Folks, I'm sending this message a second time as I'm not sure it got
through. There has been concern about nutrient content of hummingbird
feeders, i.e., never use artificially sweetener water. I'm asking about
seeds 'n stuff put in feeders, especially seed that has been treated in
some way to repel non-birds. See the body of the forwarded message. Any
ideas or comment out there? Maureen E. Ellis, me2 at u.washington.edu, Dept
Environmental Health, XD-41, UDUB


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 7 Nov 1994 20:47:22 -0800 (PST)
From: Maureen Ellis <me2 at u.washington.edu>
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Cc: Multiple recipients of list <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Sprouting Seed

Should there be some concern about the effects of "baking" birdseed on
the nutritional content, i.e., does the seed still have useful nutrients
for the birds? Some of the enzymes denatured by the heat may be of value
to the birds' diet. The proteins and fats in seeds are certainly
necessary to bird health and vitality, but what else do we know about the
needs of wild birds for specific vitamins such as ascorbic acid (which is
destroyed by heat)? Food for thought for us tweeters!

Maureen Ellis (me2 at u.washington,edu)
Department of Environmental Health
School of Public Health & Community Medicine


On Mon, 7 Nov 1994, Michael Price wrote:

> Hi Tweeters,
>
> To prevent any seed from sprouting, bung it into the oven (on a cookie tray
> so the heat's well-distributed) and heat for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.
> This not only cooks the growing enzyme(s) but also deep-sixes moths,
> larvae, etc.
>
> Michael Price
> Vancouver BC Canada
> michael_price at mindlink.bc.ca
>