Hummingbirds naturally consume micronutrient copper in their daily diet of insects and nectar. It is something they must have for their normal growth and development.
• Nectar Defender is well within the natural range of copper found in wild hummingbirds diets. The arthropods that hummingbirds eat can be many times the copper level in Nectar Defender. And, the copper level of Nectar Defender combined with arthropods is substantially within a hummingbird’s natural range.
• Micronutrient copper has shown to be safe for hummingbirds in long-term studies of hummingbirds’ diet conducted by University of California Avian Scientists, and at zoo and wildlife rehabilitation organizations to successfully maintain the long-term health of their hummingbird colonies for years at a time.
• To ensure Nectar Defender is safe, the amount of micronutrient used in Nectar Defender is below the level tested in these long-term studies and below the level recommended by the Association of Avian Veterinarians.
• The safety of Nectar Defender has been approved by Avian Scientists at major universities (such as Cornell University and University of California) and by other hummingbird experts.
• In a real world situation, hummingbirds will have multiple sources of natural flower and feeder nectar and as a result, when using Nectar Defender, the actual level of copper in their nectar diet will likely be less than the drinking water standard set.
• Hummingbirds are protected from absorbing more copper than they need due to their bodies' natural biochemical regulation. All eukaryotic animals have a robust system to precisely maintain a healthy copper balance (copper homeostasis). In fact, copper will not even be absorbed from nectar in the hummingbird’s digestive system, unless the hummingbird is in need of copper nutrient.
• Micronutrient copper will not accumulate in the hummingbird’s system, because any excess is rapidly excreted from their system.
• This micronutrient copper used in Nectar Defender is the same mineral supplement used for decades to provide essential trace minerals for birds and is approved for this use by the FDA and USDA. It is rated by the FDA as GRAS (“generally recognized as safe”), the safest rating given.
• Based on real world preference testing, hummingbirds prefer nectar with Nectar Defender just as much as nectar without.
• Nectar Defender protects the birds and prevents nectar spoilage naturally up to 2 weeks, even in hot weather. They will enjoy fresh nectar every time they visit the feeder between cleanings.
