What is the safflower seed? by Birdfeederist

There are different kinds of seeds that are used to attract the birds in the garden. Safflower is one of those seeds. Safflower is the most used seed to attract different birds in the garden—especially the cardinals, chickadees, finches, etc. The main reason people use this seed is it is not liked by many unwanted audiences that are usually attracted to other types of seeds.

Moreover, the safflower seeds are the perfect source of nutrition and getting more popular day by day. The safflower seed is most popular among backyard birds.

About safflower seeds

Safflower seeds are obtained from the annual safflower plant “Carthamus tinctorius.” These plants have three different color blooms, which include red, yellow, and orange. Safflower plants can be very attractive to any garden. It’s a perfect addition to the garden for those people who want groomed flowers in their gardens. Moreover, the seeds of this plant are beneficial for many birds.

In many countries, the safflower plant is cultivated as a crop. These countries include the United States, Canada, India, Mexico, Ethiopia, China, Argentina, and Kazakhstan.

The primary purpose of the safflowers is to get their oil. But in the recent past, many birders noticed that the safflower seeds are very useful for the birds. Safflower is almost like sunflower seeds in shape, but their size is a little smaller than the sunflower seeds. They are white in color compared to sunflower black color seeds. These white color seeds are full of protein, fat, and fiber.

Different birds that eat safflower seeds

Safflower is a very common seed for birds. These birds include chickadees, grosbeaks, blue jays, cardinals, woodpeckers, finches, indigos, doves, tufted titmice, and purple finches.

But the taste of the safflower seeds is a little bitter as compared to other seeds. So many wild birds don’t like these seeds and leave them behind in the feeder. So these seeds can also be used to keep away the wild birds. Moreover, squirrels also don’t like the safflower seeds and don’t disturb the safflower seeds feeder.

Nutrition content

The safflower seeds contain protein, fat, and carbohydrates, which are very beneficial for the birds to maintain their healthy lifestyle. It’s a perfect supply of fat and proteins, which is necessary for the birds required energy and nutrition. Safflower seeds contain 38% fat, 16% protein, and 34% carbohydrates. This concentration of nutrition is suitable for any bird species.

Feeding safflower seeds             

The feeding of the safflower seeds is also very important depending upon the birds you want to feed. Usually, these seeds are used for the little larger birds which need perches to easily enjoy the seeds from the feeder. So the best feeders to provide the safflower to the birds can be larger hopper, tube, or platform feeders. You can also use any other feeder as well, which can accommodate the safflower seeds. You can also use a sunflower bird seeds feeder for this purpose. You can also spread these seeds on the ground as some birds prefer to pick seeds from the ground. These birds can include the doves and quails.

The safflower seeds are a little bit different and new for the birds. So they take some time to get familiar with them. You can use the safflower seeds with some other types of seeds for getting familiar with the birds with this seed. So you can use the safflower seeds in the bird’s seeds mixtures. This can be an excellent way to feed the safflower seed to the birds.

Where to buy safflower seeds?

Maybe you can’t find the safflower seeds in general stores like grocery stores and other large retailers. But some pet and wild animal bird food stores have stock of safflower seeds. You can also find a large variety of seeds in online stores as well. It’s hard to find pure safflower seeds. But there are different kinds of food blends available which contain safflower seeds. You can especially find the safflower seeds in cardinal blend mixes. Usually, the high-quality blends of the bird foods contain more amount of safflower seeds as compared to lower quality blends.

You can also grow the safflower plant in your garden and allow the seeds to get ready for the birds. This can be the perfect natural way of getting the safflower seeds. You need to plant the safflower in a sunny area with minimal usage of water. This is an annual flowering plant, but the spreading seeds can grow the plants in the next year as well.

Health benefits of safflower seeds

Safflower seeds are very beneficial for the birds, as we see from all the above discussion. But it also has many health benefits for humans as well. These health benefits include the following.

• Safflower seeds oil is a perfect source of healthy fatty acids. These fats are good for hormone regulation and memory.
• The safflower seeds are useful to control the sugar level in the blood. So these seeds are perfect for the treatment of diabetes.
• These seeds are also helpful for the excellent health of the heart and lower cholesterol levels.
• The safflower seeds oil has excellent anti-inflammatory properties.
• Safflower seeds are suitable for perfect and smooth skin. The oil of these seeds contains vitamin E, which is good for skin health.

Conclusion

From all the above discussion, we can conclude that the safflower seeds are somehow different from the other seeds due to their unique properties. These properties include their bitter taste and repellent for many unwanted audiences. This seed mainly consists of fat, proteins, and carbohydrates. It’s also very beneficial for human health as well.