is readily available to them.
Great source of energy
Since nuts are such a fantastic source of protein, it’s reasonable to assume that birds may replenish their energy stores by snacking on these nutritious and calorie-dense treats.
When bird deaths are most common, pecans should still be a top priority.
Small levels of fiber are also beneficial to the birds’ diet.
Pecans are a shelled nut, but they must be offered to birds in their unprocessed, uncooked form. Many nut-eating birds are not adept at using peanut feeders, so you’ll need to put out a dish of pecans instead.
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Pecans, along with a variety of protein-rich seeds, should be offered freely on a platform feeder.
Pecans are an excellent source of protein, thus they would assist birds maintain an essential diet throughout the year.
Pecans, which the parents would otherwise feed their young whole, should be smashed during nesting season to prevent the young birds from choking.
Prioritize pecans in winter
Birds use a lot of energy foraging for food and would need to eat more frequently in the winter to prevent starvation.
In fact, you can provide pecan nuts to wild birds at any time of the year, but the winter and fall seasons are optimal for doing so.
Pecans are a crucial food source for wild birds that rely on nut diets throughout the colder months.
If the natural food source is buried under several feet of snow or if the cold kills out all the insects, then the pecans will rely on the fats you provide them.
Feeding birds pecans throughout the winter is challenging since the nuts can rapidly freeze if left out in the yard.
If you want to avoid losing your pecans to the frost, make sure you plant them in a sunny spot.
Summary
It stands to reason that the same species of birds that eat pecan nuts in the wild would also accept them when presented in a suburban backyard.
Birds can be killed by eating pecans that have been coated in sugar, spice, or chocolate, so only pure pecans should be given to them.
Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Wrens, and Blue Jays, among many more, are just some of the birds that will gladly eat your offering of pecans.
Backyard bird feeders benefit greatly from pecan nuts, which are especially important during the colder months but can be useful year-round.
Simply put, wild birds lose body fat whenever they forage for food, and this is especially true during the winter when food is scarcer and the birds are often forced to go without eating.
In addition to providing the birds with the fuel they need to go about their day, the high fat and protein content of pecans also helps to repair any lost body fat.
Source: https://petstutorial.com
Category: Birds
