Birds

Suet-based products like the Suet to Go Suet Pellets Berry are a high-energy option for garden birds, particularly valuable in colder months when natural food is scarcer. The RSPB and BTO both recommend offering a variety of foods — seed mixes, suet and fresh water — rather than relying on a single feeder, since different garden species prefer different foods.

Keep feeders clean and move their position occasionally to reduce the risk of disease spreading between visiting birds, and avoid feeding mouldy or old seed, which can make birds unwell rather than help them.

For budgies, canaries and other cage birds, products like the Nature First Rope Bridge Perch and the Supa Twist Perch give birds different textures and heights to move around on, which matters for foot health and general activity in a way a single straight perch doesn't. Seed-based diets, such as Johnson's Budgie Fruit & Honey Bell, should sit alongside fresh water and, for most pet birds, some fresh fruit or vegetables rather than being the entire diet.

Cage hygiene products, like Johnson's Clean 'N' Safe Birds Disinfectant, matter more for pet birds than owners sometimes expect, since birds are sensitive to a build-up of droppings and stale food in an enclosed cage.

If you're feeding wild birds, think about which species visit your garden and choose a mix or suet product that suits them, varying it through the year as natural food availability changes. If you're keeping a pet bird, match perches, toys and feeders to your specific species — a canary and a larger parrot-type bird have very different space and enrichment needs, even though some accessories are shared across the range.

Either way, fresh water is the one constant that's easy to overlook — check and refresh it daily for a pet bird, and keep garden bird baths topped up and reasonably clean too.