Our cracked corn disappears, but we have no idea who is eating it. It seems that the birds and squirrels all prefer the black oil seed, along with fruits and nuts.

Doves love cracked corn. I buy it just for them. Do you have any Mourning Doves?

I should add that doves are ground feeders. I scatter the cracked corn for them.

This post was edited by alisande on Sat, Jan 25, 14 at 11:50

The Juncos and Mourning Doves are supposed to like the cracked corn. We keep the ground feeder stocked with a mix of the corn, sunflower seed and a premium grade mix for seed eaters that we get at the local feed store. All of it gets eaten...if the birds don't eat it, the deer clean it up overnight.

This cold snowey weather sure has all the birds eating up everything in sight.

We have about 10 morning doves, all we ever feed any of the birds is black-oil sunflower seeds.

Thank you for the replies.. I do have mourning doves and quite a few of them but I see them up in the flat feeder all the time. I have one that thinks it is his own personal feeder and was trying to keep the other birds out of it the other day. I will continue to buy the same feed then, the doves are here on a daily basis all day long. They like to hang out around my water garden.

I'd sure like to send these redwinged blackbirds to anyone who might want them. They are here by the hundreds and eating everything in sight.

DS says junk/problem birds and varmints eat the cracked corn. He used to manage a farm supply store which sold birdseed, and the mixed kind with the cracked corn was the cheapest.

Sparrows, doves, starlings, crows, coons, squirrels, possums, deer, etc. eat the cracked corn. So I don't buy it. I just buy the blackoil sunflower seed now.

lindaohnowga, send them to me. I love red winged blackbirds.

I know squirrels love the corn, I've seen them at my feeder and eating any that spills to the ground below.

I feed my birds - Costco's bird seed is full of sunflower seeds. I put a bowl full of seed outside each morning in a large clay saucer that sits on the ground.

So, I have a question - does anyone have any tips on how to keep the empty sunflower shells from blowing all over the patio?

This post was edited by tally on Sun, Jan 26, 14 at 9:57

Suzieque, if I knew "how" to send you these redwinged blackbirds, I would do so in a heartbeat. I know they have to eat too, but I don't appreciate hundreds of them stripping every feeder and our regular birds not getting a chance to eat. Twice a year the hoard arrives and they stay here at least 3 months. Our feed bill skyrockets.

What's eating the cracked corn? it depends on particle size. Whole grains of corn (shelled) will be eaten by horses, rabbits, squirrels, deer, pigs, goats, and chickens.

Cracked corn wll also be eaten all of the above plus animals with smaller gullets such as members of the dove family. sparrows, and cardinal sized birds. Racoons and opposums prefer cracked corn to whole grain. Many birds are attracted to hulled sunflower (sunflower hearts).