Are you wondering if it’s safe to make hummingbird food in a microwave and wondering how to make one? Do you wish to learn how to make the right recipe for your sweet little feathered friend? Then keep reading as this article is focused on this.
Hummingbird’s food or nectar solution is pretty easy to make in the comfort of your home. You can get the right directions for preparing hummingbird food here and keep those sweet little hummers coming back to your yard.
So, let’s dive in and take a look at how to make hummingbird food in a microwave.
Making Hummingbird Food
The charming hummingbird loves to feed on nectar solution so making one and hanging them in your yard can draw their attention. Making hummingbird food is pretty straightforward. All you need is sugar and water!
Ideally, you need one part sugar (preferably white granulated sugar) and 4 parts water to make a hummingbird’s nectar solution.
Go ahead and boil the 4 parts of water. Then add 1 part of white granulated sugar and mix well to dissolve the sugar. Now you have your nectar solution. So, allow the mixture to cool down before you fill the nectar solution into the hummingbird’s feeder.
If you made extra nectar solutions, you can keep or store them in the refrigerator. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
It’s as simple as that! No extra addition! Some add honey which we don’t advise you to do. Honey tends to ferment easily and this can make the nectar solution poisonous to hummingbirds.
How To Make Hummingbird Food In A Microwave
It’s not a bad idea to make your hummingbird nectar recipe with a microwave. The 4 parts of water can be boiled using a microwave. All you need do is to get a container to put in the 4 parts of water you will be boiling inside the microwave.
So follow this procedure on how to make hummingbird food in a microwave:
- Heat up the 4 parts of water and remove it from the microwave once it has boiled. Then dissolve the 1 part white granulated sugar and mix well.
- Once the mixture has dissolved, allow it cool down and your hummingbird’s nectar solution is ready.
- You can then pour it into the hummingbird’s feeder and hang it in your yard. Ensure you allow the mixture to cool down before filling up your hummingbird feeder. This way, you can avoid breaking or cracking the hummingbird feeder. Also, filling the feeder while it’s still hot can as well burn the tongue of these sweet feathered hummers.
Is Using Microwave Safe To Prepare Hummingbird Food Recipe?
Many people wonder if preparing hummingbird food in a microwave poses any risk to the bird’s health. It does not even add any irregularities to your nectar solution.
Till date, there hasn’t been any substantial evidence or studies to the claim that preparing hummingbird’s food with microwave poses any health risk to these birds.
However, you should keep in mind that care needs to be taken when adding sugar to the water heated with a microwave. This is because water heated in a microwave has the tendency to explode when any foreign object comes in contact with it.
The water heated with microwave tends to be extremely hot and can even burn your hands. So, take precautionary measures when doing this.
Avoid Using Red Dye In Feeders
Some people may think adding red dye to hummingbirds’ feeders can improve how they attract hummingbirds to their yard. Even though the color red has been shown to attract hummingbirds, adding red dye isn’t necessary.
Matter of fact, the addition of red dye has no nutritional value and it can pose some health risks to our sweet little hummers.
Instead of adding red dye to your feeder because you wish to attract more hummingbirds, you can simply go for feeders that are brightly colored. In fact, most feeders are always designed to be brightly colored to entice hummingbirds.
You can as well tie some brightly colored ribbons around your feeders to make them more attractive to hummingbirds.
Also, the coloring used is red dye number 40 known as Allura Red Ac. This dye is petroleum-based making it unsafe for hummingbirds and even humans.
Also, research has been done on the effect of red dye number 40 on mice and rats. It was shown that this red dye causes a carcinogenic and mutagenic effect in mice and rats. So, how much more are our sweet little hummingbirds?
Even FDA that approved red dye for human consumption recommends a limit to consuming this dye.
Maintaining Clean Feeder For Hummingbird’s Safety
Apart from making an awesome hummingbird nectar solution for your sweet feathered friends, maintaining a clean feeder is also crucial. Nectar solution should also be refilled or changed at appropriate times.
Once you notice the nectar solution in the feeder looks cloudy or murky, it’s time to change it. Empty the feeder and clean it properly before refilling.
Furthermore, the surrounding temperature has a determining factor as to when the nectar feeder solution should be changed. If the temperature is not so hot, the nectar solution can be changed twice a week.
However, once the temperature rises to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, nectar solutions should be changed twice or thrice a week. If the temperature hits 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the nectar solution should be changed every day. This way, you can always provide the sweet hummingbirds with fresh and healthy feeders.
You can also hang the feeders in a shaded spot so they can last longer.
Learn more about Measures To Keeping Cats Away From Hummingbird Feeders
Conclusion on How To Make Hummingbird Food In Microwave
It’s really easy making a hummingbird nectar solution if you have the right knowledge. Hummingbird food can also be prepared in the microwave if you wish to do this. Just follow our procedure on how you can go about this.
So, we do hope you’ve gained some knowledge on how to make hummingbird food in a microwave.