Cotswold Granaries New Zero Waste Food Range

Don't settle for "cheep" bird food!

With so many wild animal food products and suppliers out there and a wide variety of ingredients, packaging and price, it can get confusing. What should you look for in a fantastic wild animal food supplier? We're here to help, and we'll show you how Cotswold Granaries Wild Animal Food ticks all the boxes!

What are the best ingredients for wildlife food?

Quality bird food and wild animal food products are about proper nutritional ingredients. Low cost, high volume products may tempt you, but they often feature wheat that accounts for more than 70% of the mix. This wheat seed is typically one of the cheapest birdseed ingredients and is featured heavily in low-cost, low-quality blends.

Low-quality blends can lead to larger birds like magpies or pigeons overwhelming your feeding station and warding off smaller bird species.

None of our Cotswold Granaries Wild Bird Food seed mixes contains any wheat. Instead, we favour premium sunflower hearts and naked oats as they have far higher energy and nutrient values.

The new Squirrel Food also has no wheat content for much the same reasons. Premium nuts and seeds provide a much more nutritionally dense and healthy alternative.

We do have wheat products in our Hedgehog Food, and Duck & Swan Food mixes as they offer the crunchy and floating consistencies required. The ingredients for these two feeds are specialised as they are combined and formed into a meal that produces the final pellet.

What is Home-Compostable Packaging?

Our latest packaging is fully home compostable and resealable. Even the resealable zipper and clear window are home compostable, that was the tricky bit to get right. So, the entire new food range packaging is made from starch and plant fibres. Zero plastic, zero waste, zero consumer guilt!

Single-use plastic packaging accounts for an estimated 40% of all plastic produced in the world today. With more than half, or 51 million tonnes, of waste which is recyclable ending up in landfills or destroyed in the UK according to Defra. With stats like these everywhere and seemingly getting worse each year, the focus needs to turn to solutions for these mounting waste problems.

The ethos at Wildlife World has always been as environmentally friendly as possible, and this new food range lives up to those standard. Individuals that believe there needs to be a shift towards zero waste packaging and lifestyles can now start to make those changes with what they choose to buy. Wildlife World's new wild animal food range with 100% home compostable packaging will hopefully be one of the first of many companies offering product packaging that can help move towards a more sustainable future.

For the full low-down on the difference between home compostable and compostable, click here. It will transport you to Cotswold Granaries in-depth blog post on the subject.

The New Food Range

Wild Bird Food – 'No Wheat Mix', 'No Mess Mix' and 'Sunflower Hearts'

Cotswold Granaries new Wild Bird Food mixes use only natural ingredients. They were carefully selected to provide a nutritionally dense and energy-rich feed. As a result, you'll be keeping our native and visiting garden birds well-fed all year.

As mentioned above, it's important to avoid low quality feed. We feel the need to reiterate this as certain products may appear good value but often contain 'fillers' such as pulses and even dog biscuits! Always choose a brand you trust that provides high-quality natural ingredients. Like us, if you have a strong sense of environmental responsibility and want to promote good health in garden birds, this is the bird food for you.

The 'No Wheat' Mix is a high-quality feed that contains natural ingredients such as, naked oats, sunflower seeds and hearts. Above all, the mix has no wheat and no artificial colours or added sugar. So, this bespoke mix with beneficial nutrients helps attract a range of birds to the garden.

The 'No Mess' Mix also contains high-quality natural ingredients designed to leave fewer waste products, like shells, around and under bird feeders.

Hedgehog Food – 'Crunchy, No Sugar'

Like the bird food mixes Cotswold Granaries Hedgehog Food also contains only natural ingredients. The high-quality ingredients used produced a hedgehog friendly kibble. As a result, you'll be keeping your garden hedgehogs well-fed all year.

It's important to avoid low quality feed. Our new Hedgehog Food is a low odour dry kibble. It contains natural ingredients such as poultry meat, whole maize, rice, yeast and whole linseed. Most importantly, the mix has a high meat content, but it contains no added sugar or artificial flavours and colours. In short, this bespoke mix offers beneficial nutrients to attract hedgehogs to the garden and keep them healthy.

The crunchy texture of the kibble helps maintain healthy teeth and gums. Suitable for both adult hedgehogs and weaned hoglets. The low odour factor makes it less attractive to cats and, because it is not wet food, does not attract flies in the summer. The kibble does not freeze in winter, and garden birds can safely eat left-over crumbs.

You should always offer clean water in a shallow bowl in addition to food. Why not have a look at our recommended and much loved Hedgehog Water Bowl. And if you'd like something matching to put your newly purchased Cotswold Granaries Hedgehog Food in, try our Hedgehog Snack Bowl.

Squirrel Food

Cotswold Granaries have developed a premium Squirrel Food suitable for red, grey and black squirrels. The mix contains high quality nuts, seeds and grains that supply a natural calcium source. It also contains pine nuts a favourite of red squirrels.

Designed as a complementary feed suitable for use on squirrel feeding platform or in a squirrel feeder. The food helps the survival of native red squirrels if you are lucky enough to live in the reds' stronghold area. Otherwise, marvel at the acrobatic antics of your grey squirrels as they enjoy the delicious selection of goodness.

The mix contains peanuts, sunflower seeds, locust beans, hazelnuts and walnuts in shells. Again, much like all wild animal foods, you offer in your outdoor spaces, fresh water should also be available at all times. Wildlife World has many solutions for adding an attractive supply of water to your garden. Alternatively, a dish, bowl, saucer or any shallow container filled with water is just as good!

Duck & Swan Food

Duck & Swan food by Cotswold Granaries uses only natural ingredients. The careful formulation of these ingredients is then processed to form floating nuggets. Perfect for supplementary feeding of swans, ducks and waterfowl. Floating nuggets do not sink immediately, so provide a more ample opportunity for feeding. They are also less likely to go to waste and fall to the pond or river bottom where additional nutrients are undesirable.

It is preferable to feed a well-formulated swan & duck nugget instead of carbohydrate-rich bread treats such as bread. Hence our Duck & Swan Food is naturally nutritious containing peas, rice, fish meal, soya oil and linseed. The mix also has added vitamins A, D3 and E but importantly contains no added sugar, artificial flavours or colours. The new Swan & Duck Food by Cotswold Granaries keep swans, ducks, and waterfowl healthy and protect the aquatic environment.