FOR THE BIRDS

MYTH ABOUT MILO BIRD SEED

Milo

The myth about Milo bird seed as being bad for birds is not true.  There have been several articles written by birdseed supply companies which state that Milo bird seed is not a good seed for birds.  One such article even states that farmers plant Milo in their fields to repel birds in order to protect their main crops.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wrote compelling articles supporting the idea that using Milo seed is a poor choice of bird seed.  In my experience, none of these claims are true.

BOS, Millet, & Milo

I purchased a 5-pound bag of Wild Bird Seed from a local supermarket.  It contained approximately 50% Milo seed, 30% Black Oil Sunflower seed, and 20% White Millet seed.  With the precautions about Milo that I had read about, I wondered why in the world would a major supermarket be selling a 5-pound bag of Wild Bird Seed, of which only 50% of it would be eaten by birds?  This seemed really peculiar to me and I wondered why.  Such curiosity led me to find out if the claims were true or not.  So I sifted out each individual seed type from the Wild Bird Seed mix and put each type out on the patio in separate piles (stations), sat back and watched what birds would eat which seed type.  Out of 10 species of birds visiting my patio each day, I was surprised at what I saw.

I found that some birds preferred the Millet while others preferred Milo.  Most all liked the Black Oil Sunflower seed.  The most interesting thing I observed was some birds, such as the Boat-Tail Grackle, the females preferred the Millet while the males preferred the Milo.  But all the birds ate Milo to some degree.  They seemed to enjoy walking from one seed station to the next, pecking along the way, then walked back to the original station and continued eating.

After nearly two years of experimentation, I have come to the conclusion that Milo is a very desirable bird seed for many species of birds who visit my yard.  The only problem I see with Milo is where to buy it.  To date, I've only found two seed companies in the U.S.A. that sells it.  One is a whole-seller in Washington State, the other is a wholeseller-retailer in Minnesota.  I've been buying Milo in 50-pound bags ever since, and have had very good results.  My birds are quite happy with eating Milo seed.

So the Myth of Milo, it seems to me, is nothing more than an 'old wives tale'.

Happy Bird Feeding

Cheers,\

Gipper