WILD BIRD SEED UNPALATABLE TO RODENTS

THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS INTENDED TO DEVELOP PROTOTYPE BIRD FOOD PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN GROUND CILI PEPPERS AND/OR CHILI PEPPER EXTRACTS, NATURAL SOURCES OF CAPSAICIN THAT RENDER BIRDSEED PALATABLE TO BIRDS BUT NOT PALATABLE TO SQUIRRELS AND OTHER RODENTS (U.S. PATENT APPLICATION NUMBER 7-892-484). THE FEASABILITY OF COATING SUNFLOWER HEARTS WITH OLEORESIN OF CAPSICUM (LIPOPHILIC CHILI PEPPER EXTRACTS) HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED, AND OLEORESIN COATED SUNFLOWER HEARTS WERE OBSERVED TO BE READILY CONSUMED BY BIRDS, BUT NOT SQUIRRELS. RESEARCH IS NOW NEEDED TO OPTIMIZE THE CONCENTRATION AND TYPE (I.E., OLEORESINS VS. GROUND WHOLE PEPPERS) OF CHILI PEPPER USED TO COAT SUNFLOWER HEARTS, TO DEVELOP A METHOD OF COATING SUNFLOWER HEARTS WITHIN THE SHELL, TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF APPLYING A SECOND "PROTECTIVE" COATING TO ELEORESIN COATED SEEDS, AND TO VALIDATE A METHOD OF TESTING PRODUCTS FOR LACK OF PALATABILTY TO GRAY SQUIRRELS (SCIURUS CAROLINENSIS). SPECIFICALLY, WHOLE SUNFLOWER SEEDS AND ISOLATED HEARTS WILL BE TREATED WITH OLEORESIN FORMUALTIONS OF VARIABLE CAPSAICIN CONTENT AND MIXED AT DIFFERENC RATIOS WITH UNTREATED MILLET. EACH MIXTURE WILL THEN BE EVALUATED FOR PALATABILITY TO BIRDS AND UNPALATABILITY TO SQUIRRELS. SUNFLOWER HEARTS COATED WITH GROUND CHILI PEPPER OF VARIABLE CAPSAICIN CONTENT IN AN ACCEPTABLE CARRIER (I.E., ANIMAL GLUE) WILL BE EVALUATED IN THE SAME MANNER.