Hummingbird Food?

I just put out a hummingbird feeder but if I run out of the necter that I bought, should or could I use something they like? I know they like red, so maybe Kool Aid since it is sugar? Or is that bad for them?

Answer -

I had been using the nectar mixture for a few years, but today, when I was installing the feeder, I just did the sugar/water mixture. I have never had any hummingbird action like this before, I regret never having tried this before. BTW my feeder is transparent, and they are still hooked on the liquid anyway. I will never buy the store stuff again.

I never buy hummingbird nectar, I make my own, using 3 parts water, to one part sugar. Boil the water, stir in the sugar, let cool and just put it in the feeder and sit back. No food coloring is needed. I live in Ohio, and they are in my feeder right now.


You can easily make your own Hummingbird food using white sugar and water. There's no need to add red food coloring to the Humming bird food recipe to attract Hummingbirds. Your red feeder will be enough to attract them. There is also controversy about whether food coloring might be harmful to the Humming birds, so avoiding it altogether might be the best choice.

The Hummingbird food recipe consists of 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water. This 1 to 4 ratio will closely match that found in actual flower nectar.

Start by stirring the sugar into the water while bringing the mixture to a boil over low heat. Boiling the solution is important as it helps remove chlorine from the water and kills mold and yeast spores that might be in the sugar.

Boil the mixture for two minutes and let cool. Do not boil any longer than 2 minutes or you will boil away too much of the water and change the ratio of sugar to water. I have read that higher sugar concentration resulting from boiling too long, will be more attractive to insects.

Once the Hummingbird food is cool you can add it to your feeder and store any excess nectar in the refrigerator (for 7 - 8 days) for use at a later date.

It is not necessary to completely fill your feeder. Only put in as much Humming bird food as you need to feed the number of Hummingbirds you have using your feeder. When it comes time to change the Humming bird nectar you don't want to have a large amount left over to throw away.