Growing my own bird food (millet)

[HonoluluGirl]

I planted some millet from the millet spray I bought at the pet store. I'm so excited. I can grow my birds' favorite snack!

[aliall1]

The chipmunks in my yard do this for me! I find little caches growing everywhere.

[rainbowgardener]

really? favorite snack? I guess my birds are spoiled and too picky. When I get a bird seed mix, the birds drop the millet on the ground and eat the rest. I tried growing some ornamental purple millet a couple times and birds wouldn't touch that... I don't know if it was because it was ornamental (it did make seed heads) or purple or they just don't like millet.

[digitS']

I've done this before Honolulu Girl.

There are several separate species of millet. The spray millet is foxtail and I don't believe it goes into the seed mixes. You buy it to attach on the inside of the cage. Proso millet is harvested as a field crop by combines.

Most of my foxtail millet went to my wife's wreath-making. One year, I was slow getting to the harvest. That time, most of my millet went to the wild finches!

Steve

[applestar]

I can see the seed heads (maybe not bloomed yet) in the photos!
Generally speaking, grass in bloom attracts all kinds of beneficial insects, so this is probably going to be another advantage.

You may need to protect from raiding wild birds after the anthers fall off. I'm thinking you might be able to bag the seed stalks with those long paper bags French and Italian bread come in.

[Gary350]

I have never grown millet but I eat it all the time in, cerial, salad, gravy, it is good in any food.

Do you know millet will pop like pop corn. You have to eat it with a spoon. You can even suck it up with a soda straw. I have a not air pop corn popper.

[HonoluluGirl]

Thanks all for your replies. Yes, I'm growing the foxtail (spray millet). My birds like to eat it off the spray. Wow, I didn't know you could pop it - maybe my birds will enjoy it popped! I've been worried about the wild birds getting to it. Thanks for the bagging tip!

[dkeller52]

hello. I have several times seen large sprays of millet growing where my birdseed feeder is. Can I harvest it? What do I do?

Thank you.

[digitS']

My technique was to get it before the birds did .

Since it was not all that many plants, I could just wait and grab the millet, whenever. I would check them for bird damage. I remember estimating that it took the birds about 4 days to eat nearly all!

To allow the birds to decide on maturity, I suggest checking the millet daily. You can then bunch it and hang it somewhere dry. In less than a week, it should be very dry. Put it on a tarp and walk on it. Stomp and beat it with a board, if necessary. Put it all in a box and clean your tarp. Get the material up on a ladder on a windy day. Pour the millet slowly off the ladder onto the tarp. The chaff should blow away. Do it more than once.

Steve

[HoneyBerry]

My millet sprouted in my garden once. It was easy. I'm going to try to grow some next year for my cockatiel.

My bird won't eat the millet from the health food store. He only eats the big fat fluffy sprays. I don't know why he won't eat the small darker colored sprays. I'm guessing that they aren't ripe enough perhaps?

[digitS']

That may be it, ripeness.

It may also be that there are 3 separate, commonly available species of what we call "millet." If I remember right.

Foxtail may not be the one that is easiest to grow as a commercial grain crop. I've had it in the garden a number of times and bought the seed initially from Johnny's Seed. I wanted it because of its ornamental value but there is probably no reason not to allow the birds to decide which they prefer.

Steve

[HonoluluGirl]

My millet plants did make the millet sprays, but the @&!%!# wild birds ate it all. I covered the plants with netting, but they found their way underneath.