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Homemade Hummingbird Food Recipe – Easy DIY

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This hummingbird food recipe is THE best feed to keep those hummingbirds coming back year after year, simple and homemade with kitchen ingredients.  

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We absolutely LOVE this hummingbird food recipe – I absolutely swear by it.  When we first moved onto our homestead, I bought a plastic feeder and the dyed red store bought mix, thinking it would help attract the hummingbirds.  Wrong. When I switched to making a homemade feed, we immediately noticed more birds coming back more often. 

Homemade feed (with just sugar and water) is the way to go.

This Easy DIY Hummingbird Food Recipe Is:

  • All Natural
  • Simple
  • Made with Normal Kitchen Ingredients
  • Easy
  • Inexpensive
  • NOT Dyed Red
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A female hummingbird enjoying the feed about 1 minute after we put up this gorgeous new feeder.

How To Make Hummingbird Food

Skip the red dye mix all together, and make a simple sugar syrup for your birds.  I make an easy stove top mix (takes as long as the packaged stuff) which is ready in minutes.   I want to note that I am not an animal or bird expert, just a beekeeper and homesteader who has seen some major improvements to my bird feeders by making homemade feed!

Does Hummingbird Food Need to be Red?

While hummingbirds are attracted to the color red, there is no need to add dye to your feeders. This simple humming bird food recipe is clear, but if you want to add some color, you can choose a red glass feeder like this one instead. That way, no harmful dyes are added to the feed!

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A ruby throated male at our hummingbird feeder this spring!

What’s In This DIY Hummingbird Food Recipe:

Do NOT add additives to your feed, it should be sugar and water only. 

When to Put Out Hummingbird Feeders?

I live in Massachusetts so I put my feeders out May 1!  I noticed that’s when we see the first sign of hummingbirds around the homestead.  One thing to note is not to keep your feeders out too long in the season as it could damage your feeders. The Mass Audubon Society says put them away before the nights get below freezing… which in Massachusetts can be anytime in the fall! 

As a benchmark, we put them away mid-October, but keep an eye on the weather in your area. If you keep the feeders out too long and the feed freezes, it can cause your feeders to crack or break.

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What’s The Best Hummingbird Feeder?

With so many models, I choose the feeders that are the easiest to keep clean!  My hummingbirds absolutely love this glass feeder, which has metal flower ports, not plastic ones. I found the plastic ports are harder to keep clean, the ‘petals’ break, and grow brittle over time. Based on personal experience I found the glass feeders are much easier to clean and our birds seem to prefer these over the plastic ones.  Plus this feeder is absolutely beautiful, and I’ve even given them to family as gifts.

I have the ‘Amethyst’ one, but the red one is the same design, just a different color!

hummingbird landing at glass feeder with metal flower ports drinking sugar water made with all natural kitchen ingredients in an easy diy hummingbird feed recipe

How Do I Make Hummingbird Feeder Mix?

  1. Mix water and sugar, and stir until the sugar dissolves
  2. Allow feed to cool to room temperature.
  3. Add it to your feeder. Each feeder will be different, so make sure you read the directions.

Other All-Natural DIY Recipes You May Enjoy!

DIY Beeswax Lip Balm Recipe

DIY Headache Balm Recipe with Mint and Pine

2-Ingredient Beeswax Furniture Polish Recipe

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DIY Beeswax Beard Balm Recipe

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As always, if you make this easy long lasting hummingbird food recipe be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe, and tag me @theherbeevore on Instagram so I can feature you.  I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations + your hummingbird pics!

Let’s keep in touch – make sure to sign up for my newsletter to get fresh recipes weekly. And don’t forget to follow over on Pinterest, Instagram , & Twitter– I’d love to connect with you there!  

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Homemade Hummingbird Food

Kelly Jensen
This homemade hummingbird food recipe is THE best feed to keep those hummingbirds coming back year after year, simple and homemade with kitchen ingredients. 
5 from 10 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course DIY, Home & Beauty
Servings 20 ounces

Equipment

  • Pot
  • Hummingbird Feeder

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Mix water and sugar, and stir until the sugar dissolves
  • Allow feed to cool to room temperature.
  • Add it to your feeder. Each feeder will be different, so make sure you read the directions.

Notes

Please note this recipe was revised 8/26/21, and the Vitamin C powder was removed from the recipe. The kind people over at Indiana Hummingbirds helped me to correct my recipe to only sugar/water, and no additives.  
 
This recipe makes about 20 ounces of feed, just enough to fill one of these feeders which we have on our porch.
Keyword How To Make Hummingbird Food Last Longer, How to Make Hummingbird Sugar, Hummingbird Feed Recipe, Hummingbird Food No Red Dye, Hummingbird Food Recipe, Long Lasting Hummingbird Food
Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a rating and comment below!
Or tag me @theherbeevore in your photo on Instagram!

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Posted in Home & Beauty Products, Homesteading, Lifestyle, Spring Recipes, Summer Recipes

15 Comments

  1. Pingback:How Do You Make Hummingbird Food? - happycurrent.com

  2. Pingback:How To Make Hummingbird Food? - happycurrent.com

  3. Mary

    At a 1 to 4 ratio (sugar to water) you actually don’t need to heat it to get the sugar to disolve. Just stir until you don’t see any sugar anymore. I have always made my own feed this way, though I make half as much and refill more often to discourage any bacteria growth.

  4. Pingback:DIY Dry Shampoo Recipe - 2 Ingredients! (All Natural, Gluten Free)

      • Cheryl Shaw

        5 stars
        Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe & for not including unnecessary additives! Your feeders are beautiful, but please research metal feeders, they’re bad for the birds. I just recently found out myself after feeding hummingbirds for over 40 years! I’ve gone back to glass & plastic & just clean them with warm water, vinegar, & a brush, rinse well. Thanks again, have a lovely day!

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