Niger Seed: What You Need To Know

What is Niger Seed?

Niger seed (often called Nyger Seed or Nyjer Seed) is a small black seed from the Guizotia flower, a pretty and dainty yellow bloom that is native to Africa. Combine Niger Seed with other seeds to provide your birds with a more varied diet. It’s perfect for treating the small birds in your area and is particularly loved by goldfinches.

You might see Niger Seed referred to as 'Thistle Seed', but they're actually two different seeds. It is thought that this misconception came about because the seeds look similar and goldfinches love both Niger Seed and Thistle Seed!

A little known fact is that Niger Seeds actually have shells, so if you what looks like seed on the ground, it's not your birds throwing them away. It's actually the shells (husks) of the seeds!

Keep The Birds Coming Back

Birds can be quite fussy about Niger Seed and they don’t like it when the seed dries out, or if it’s left out in the feeders for too long.  Generally, you’ll want to replace any uneaten seed that’s more than 4 weeks old.

To see if it’s something that would work well in your garden, we recommend buying a prefilled feeder to begin with. Or if you want to go all in and buy a bag of seed and a feeder, we recommend only putting out a small amount (roughly a third of your feeders capacity depending on its size) so they can get used to it.  You can always store the rest and put it out as the birds get used to it.

Another trick is to make sure you're giving the birds an opportunity to keep clean. The easiest way to do this is to add a bird bath to your garden, or a bird station with an in-built bird bath.  You can find out more about bird hygiene on our blog.

Featured Products

These products are a great way to start feeding Niger Seed and will complement your garden perfectly.