Good deal on sunflower seed

[super70s]

Last week I bought a 40 lb. bag of Royal Wing black oil sunflower seed
on sale at the local Tractor Supply Co. for $19.95, I think it normally
sells for $24.95.

I thought it would save a lot of money in the long run, I think Lowe's
and other hardware stores want as much as $15 for a 10 lb. bag.

Man is that thing hard to maneuver though, it's like wrestling an
alligator trying fill up the gallon plastic container I use for pouring
it into my feeder, lol.

The container has a spout on top for pouring, after a few disasters
when the entire top would pop off when it was full during pouring, I
came up with the idea of inserting two screws on either side of it,
then I remove them temporarily when it needs to be refilled. Solved
that problem. :)

[jmcquown]

On 2/1/2024 5:52 PM, super70s wrote:
> Last week I bought a 40 lb. bag of Royal Wing black oil sunflower seed
> on sale at the local Tractor Supply Co. for $19.95, I think it normally
> sells for $24.95.
>
> I thought it would save a lot of money in the long run, I think Lowe's
> and other hardware stores want as much as $15 for a 10 lb. bag.
>
> Man is that thing hard to maneuver though, it's like wrestling an
> alligator trying fill up the gallon plastic container I use for pouring
> it into my feeder, lol.
>

I'm glad you got a good deal! No way I could lift a bag of seed that
weighed that, much less have a place to store it.

> The container has a spout on top for pouring, after a few disasters when
> the entire top would pop off when it was full during pouring, I came up
> with the idea of inserting two screws on either side of it, then I
> remove them temporarily when it needs to be refilled. Solved that
> problem. :)
>

My storage container for seed is a covered galvanized bucket in the
garage. It holds about 10 lbs. I use a scoop and fill a small
container (used to be juice pitcher) with about 2 cups of seed to fill
the seed feeder.

Jill

[super70s]

I'm wary about leaving anything containing seeds with an open top,
moths seem to like to hang out in there and I don't want a moth
infestation (I even saw a little moth flying around in the bird seed
section in the store last week).

[Leon Fisk]

On Thu, 1 Feb 2024 20:02:33 -0600
super70s <supe...@super70s.invalid> wrote:

<snip>

>I'm wary about leaving anything containing seeds with an open top,
>moths seem to like to hang out in there and I don't want a moth
>infestation (I even saw a little moth flying around in the bird seed
>section in the store last week).

It's likely the moths are already in the seed as eggs/larva.
Suspect we (birders) get the dregs from the sunflower crop and the good
stuff gets used elsewhere...

Maybe give you some ideas... I had a triple-tube feeder long ago. Keep
the 50# sack in the breeze-way standing up and top folded down with a
clamp (see pics). Cut the rim off a used one gallon ice cream container
(makes it more flexible to shape/pour from) and scoop seed out of the
bag with it. Had another gallon jug from distilled water (or similar)
that I'd cut the bottom off from that made a decent funnel with handle.
Open bag, scoop seed and pour in funnel over the triple-tube feeder
setting on the deck. The paint can opener (in pic) was helpful to
dislodge debris around the feeder ports before filling. Always a lot of
debris in black-oilers for birds😐

A few pictures here:

https://postimg.cc/gallery/L8GC7S6

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI

[jmcquown]

Oh, it's got a lid. Think of it as a smaller version of an old-time
garbage can. Plastic containers don't work around here. Before I
bought the galvanized metal can a friend had given me a plastic bin with
a snap-on lid to store bird seed in. In the garage. A critter chewed
through the plastic. Turns out it was a rice rat:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_rice_rat

I bought the galvanized can a few years ago. Even after that and with
no discernible food source, last year I had a rice rat decide to take up
residence in the glove compartment in my car. It gained ingress by
chewing through the cabin air filter. I wouldn't have known it was
there except I kept a couple of re-usable paper grocery store bags in
the car. I noticed chewed up paper. I opened the glove box and it was
full of shredded paper. The darn thing had used them to start a nest!

I had a heck of a time getting rid of that darn thing. Once I did, I
put moth balls in the glove compartment. I keep moth balls scattered
around the outside of the garage and inside. I'd rather have moths than
rice rats, although I'd prefer neither one, thank you very much. :)

Jill

[Leon Fisk]

On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 15:19:11 -0500
jmcquown <j_mc...@comcast.net> wrote:

<snip>

>I had a heck of a time getting rid of that darn thing.

You need more Hawk, Owl and Snake workers in the area😉

[jmcquown]

On 2/2/2024 3:47 PM, Leon Fisk wrote:
> On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 15:19:11 -0500
> jmcquown <j_mc...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> <snip>
>> I had a heck of a time getting rid of that darn thing.
>
> You need more Hawk, Owl and Snake workers in the area😉
>

They don't seem to be doing their jobs. ;)

Jill