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Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,930
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Can chickadees withstand below zero weather?

We have been below zero all week, at night down to minus 20's.  A bird hasn't shown up in days.  Are they just laying low or have they frozen to death?  

Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,075
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Can chickadees withstand below zero weather?

They need food, we have them here in maine, black oil sunflower seeds.

When you lose some one you L~O~V~E, that Memory of them, becomes a TREASURE.
Honored Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Can chickadees withstand below zero weather?

Can, and DO- DH fills our feeders regularly, and there is now 3' of snow on the ground. We fill the feeders, and they fill THE TUMMIES!!

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Posts: 16,075
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Can chickadees withstand below zero weather?

[ Edited ]

I feel so bad for the birds,so many do not feed them, i don't know how they make it.Just this morning trying to find best price on black sunflower seeds,40 lb,walmart will not ship.

When you lose some one you L~O~V~E, that Memory of them, becomes a TREASURE.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,930
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Can chickadees withstand below zero weather?

I should have said AT OUR FEEDERS.  Two full of sunflower seeds, not touched since temperature plummeted.

Honored Contributor
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Registered: ‎07-21-2011

Re: Can chickadees withstand below zero weather?

@depglass   It would be nice if you had a feeder out.  I think birds have the same mechanism as cats where they can heat up their bodies otherwise they would die.  Birds will congregate in evergreen trees where it is dense, close to the trunk.

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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,809
Registered: ‎12-24-2010

Re: Can chickadees withstand below zero weather?

@depglass If seeds are not clean birds will not eat.  Did you notice any dust flying around when you filled the feeders?

Offer the birds s variety - Amazon ships most free if you buy XX $ amount

 

Get peanuts  - dried fruit - different seeds and mix them together.  Not all birds like one type of food.  Cardinals and Woodpeckers like larger seeds - little Chickadees and finches need small.

Suggestion:  DON'T BUY WAGNER BRAND - dirty and lots of sticks in bag

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Registered: ‎03-16-2010

Re: Can chickadees withstand below zero weather?


@fthunt wrote:

@depglass If seeds are not clean birds will not eat.  Did you notice any dust flying around when you filled the feeders?

Offer the birds s variety - Amazon ships most free if you buy XX $ amount

 

Get peanuts  - dried fruit - different seeds and mix them together.  Not all birds like one type of food.  Cardinals and Woodpeckers like larger seeds - little Chickadees and finches need small.

Suggestion:  DON'T BUY WAGNER BRAND - dirty and lots of sticks in bag


They also won't eat if the seeds are moldy.  If you've had rain or snow and not emptied the feeders, this is possible.

 

And I've noticed in the really cold weather the hawks are out in force looking for food too.  And their food source are what's eating the seeds in your feeders.  So the birds will avoid the feeders in order to avoid the hawks.

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Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Can chickadees withstand below zero weather?


@goldensrbest wrote:

I feel so bad for the birds,so many do not feed them, i don't know how they make it.Just this morning trying to find best price on black sunflower seeds,40 lb,walmart will not ship.


@goldensrbest Birds and animals have survived for hundreds of thousands of years in all sorts of conditions. We don't give them enough credit for being suited to the outdoors.

 

Not saying it's not a nice thing to do however. 

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,893
Registered: ‎05-15-2014

Re: Can chickadees withstand below zero weather?

They also need water.  We have a bird bath heater so the water doesn't freeze and my hubby changes the water every few days.    And yes, the birdfeeder needs to be cleaned every now and then.   We have chickadees in the northeast.