How much and what should you feed hummingbirds.?

Question

My mother has attracted a large group of hummingbirds to her home. There are approximately 15 of them now. Each day they go through at least 10 cups of sugar-water. If the average hummingbird weighs 3 grams, that would mean each bird is drinking over 52 times its bodyweight each day, considerably more than it would be able to get via nectar. I know that, in the wild, hummingbirds drink nectar and supplement that diet with small insects. At mom's, they swarm around the feeders pretty steady all day long and I doubt they are spending much time forraging for insects.

Does my mom need to cut down the amount she is providing, supplement the water with some sort of avian liquid vitamin, or do something else to make sure the birds stay healthy.

Answer 1

Sugar water is fine.  (1 part sugar to 4 parts water).  Actually you have many more birds visiting your feeder than you know by the sound of it.  They will supplement their diets with the nectar, but they are actually feeding on mainly insects, you just don't see it.  I wouldn't change a thing, but that sounds as if it's getting expensive!

Answer 2

I use 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water.

I'm getting tons of hummers at my feeders.  No need to supplement them with anything.  Keep the feeders full do not cut back.  They know how much they need.  It is really hard to determine how many hummers are coming as you well know.

Have fun and enjoy them while they are here.

Answer 3

get a feeder from the pet store, fill it with sugar water and it'll eat whenever it wants and