Gold Finches won't eat my thistle seed!

Does anyone know why the finches won't eat the thistle seed I put out for them? I've tried different feeders-they take a seed or two, but don't come back. Several years ago, they were all over it. Could there be something wrong with the seed? That stuff's expensive!

Hi LJ, It could be that the seed is old (being held in a warehouse too long) or it could be they would prefer sunflower chips. Mine do not seem too interested in thistle either.

Mine don't go much for the thistle either. At this time they seem to prefer the Sunflower seeds. I did, however see activity, when the young have fledged. They introduce them to the thistle feeder.

Thanks for the info. The seed is a little old. My sunflowers will be blooming soon and they will be eating themselves silly as they do every year. I'll buy some new thistle this fall and see if that works.

Maybe just the time of year, there's plenty of natural food around at the moment.

Best to store seed cold, so it doesn't go rancid.

Resin

You have to try to keep it from getting wet once it's in the feeder too. Despite being protected by a large cover, sometimes the seed in our feeder has been affected by hard-driving rain. Once that happens, the seed has had it (and unfortunately, it is quite expensive as noted above)!

Thanks for the additional info.