The most popular bird species that enjoy peanut butter is nothing to write home about, and the number of birds who really consume peanut butter from jars is vanishingly small.
It’s true that some birds enjoy peanut butter; these are often the woodpeckers and other nut eaters seen in the wild. Nuthatches and the Orange-crowned Warbler are two other bird species that love peanut butter. However, while chickadees enjoy peanut butter and will eat straight from the jar, the nutty spread can also attract unwanted Starlings.
You are reading: Is Peanut Butter Safe For Birds?
Since peanut butter is a good source of protein, it is worthwhile to try feeding it to wild birds.
Very few birds will eat peanut butter if you offer it to them, but the ones that do will go crazy for it.
A good number of woodpeckers have been observed eating peanut butter, and woodpeckers seem especially receptive to the spread when it is spooned onto tree bark.
It’s doable, but it’s not as simple as opening a jar of peanut butter and expecting the birds to indulge themselves.
Black-capped The chickadee is one of the species that enjoys peanut butter and can eat it in this form.
To get the best results, however, you should use a peanut butter jar feeder designed specifically for use with opened jars of peanut butter.
In the absence of woodpeckers, you may choose to offer peanut butter to the chickadees or blue jays, both of whom prefer to nibble the spread on the side of a piece of bread.
Birds DO like peanut butter
No doubt, wild birds enjoy peanut butter, and even if the specific species isn’t abundant, you might still receive a surprise or two.
It turns out that the protein content of peanut butter is just what wild birds that consume peanuts need to thrive.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that you’ll be able to entice a wide variety of backyard birds by offering them peanut butter straight from the jar, or even better, by spreading it on the bark of a tree trunk or branch.
It could be the pricier speciality peanut butter designed especially for wild birds, but there’s no need to worry if you don’t want to feed the birds because they can consume the peanut butter meant for humans.
Birds certainly enjoy peanut butter and will likely eat it every day, but since you decide what they eat, it is imperative that it never contains salt, or excessive levels of salt. It also shouldn’t be some sort of proprietary blend containing chocolate or anything else that could be harmful to birds.
Read more : Why Is My Bird Sitting On The Bottom Of The Cage
Because of the rarity of peanut butter-eating birds, it’s important to be aware of the following species that may occasionally visit your backyard.
Peanut butter liked most
Photographic evidence suggests that the Hairy, Red-Headed, and Downy woodpeckers are the most avid peanut butter eaters.
Since woodpeckers eat nuts in the wild, it stands to reason that other species of woodpeckers not specifically named here could likewise adapt to a diet of peanut butter.
I’ll go into the specifics of how to feed peanut butter to Woodpeckers in a bit.
White-breasted nuthatches aren’t the only birds who enjoy a good jar of peanut butter.
One of the Woodpeckers or Nuthatches is bound to show up to your backyard soon if there’s peanut butter there.
Unfortunately, the only species of warbler that would accept peanut butter from you is the Orange-crowned Warbler; however, this common bird can easily relocate to your backyard.
Although woodpeckers are the most enthusiastic consumers of peanut butter, there are situations in which other species might enjoy this tasty morsel.
Other backyard bird takers
Backyard birds like the Black-Capped Chickadee and Chickadees in general are also potential peanut butter consumers.
Even though this is not a species that commonly eats nuts in the wild, the spread can and will be consumed by wild members of this species.
Although blue jays prefer whole peanuts in the shell, they will happily consume peanut butter if it is placed in an easily accessible location, such as on the ground or a large platform feeder.
Because of their shared diet, the recommendation could also work for Steller’s Jay. Although peanut butter feeders are perfectly safe for humans, larger birds may get damaged trying to get to the peanut butter.
Despite our desires to encourage more sociable, pleasant backyard birds by providing them with peanut butter, doing so may draw attention from potential predators.
Attraction of aggressive Starlings, which may chase away less aggressive Nuthatches and Chickadees.
It’s likely that, in addition to the aforementioned birds, other animals would enjoy a peanut butter sandwich, but there’s still one more step you’ll need to take to accommodate anyone who’s game.
Peanut butter in their habitat
Read more : Can Cockatiels Eat Almonds?
You shouldn’t expect any old bird to visit your peanut butter bird feeder for a snack because not all birds can digest fat.
Some birds, like the chickadee, may be found eating peanut butter directly from the rim of a jar, but this is not the case for the vast majority of the birds listed below who enjoy this treat.
The peanut butter spread then needs to be delivered to them, and this delivery should occur in their natural habitat.
To attract Woodpeckers, just smear peanut butter onto the bark of a tree rather than mounting a jar to a specialized feeder.
Similarly, you may potentially provide a food source for birds by stuffing the cracks of pinecones that have fallen from trees or have been left on the ground.
As an alternative to scattering food over your yard, which might attract insects and other pests, you can use a peanut butter pinecone bird feeder instead.
It’s common knowledge that larger birds like Blue Jays are ground feeders, thus pinecones placed on the ground will attract them.
Spreading peanut butter in a dish specifically for Blue Jays to eat from is another option. This dish can be put on a flat surface, but a suspended feeding platform can also attract these birds.
To summarize
You can rest confident that some kinds of wild birds do enjoy peanut butter; there aren’t a ton of them, but the ones that do can be found all over the United States.
Many species of woodpeckers are avid peanut butter consumers, opting to feed in relative privacy and quiet by spreading the spread on a tree trunk’s bark.
If you have a lot of chickadees visiting your yard, you might want to invest in a peanut butter feeder specifically designed for them.
The Orange-crowned Warbler like peanut butter, but nuthatches share this preference.
Starlings and Blue Jays aren’t the only birds that enjoy peanut butter in the backyard; the latter are also great fans of the nut in the wild.
Although just a select few bird species enjoy peanut butter, it makes little difference whether you use peanut butter made specifically for wild birds or regular peanut butter, as long as it is free of salt and other potentially toxic chemicals.
You can attract them to your yard by installing a peanut butter feeder high up in a tree and spreading peanut butter on the tree’s bark or branches using a spoon.
Source: https://petstutorial.com
Category: Birds
