Difference between Thistle and Nyger

[anncurriew]

I've been using a thistle mix and my finches love it. Of course the mix contains egg and a few other things as well as the thistle seed. My husband came home last night with an 8 lb bag of Nyger bird seed from Lowes. I realize that this seed is for wild birds but listed finches on the back of the bag as "A Preference". My question is - what is the difference between Nyger and Thistle?

[Smurf]

I found this on wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guizotia_abyssinica

[anncurriew]

Thanks! I am assuming Nyger is safe for cages finches? Although with finicky finches I assume nothing!

[MariusStegmann]

If you have lavender finches, you should add a little bit of niger seed to your seed mixture. My birds don't like niger seed, and since I don't have lavenders anymore, I don't use it anymore.

[jonvill]

Nyger is sold as thistle in the United States. It is not thistle but goldfinches, siskins and canaries love it. It is high in fat so use it sparingly. It's beneficial when rearing young and during the moult.

[Rox]

Niger is quite a hard seed, so most of the smaller finches & waxbills would rather go for a softer seed like panicum or millet. But, as jonvill says, it is good to use during breeding season if your birds eat it.

I occasionally add a bit to my seed mix but it usually gets wasted. Maybe my spoilt birds are just too lazy to crack them open