Post #3723310

2026-07-09 12:50 UTC

My mom bought "Fiery Feast" birdseed infused with chile pepper that birds are supposed to like while squirrels don't. Here's the scorecard on who actually likes to eat it, based on my last week visiting her in New Mexico: ❌ birds ✅ black bears ✅ skunks ✅ squirrels #Wildlife #NewMexico

Replies (1)

@Spartan_1986@infosec.exchange 2026-07-10 19:16

@stshank@mstdn.social Modern theropods cannot sense capsaicin, or so they say but I’ve never seen a paper on it. This is purportedly an evolutionary adaptation to keep mammals from eating seeds that will not survive their gastrointestinal tract. However, I have far too much experience (to PTSD levels if I were to be honest) with chickens. I know of no seed that will make it through their gizzard without a hard shell. Needless to say, I doubt the veracity of the capsaicin evolutionary tale. But from what I know of most bird seeds, they are made of hard shelled seeds. Reading what @bryan@dusty.ninja wrote, it sounds like he got a suet based block. That could bind softer seeds and would emulate the plant tissue around pepper seeds where the capsaicin actually is. Anyway, just rambling some thoughts here. Tl;dr - I think it’s just a marketing ploy.

Open ##3723308