niger

[Tiaris]

Whenever I've kept Siskins, I've offered separate bowls of Niger & Sunflower kernels. When I had Aussie-grown Niger, they ate both it & the SF kernels equally keenly. Whenever I had imported (treated) Niger, they ignored the Niger & just ate the SF, so it must adversely affect the flavour as well. I guess roasted nuts have a very different flavour to fresh ones so not that surprising that seeds' flavour should be similarly affected. I also guess that dead seed's nutritional value may be same at the time of treatment, but would be likely to deteriorate much quicker thereafter as with any other dead organic matter vs live.