These COVID times seem to have prompted more people to take up both birdwatching and bird photography. Winter’s arrival brings changes to these pastimes but those who feed birds have the best opportunities to practise both.

Although bird species that overwinter in Manitoba are limited, it makes their identification somewhat easier. It can also be exciting when an unexpected bird shows up at the feeder.

Black oil sunflower seeds are the best food to offer. Nearly all our winter birds enjoy these. They can be purchased at a pet food or gardening store or at most hardware stores. Or, if you live near a farmer who grows the black oil variety, you might be able to buy them direct. Stores also sell bags of mixed wild birdseed, but these mixtures contain a lot of waste seeds.

Chickadees, nuthatches, downy and hairy woodpeckers, finches and house sparrows all love sunflower seeds. A patient bird enthusiast can sometimes attract chickadees and nuthatches to eat from the hand.

Nearly all these birds also enjoy suet or suet cakes. Suet cakes can be purchased and sometimes they are well used, but often birds are not overly fond of them.

I find that chunks of beef fat from a butcher will attract the species mentioned above. Even more popular are homemade suet blocks or suet logs, which are logs with holes drilled in them and a suet mixture stuffed into the holes.

My usual recipe for a suet mixture, with amounts that can be varied, is:

• 1 cup melted suet or lard (not too much melted bacon fat because it is too salty)
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 cups quick oats
• 2 cups cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• Shelled sunflower seeds
• Crushed peanuts

If blue jays come to your yard, you can offer raw, unsalted peanuts in the shell. I usually put out a few every morning and they’re quickly snatched up. You can buy a coil wreath for peanuts but be warned: the jays will empty a full one in a few hours. They take the peanuts and hide them for later use.

Smaller birds such as redpolls and pine siskins prefer niger seed but it tends to be expensive. Dedicated birders buy it anyway. In some winters, goldfinches may stick around and niger seed is their favourite, too. A tube feeder, thistle sock or fine mesh bag is the best way to feed this seed.

Those new to feeding birds can find a variety of hanging feeders or set up feeding stations. I try to set mine up in mid-October, while the weather is still warm, although I usually begin with a limited amount of sunflower seeds. It’s not too late to begin now.

If photography is your main interest, you might want to buy a feeder that attaches to a window Or, to avoid snapping photos through a window, dress warmly and sit patiently outside even in cold weather. Many newer cellphones take excellent photos for those without a good camera.

A heated bird bath as a water source is another bird-attracting apparatus. Some suggest it’s not a good idea for birds to bathe in winter but in my experience, they use it for drinking, not bathing.

A bird book can help you identify unusual avian visitors and the internet is also useful. You will quickly learn to identify common winter birds and watch for less frequent visitors.

In most winters, I am lucky enough to have occasional visits from such colourful species as house finches, purple finches, pine grosbeaks, evening grosbeaks and pileated woodpeckers. A few goldfinches sometimes overwinter here but they lack their colourful plumage in winter.

You might also see pine siskins, common redpolls and crossbills. Numbers are often dependent on the availability of food farther north. One other species to watch for is the Eurasian collared dove, a newcomer to southern Manitoba that is gradually spreading across the province.

Even if your only visitors are the usual chickadees and woodpeckers, feeding and photographing birds can be an interesting pastime for many. Start now. Winter will be here for many months.

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Although some methods of attracting birds to the feeder in the winter are similar to those used for attracting them in the summer, there are a few things that can be done to get the maximum number of visitors.

Winter weather is severe! If it isn’t bitterly cold then it might very well be windy, so locate the feeders in a sheltered spot. Trees and shrubs located to the north and west of the feeding area will protect it from most of the prevailing winds. If it is possible to locate the feeders so that they are both exposed to direct sunlight and sheltered from the north and west, the birds will be happy to bask in the sunshine while feeding.

As well as providing protection from winds, the vegetation provides birds with landing sites that they’ll use when approaching the feeders. It is not common to see birds fly directly to a feeder; they more often alight on a branch of a tree or shrub and scout for danger before finally landing on a feeder. They will also appreciate nearby vegetation into which they can fly when disturbed by any kind of perceived danger while feeding.

If thickets of shrubbery can be located near feeding areas, the environment will be more naturalistic and the birds will use it for protection as well as for feeding. It is not unusual to see them feeding on seeds or berries on shrubs such as cedars and cotoneaster or hopping around under shrubs (unless the snow is unusually deep) looking for food.

Providing a variety of food in separate feeders means more birds will use the area and there will be less competition for space at the feeders. Finch feeders will satisfy those birds that prefer canola or niger seed, while sunflower seeds will keep nuthatches, blue jays and chickadees happy. Mesh bags used by grocers to package onions and other produce can be used to hold pieces of suet, which is a favourite for woodpeckers, although chickadees, nuthatches and blue jays will feed on suet as well. Tie these bags onto tree branches high enough so that they are not accessible to roaming animals.

Red squirrels can be a nuisance at feeders on warm days during the winter; they scare away the birds and eat a lot of the food — mostly going after sunflower seeds — so a squirrel-proof feeder may be necessary.

Bags of suet and finch feeders do not suffer when it snows, but seeds in any platform feeders will soon get covered during any snowfalls, so should have roofs to prevent this. Although the roofs are necessary, the feeders must be open enough on the sides so the birds feel safe when entering them. Cautious birds are hesitant to enter a feeder that prevents them from seeing out to catch sight of approaching danger.

If the feeders are located near an area of the garden that contains perennials, the birds will have another source of food — a natural one — which will certainly help to entice more of them. Native plants often hang on to their seeds for the winter, so perennials like goldenrod and heliopsis, as well as annuals like ageratum, ornamental grasses and poppies can be left in the garden for the birds to enjoy. Most of these plants are tall and robust enough that they will remain upright even after heavy snowfalls, keeping their seed heads exposed.

Some avid birders even provide their feathered friends with water during the winter. Special heaters can be purchased that fit into bird baths to keep the water from freezing so that the birds can access the water to drink. They will not bath in the water if the air temperature is low, instinctively knowing that getting wet in frigid weather is not a good idea. They will, however, drink it. If no open water is provided, birds will either melt snow in their beaks or under their feathers to obtain water or from a natural source such as a fast-moving current in a river, but a heated bird bath will provide one more feature to attract them to your yard.

Feeding birds during the winter provides us with hours of enjoyment and also helps our feathered friends survive even the most severe weather. Be sure to erect feeders where you can see them from your windows. This way the birds will benefit from the food and you will get the pleasure of watching them from the comfort of your home.

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Attracting birds is easier if a supply of food is provided. Generally, the best type to offer is black oil sunflower seeds — a favourite of chickadees, blue jays, nuthatches, grosbeaks, juncos, and purple and house finches. Smaller birds such as redpolls, pine siskins and goldfinches (which sometimes overwinter here) particularly enjoy black niger seed. Safflower, corn, white millet and peanuts can also be offered. Suet is a real attraction for hairy and downy woodpeckers, as well as nuthatches. A source of drinking water from a heated bird bath may also bring birds to the yard.

Bird enthusiasts can find many interesting activities for winter. Bird Studies Canada has “Project Feeder Watch,” where for two days each week at various times, birders count the birds at the feeding station in their own yard. The program lasts from November to April and participants keep a record of what species of birds, and how many, visit their feeders. Reports are made every week or two. The project is run jointly by Bird Studies Canada and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It is part of a continent-wide bird research study on winter bird populations — their numbers and distribution, with particular interest on changes in wintering patterns and irregular influxes of birds. For example, the spread of Eurasian collared doves across the province is becoming more evident every winter, as these doves do not migrate.

This year’s Feeder Watch runs from November 10 to April 5, but participants are welcome to start partway through the season. It is not essential to count every week, if you are absent during some of the period, as data can be valuable even if it covers only a few weeks. Membership in the program is $35 and a charitable tax receipt is issued. Full information can be found at the Bird Studies Canada website or by calling 1-888-448-2473, or writing to Bird Studies Canada, P.O. Box 160, 115 Front Street, Port Rowan, Ont., N0E 1M0.

Birders don’t just watch in their own yards. Many take regular walks in a park or field, and also watch for birds such as snowy owls, which sometimes arrive from the north in considerable numbers. The raven is another bird that has become much more prevalent in winter in rural Manitoba, while crows frequently overwinter in towns and urban centres.

Another program for birders is the annual Christmas Bird Count (held over the Christmas/New Year’s period). New participants are always welcome to monitor birds in 24-kilometre- (15-mile-) diameter circles. See the Bird Studies Canada website for information, or phone 1-888-448-2473 to find the nearest count in your area.

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), also organized through Bird Studies Canada, is held in February, the same weekend as our Louis Riel holiday. Despite the “backyard” name, it is not limited to that location but involves counting birds in all sorts of habitats.

The internet has made it easier for birders to stay in touch and notify others when rare birds are spotted. A “Rare Bird Alert” can sometimes result in enthusiasts driving long distances, just to add that species to their “life list” of birds they have seen.

Check out some websites and consider becoming a member. Don’t let winter weather hamper your birding activities.

Manitoba birding websites

• Manitoba Birds
• Interlake Birds (Facebook)
• Manitoba Birding (Facebook)
• eBird

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First, consider what species you want to attract. The best type of feed to attract a variety of birds is black oil sunflower seeds. These are a favourite of chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, and purple and house finches, and are available at most pet stores, many department stores, or from a sunflower-growing farmer. Less common species such as crossbills, pine grosbeaks and evening grosbeaks are also sunflower fans. (Don’t buy the large confectionery sunflower seeds; these aren’t good for most birds.)

Black niger seed is a favourite of goldfinches, common redpolls and pine siskins. (Goldfinches sometimes overwinter in Manitoba, but you may not recognize them in their winter plumage; they are not the bright yellow and black of summer but a nondescript beige or olive green, with black wings and white wing bars.) Niger seed is usually available at pet stores; however, it has become very costly the last few years, causing some stores to stop bringing it in. A cheaper alternative might be crushed-up “sunflower minis.”

Other types of seeds can also be offered, such as safflower and white millet. However, I recommend you avoid buying the cheaper bags labelled “Wild Birdseed” as they often contain a lot of waste seeds of barley, wheat and milo, and will also tend to attract English (house) sparrows in greater numbers. It is better to buy specific kinds of seed, instead of the mixed one.

Suet will attract nuthatches and downy and hairy woodpeckers. My husband and I usually offer a suet mixture (melt suet with a little peanut butter, add sunflower seeds, ground-up peanuts, a little cornmeal and oatmeal). Shape the mixture into blocks and hang in a suet cage (or, let mixture cool and partially harden and spoon onto a log with holes or grooves in it). Commercial suet blocks can also be purchased. For the last two winters, we’ve even had a pair of pileated woodpeckers come to our suet.

If you want a variety of birds, you should consider a variety of feeder types. Platform feeders are good, preferably with a roof to keep off snow. Blocks of suet, suet logs, tube feeders and thistle socks are all useful. Or, for a cheap alternative, recycle a two- or four-litre plastic bottle. Corncobs — attractive to blue jays — and sunflower heads — for many types — can sometimes be gleaned from a harvested field before the snow covers them.

A protective cover over part of your feeding area will also be a welcome addition, especially to ground-feeding birds such as juncos and sparrows. We create a sheltered area with old plywood sheets, which makes it easier to feed these species, especially on snowy days. If your feeders attract squirrels, and you don’t want them, install a baffle on pole feeders to keep them away.

Another attraction for birds is water, and a few years ago we purchased a heated birdbath. It’s not used much for bathing in winter, but the birds appear to welcome the chance to drink water even on the coldest days. This may be partly because their winter diets tend to be drier than in summer.

We like to try at least one new attraction for the birds each winter. This year our new purchase is a whole peanut wreath feeder and the blue jays love it. If you have someone on your Christmas list who is a birder, consider giving them a new feeder, a heated birdbath or even a bag of black oil sunflower seeds!

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The change in birds that is most noticeable is the migration of a large proportion of them. In winter, a backyard feeder will be lucky to attract five or 10 different species. In spring, the variety of birds can increase dramatically, especially if a late snowfall results in the birds halting their migration for a time.

Usually the earliest arrival, in late February or early March, is the horned lark. As March passes, eagles and crows appear in increasing numbers, and honking geese fly overhead. (The first crow used to be a welcome sign of spring. Now, with their frequent overwintering in cities and towns, a crow isn’t so much a spring sign.) With April most years (perhaps sooner this year) come robins, meadowlarks, bluebirds, grackles and blackbirds, and by May we watch for orioles, a variety of warblers and thrushes, and ruby-throated hummingbirds.

Moulting is another important change for many birds. Adult birds shed their worn feathers for fresh ones, while last year’s juveniles moult into their first adult plumage. In many species, this results in brighter colours, particularly for the males. This is very noticeable with the American goldfinch. Goldfinches in winter are a dull beige colour with black wings, white wing-bars and just a touch of gold — often not even recognized as goldfinches. The change of the males to their late-spring and summer bright yellow and black is amazing. The common redpoll, which may frequent feeders in winter, also changes as the males’ chests become a much brighter rosy pink. Even birds such as the blue jay are noticeably more vibrant.

Behaviour is also different. Birds which migrate in flocks, such as robins, begin to disperse into pairs or singles. Overwintering birds which may have flocked in winter, such as waxwings, also disperse. Some species become increasingly aggressive as they compete for territory or mates or available food.

Diets may change too. As insects and nectar become available, some species which live on seeds all winter change to occasionally feasting on insects.

Birds in spring become more vocal, chirping or singing loudly, perhaps even waking us before dawn. Others, such as the ovenbird (a type of warbler), may sing at night, while a variety of owls begin calling at night as early as March or late February. The chickadee changes its song to a three-note whistle, instead of the more recognizable “chickadee, dee, dee, dee.”

One spring activity of various woodpeckers, sapsuckers and flickers may be less acceptable to us, as they often drill their bills against wooden or metal parts of houses, as a means of attracting a mate or claiming territory. Another type of territorial drumming, heard in forests and most often in spring, is that of the ruffed grouse. Some species of birds seek to attract mates in other ways. Sandhill cranes may dance as part of a courtship ritual. Bald eagles sometimes practise a spring ritual in which both fly to a high altitude, lock feet and tumble almost to the ground before releasing. Many other species, as diverse as crows, chickadees and hawks, practise courtship feeding.

With some birds, nest building starts even before they pair up. The male house wren, for instance, may begin to stuff nest boxes with twigs, perhaps to impress the female or to stake his claim to a territory. They may load up a variety of other cavities, too, such as old boots left on a shelf, or farm machinery sitting outside or in a shed. Many years ago my family found the sleeve of a shirt stuffed with twigs after it was left hanging out on a line overnight.

All of these activities are a sign that birds, like people, change with the seasons. So, if you’ve put away your bird books over the winter, it’s time to get them out!

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The Great Backyard Bird Count has been held throughout North America for the past 18 years. Organized by the National Audubon Society, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Bird Studies Canada, it has spread over the years to include more than 100 countries. In February 2015 a record 147,265 checklists were submitted and over 5,000 species were identified. In Manitoba alone, 768 checklists were submitted, with 68 species recorded.

To take part in the GBBC, you need access to the Internet, since all information is submitted that way. If you are interested in participating, check out the website before getting started, as directions are given for how to participate and how to identify various species.

Basically, you just tally up the numbers and kinds of birds you see on one or more of the four days. If this is your first time counting, you will need to register online. If you have participated previously, you can use your existing login, and type in the species and numbers of birds you have counted.

Most counts are made by watching backyard feeders, although the term “backyard” is somewhat of a misnomer, since participants can also check out other locations. Last year Canada geese were counted at one of the bridges in Winnipeg, and a grey jay was recorded on the Clearwater Lake Ski Trails. Reports are updated frequently as they are submitted, so ongoing results can be checked out each count day.

Those wanting a little help can go to the opening web page, click on “Get Started” and then scroll down to “Bird Lists.” If you click on the Canada/U.S. section and type in your town or postal code, a list of common birds from your area will appear. Click on a bird and a picture will appear.

The pages on “Tricky Bird IDs” is useful for such hard-to-distinguish species as the house finch and purple finch. Another feature of the GBBC website is photos taken by participants over the years. Be sure to check these out, as some of the pictures are amazing.

Information from the GBBC is used by scientists to help give an overall picture of changes in bird populations over the years, perhaps due to weather or other factors. For instance, the number of redpolls, pine siskins, purple finches, crossbills and pine grosbeaks at bird feeders in southern Manitoba can vary greatly, depending on the temperature, snow cover, and availability of seeds farther north in the boreal forest.

If you’d like to take part in the bird count, mark the weekend of February 12 to 15 on your calendar. It doesn’t take a lot of time. Even half an hour counting can be productive, especially in early morning or late afternoon — when the birds flock to feeders for their first and last feedings of the day. Then a little time on the computer — your own or one at your local library — can send your information on its way to help in this worthwhile project.

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Deciduous trees provide shelter in summer, but once their leaves are gone, so is most of their benefit. Growing evergreens in your yard is one natural way to provide shelter for birds. Lacking these, some people opt to build brush pile shelters, including evergreen boughs. These should include small branches and air spaces for roosting and insulation, and are best in a fence corner, sheltered from winds. Another natural way we can help is to leave any pruning until spring, thus leaving more cover for birds.

This winter my husband and I are using a new type of bird shelter (an action prompted because of the recent removal of some of our trees). We are trying out some roosting boxes. These can be bought at wild bird supply stores, but can also be made more cheaply from scratch, which my husband has done. A dozen birds could use a single box, thus sharing body heat on cold winter nights. Chickadees, nuthatches and downy woodpeckers might use these boxes (and, of course, house sparrows).

At first glance, you might think a roost box looks like a birdhouse, but there are several differences. Most noticeable is that the hole is near the bottom, which will prevent rising heat loss. A metal or hardwood guard around the hole will help to deter predators. The hole can vary in size, depending on bird species, about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) for most small birds. We are using a couple of sizes, including one with a larger hole. (For the last several winters we have had a mourning dove stay all winter, so this is intended for it, if it stays again.)

The boxes are also larger than birdhouses, with no ventilation holes, so as to help keep body heat inside. The walls are usually thicker, three-quarters to one inch (2.0 to 2.5 cm), to provide better insulation, and there are interior perches so more birds can use it. The inside walls without perches are scored, or have an interior mesh, to help the birds cling to it. Tape or caulk added to the seams will help prevent drafts. A roof or wall with hinges or screws will make it easy to clean out the box a couple of times a year.

Roosting boxes should be mounted much higher than a birdhouse, between six and 15 feet (approximately two to five metres) from the ground, on a pole or tree trunk. If using a pole, you could add baffles against predators.

Bird shelters should be painted dark colours on the outside to absorb the most heat, and should be positioned to face towards the sun. If possible, they should be in a sheltered area and should not have outside perches. Insulating material such as wood chips or dried grass should be added on the floor.

Another type of shelter you could purchase is a roost pocket. This is a basket-style shelter made from woven thatch material, which provides good insulation for birds.

Backyard birders should also leave up birdhouses over winter. These won’t be as effective as specialized boxes, but will at least provide some shelter from winds, snow or rain. These would be most useful if you plug the air vents and flip the birdhouse over so the hole is at the bottom. Or make a separate front for winter and just switch that wall. Put in some insulating material in a birdhouse, too.

Roost boxes will be most popular with birds in winter but can be left up all year for shelter during any inclement weather. For further information on how to construct a roosting box, check out these websites:

• Bird Feeders Direct
• ehow.com

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While the decline is most likely due to shortages of natural food, it is a safe bet that deep snow and cold temperatures are also contributing factors.

In Neepawa, our backyard feeder is busy, but we are seeing fewer species than usual and an overall reduction in numbers. Earlier on, blue jays were regular visitors, but they have been absent for weeks. Purple finches, nuthatches, chickadees, and woodpeckers appear frequently. Occasionally we get a pine siskin, goldfinch or a house finch, but not many. This appears to be a general trend across much of Manitoba this winter.

Fewer in number

Near Deerwood, Man., Joan McDowell feeds birds every winter. She reports having many of the regular birds at her feeder, but a general decrease in numbers.

“We have noticed fewer birds,” she said. “We have had no blue jays since before Christmas, and we can’t remember seeing any kind of finches this year.” However, she gets lots of nuthatches, chickadees, downy woodpeckers and hairy woodpeckers.

In the Pembina Valley near Manitou a resident there echoes the same thought. Generally speaking, the number of birds at backyard feeders is lower compared to past years. They report fewer purple finches, house finches, crossbills and evening grosbeaks.

Meanwhile, near Onanole, the annual Riding Mountain Christmas Bird Count participants recorded sighting only 24 bird species this year. This is the second-lowest number recorded since the group began their annual count.

Feeding the birds

Feeding winter birds is for people’s enjoyment as much as it is for our feathered friends. It is a pastime that makes us feel good while helping birds survive the winter.

The reward for most people is the sheer enjoyment of seeing birds close up and, observing their behaviour. Some birds, such as the purple finch or blue jay, add a splash of colour on a bleak winter day.

From the Manitoba Co-operator website: Warm, cold and the polar vortex

Feeding winter birds is not difficult. There are only two main requirements —  feed and a place to set it. However, there are several additional details that should be considered.

Place the feeder where the birds are not going to be injured by flying into your window. That means you either put the feeder real close to the window or well away. This ensures they are braking when they land on the feeder and they don’t crash into the window when taking off. Birds need room to manoeuvre.

Sheltered

Put them in a sheltered place where birds don’t get blown off the feeder by our Manitoba winds. It also allows them to stay warmer. Once feeding starts, it must continue non-stop until spring.

A bird feeder does not need to be elaborate or fancy. Many people make feeders by modifying a two-litre drink bottle. Others are small plastic types purchased at department stores. The longest lasting and most user friendly are the wooden “hopper-style” feeders, where seeds automatically flow onto a platform.

Regardless of where you live, or the type of feeder, winter bird feeding is an enjoyable pastime. The colours will brighten your winter days. Inevitably, you will learn more about habits and characteristics of native wildlife. It makes your life more fulfilling.

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Red River Basin Commission

Fall is a dynamic season of change and adaptation for birds, providing you the opportunity to attract migratory birds in addition to the permanent residents that visit your bird feeders year round.

Food habits change as seasonal food supplies change. The high-protein insect diet characteristic of many birds in summer changes in the fall to fruits like mountain ash. The best way to feed birds is to adjust the foods and the feeders with each changing season.

Fall is also an excellent time to trim shrubs and trees. Use the trimmings to create a temporary brush pile that will provide perches and hiding places for migrating songbirds between visits to your bird bath and feeders. The size of the brush pile should be three to four feet high and four to eight feet in diameter, and it should be located about 10 feet from your feeders. Any closer and it may provide a hiding place for cats to ambush the birds.

Create your brush pile when you see the first fall migrants arriving at your feeders, then dispose of it in late November to early December when migration is complete.

One of the best ways to enhance a backyard is to provide a water source in the vicinity of the feeders. A quiet pool or bird bath is acceptable, but any type of moving, splashing or misting water in very shallow pools will generate considerable attention from birds.

The presence of juncos in fall requires a greater amount of millet mix or cracked corn than is appropriate for summer or winter use when house sparrows and grackles primarily benefit from these foods. About 30 per cent of the bird food in the fall should be white proso millet or millet mixes scattered on the ground-feeding sites. Red proso millet and milo (grain sorghum) are used much less than white proso millet, and are generally unnecessary as an ingredient of fall birdseed mixes.

Peanuts, peanut butter, commercial suet cakes and suet from the meat market are all beneficial fall foods that are high-energy sources that benefit birds as they go into the winter season. They are popular with chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers and jays.

Peanuts can be fed in quarter-inch mesh hardware cloth feeders. Suet can be suspended in wire mesh cages or mesh string bags. Peanut butter and suet mixes can be smeared onto tree bark or pressed into holes drilled in small tree branch sections that can be hung as bird feeders. Although most birds will readily use suspended suet, pileated woodpeckers seem to prefer suet firmly attached on top of a solid feeder platform.

The Red River Basin Commission is a grassroots organization that is a chartered not-for-profit corporation under the provisions of Manitoba, North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota law. Our office in Winnipeg can be reached at 204-982-7254, or check out www.redriverbasincommission.org.

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Pelleted feed made of finely ground ingredients is considerably more efficient than more coarsely ground feed provided in meal form, according to a recently published large-scale trial carried out in Northern Ireland.

Reported by Dr. Elizabeth Magowan, the work was carried out by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) at Hillsborough in conjunction with two feed companies. She notes that the differences are such that the cost of feed would have to be $32/tonne cheaper to compensate for the benefits of feeding a pelleted ration composed of finely ground ingredients.

Manufactured commercial diets are commonly finely ground and in pellet form, whereas diets made on the farm are normally more coarsely ground and usually in meal form.

“As expected it takes more energy, and is therefore more expensive, to produce a finely ground pellet compared with a coarsely ground meal diet, aside from the extra mechanical equipment required,” Magowan says. “However, previous research has suggested that offering pigs feed in pellet form improves the efficiency of feed use. Furthermore, other research studies suggest that when particle size within the feed is small, feed efficiency is better than when the particle size is large.”

However, she adds that few studies have investigated if these two processes – pelleting and fine grinding – have cumulative benefits on feed efficiency.

Two trials were conducted to compare pig performance during the finishing stage when using either meal or pelleted feed with “fine” or “coarse” particle size. The finely ground diets were manufactured using six four-mm screens and the coarsely ground diets were made using a combination of two 14-mm and four 10-mm screens,” Magowan says. “The coarsely ground diets had a similar particle size profile as those generally adopted in farm milling operations.”

The particle size profile of the diets after “fine” or “coarse” grinding is shown in Table 1. In both trials, pigs were offered feed from a wet and dry single-space feeder.

The nutrient specifications of the diets used were the same and the main ingredients were barley (41 per cent), wheat (36 per cent) and soybeans (19 per cent), providing a digestible energy level of 3,250 kCals per kg, crude protein of 16.7 per cent and total lysine of 9.6 g per kg.

TWO TRIALS

In the first trial, carried out on a commercial production unit, the growth rate of pigs between 55 and 110 kg given feed in either meal or pellet form was similar, at 881 g per day. However, although there was no statistically significant difference, a numerical improvement of three per cent in feed efficiency was observed when pellets were offered instead of meal.

“In the commercial herd, there were issues with separation of the meal diet due to the blowing of the diets into the feed bins,” says Magowan. “Although this problem was reduced when the feed was blown in with less force, it does raise concerns regarding the use of meal in auger systems.”

The second trial was carried out at the AFBI research herd and compared not only meal and pellets but also both forms of the diets composed of either finely or coarsely ground ingredients.

Table 2 shows the performance of pigs and feed cost calculations when these four diets were fed.

“As in the commercial herd, the growth rate of pigs was similar for all diets,” Magowan says. “However, daily feed intake was reduced by 4.5 per cent and feed use efficiency was improved by 5.5 per cent when pellets were offered compared with meal.”

She notes that feed efficiency was also improved by 3.1 per cent when the particle size was “fine” compared with “coarse.” The beneficial effects of pelleting and fine grinding appear to be cumulative and economically large differences in feed cost were calculated, Magowan adds.

“This study suggests that a 20 pound sterling ($32)-per-tonne differential in diet cost is required in order to compensate for the deterioration in feed efficiency when a ‘coarse’ meal was offered compared with a ‘fine’ pellet,” Magowan says. “Overall, it cost an extra 1.8 p (2.9 cents) to gain each kilogram of live weight during the finishing phase when meal was offered compared with pellets.”

There was no effect of diet form or particle size on stomach ulceration (a problem more frequently experienced where finely ground diets are used) in either trial. Also, there were no effects on carcass quality parameters such as back fat depth or dressing percentage.

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Pigs

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TABLE 2: PIG PERFORMANCE AND FEED COSTS FOR DIFFERENT DIET FORMS

Av. daily gain (g/day)

Av. feed intake (g/day)

Total feed used (kg)

Feed efficiency

Cost/kg live weight gain*

Trial 2, AFBI Research Unit, costs based on $1.60 per pound sterling.

*Based on a diet cost of $400/tonne

FINE MEAL FINE PELLET COARSE MEAL

927 3,465 170 2.66

$1.06

924

2,311

159

2.50

$1

900 2,442

169 2.72

$1.09

COARSE PELLET

919 2,382 165 2.60

$1.04

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PARTICLE SIZE (%)

TABLE 1: PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN FINELY OR COARSELY GROUND DIETS

2 mm

1.4 2 mm

0.5 1.4 mm

< 0.5 mm

FINE

0.5 12.7 59.0

27.7

COARSE

6.7 34.0 41.2

18.0

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