Hot peppers and birds

[Avonnow]

I know this isn't the bird forum but anybody know how birds are able to eat my super hot cayenne peppers and serrano peppers and not have it bother them. I really don't care at this point as I have a bunch of dried ones but I can't figure how they tolerate that heat, they eat the whole thing. I have these tri colored ornamentals that I can barely touch to cut up and they eat them up no matter the color, I am amazed. If they weren't birds they would make good hot wing/beer buddies on Sunday for the game. Just curious if anyone has a thought .

[applestar]

I believe the birds don't have the spicy hot receptors. In fact they sell "birdcakes/suetcakes" with hot peppers in them to keep squirrels, rodents, and I suppose other pest mammals like opossums and raccoons from stealing/eating them off your wildbird feeders.

Sorry the pesky birds are eating yours.

[gixxerific]

Apple is right. They don't feel the hot. If look into pepper history (not real exciting but anyway's) you will hear about how the birds are responsible for the spreading of pepper both (hot and not) varietys through seed long distances.

[gixxerific]

If they weren't birds they would make good hot wing/beer buddies on Sunday for the game. Just curious if anyone has a thought .

But if they were birds, say chickens. You could feed them peppers on purpose and not have to add any spice for wings.

Just a thought.

[applestar]

Pequin was supposed to be in the souvenir hot pepper seed mix I dug out of 10yr+ forgotten storage and sowed a couple of years ago, but that was the only kind that either didn't grow or I missed out of the unlabeled mixture.

I did grow and harvest (and overwinter) Jalapeño, Anaheim, and one other variety that eacapes me from the mix.

[soil]

capsicum is actually good for birds, I give our birds hot peppers all the time.

[PunkRotten]

Some guy on another forum said he had birds eating his Bhuts. Just like everyone says birds don't respond to the heat.

[gixxerific]

https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1857/are-birds-immune-to-hot-pepper-enabling-them-to-eat-vast-amounts-and-spread-the-seeds

Here is a good read if you will.

[OROZCONLECHE]

Hahhah OMG thats Y I Gave My Duck Chile Serranos and It Loved It I was Like O.o .... Hahha =D

[Avonnow]

I learned something new and to be honest I was not going to plant hot peppers (as many) next year, but I may. I want the birds to look at and I had to stop putting out birdseed as the rats came (they must have had heat sensors they ate the peppers as well and stopped) anyhow it will attract the few families we get in the spring and fall. This is a cardinal family and they are beautiful and they love my mirrors I have in the garden, they sit and look in the mirrors, chirp all morning and eat the peppers. If they eat bugs as well it serves a few purposes. Thanks I just couldn't believe they could handle them.

[rainbowgardener]

re the bird seed: There are a variety of styles of caged bird feeders like this

[url=https://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=squirrel+proof+bird+feeder&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=13094022381156211063&sa=X&ei=usC3TqL2Os3ptgf1orGjAQ&ved=0CJ0BEPMCMAQ#ps-sellers]caged seed tube feeder[/url]

that keep squirrels, raccoons, rodents from getting to the seed.

[Avonnow]

Hey thanks, but in Florida we have what you call Fruit rats, they look like a baby mickey mouse when born - the babies could fit through those holes, when I went out last year they literally had all crawled onto the tube feeder I had - there was 9 of them on it at once, the parents where on the ground below cheering them on. They drained that feeder in literally about 15 minutes. - I hate not putting one up but it has happened so much I gave up. When they drain the feeder my garden is about 10 feet to their south and they like head right over there and take a bite of anything and everything that is in reach. I need to get a camera, as some plants are too weak to hold their weight, or so I think and I swear they boost each other up on their shoulders to get to the unripen fruit (like the movie ratatouille). My daughter thought they were so cute, I hated to have to kill them. The babies are cute, the adults not so much.