sparrows raiding finch sock

My Mom got me a finch sock at Big Lots. The house finches are attracted to it, but they can hardly ever get on it because the sparrows and chickadees chase them away and are eating the seed themselves. I thought the holes were so small a larger bird couldn't get at the seed; am I wrong? The larger birds really have to work at it to get the seed out, but they are doing it. Did I just get a cheap sock or is this common?

Might be the sock, as I don't have any sparrows even looking at my finch (nyger) feeders, just house finches and goldfinches. Your sock hass nyger right, not finch seed?
What kind of chickadees do you have?

2ndChance, I have the same experience as Susie, just house finches and lesser goldfinches. I use a large sock I bought at Wildbirds Unlimited (NE corner of Gilbert/Southern) for $6; it holds about 7 lbs of nyger seed. BTW, your "chickadees" are most likely house sparrows.

It may be filled with thistle, no nyger. I'll check.

Thistle and nyger are one and the same.

Looks like black seed to me, not finch food/seed. I'm taking the empty sock with me to Ace to compare with the netting in their sock. Maybe mine is a cheap-o brand with big holes.

The black seed is thistle/nyger and is really good at attracting finches. For my money, the best seed bag is found at Wildbirds Unlimited.

The owners, Dave & Mary Ann are also some of the nicest people. Nothing like supporting the local, small business. As a bonus, you can go to Trader Joe's when you are done!

My sock has finer mesh than the Kaytee ones sold at Ace, so it is not the sack. But I think I figured it out. I was out of town when my husband hung it and I never examined it closely until yesterday. There was only about a 1/3 cup of nyjer left in it and it was very dirty down there but the rest of the sock was clean. I bet it came with mixed finch seed and the sparrows ate everything except the nyjer which sunk to the bottom. I bought a bag of nyjer yesterday . I filled the sock with pure nyjer and the sparrows are not happy. They are all over it looking in every single hole but not pecking at it. I also ordered a finer mesh sock off Amazon for $4 as an add-on.

The WBU in Tempe closed over a year ago : ( I might stop at the Scottsdale location next time I head up to my Mom's house.

why is nyger so expensive?

WBU at Gilbert and Baseline might be closer than the one up in North Scottsdale....

Wish I knew why!! I did see it when I was at Winco Foods in the bulk section for $1.59 / lb.....

I'll be checking out Winco!

Nyger seed in the bulk food dept? Wow, who knew? (obviously Susie knew) That is a crazy price :)

WalMart just went down to around $15 for a 10 lb bag (either $14.99 of $15.49, can't remember for sure).

I went to one of the Vegas Wincos. Sure enough - $1.49/pound. Great tip.