wild bird food please help?

Question

hi all my sons are wanting to make some wild bird food you know the ones where they make them in yougart pots then remove them and hand them to a tree,well how do i make them what do i need and how do i do it,many thanks zoe

Answer 1

We make a sort of cereal cake as follows:



Melt 125g (5oz) lard or dripping. Add approx 150g (6oz) dry fruit (raisins, sultanas, currants, chopped peel but not candied peel) and the same amount of dry porridge oats (not Ready Brek - just plain oats). Mix thoroughly with enough boiling water to make a stiff mixture. Measurements are approximate - once you've made it a couple of times you'll find experience will tell you how much of each ingredient you need. Either press it into a shallow dish, chill and cut into squares or let it cool a bit and form it into balls. You could probably form the ball around a wick as long as you make the mixture fairly stiff - I haven't ever tried. You can add alll sorts of scraps such as bacon fat etc, it's surprising what the birds will eat. When we have roast beef we save the fat that comes off the joint during cooking and use that instead of lard but you will find this makes a softer mixture that doesn't set as well.



Be careful using whole peanuts (never used salted peanuts anyway) as these can cause baby birds to choke).



The problem we found in using yogurt pots was that it was very difficult to get the mixture out of the pot in one block. We have made a cake using the above ingredients but omitting the porridge; we tried doing as you suggested and making a wick to hang it by or filling a half coconut shell with the mixture but the problem with that was that as soon as it got a bit warm outside the whole thing melted and fell apart before the birds could eat it.



We have found that the cheapest dry fruit is Sainsbury's or Tesco's own budget range - I think it's about 41p a bag. You can buy dry fruit specifically for birds but not only is it the same fruit, it's also much more expensive.



We used to use mixed bird seed or sunflower seeds in the cake but found that if any of the cake got onto the garden or grass the seed in it would germinate and we were forever pulling up seedlings.



Well done on giving this a go. It's completely ignorant to suggest that wild birds don't need our help.

Answer 2

Bravo for you! Mary C. Norma it is a myth that wild birds will become dependent on the food you supply to them. it's also a myth that birds won't migrate if you feed them. The eastern blue bird is a perfect example of how feeding wild birds can help sustain and increase wild bird populations. Mary you should be commended for taking the initiative to feed birds in a healthy and responsible manner. I went and checked out Avian Cuisine Wild Bird Foods like Jeanne B suggested. Looks like good stuff I will be trying it soon.

Answer 3

Put a piece of string about 12 " long down into the pot and let the ends hang over its edges.



Get bird seed from the pet shop, bacon rind, small scraps of cheese. Put them all in the pot you will be using.

Gently heat some lard, don't let the kids do this without supervision as it can get very hot, and pour over the seed mix.

Let it cool. Hang it up somewhere in the garden where you can see it and wait to watch the birds.

Answer 4

Well this is something similar that you can do that will be quick.



Get some pine cones from the craft store, make sure they are not scented, painted or contain glitter. Or find some on a nature walk.



Get a big jar of peanut butter and a rubber scraper. Pack the peanut butter into the pine cone and the get a nice coat of peanut butter on the outside.



Put your wild bird food in a disposable tin or container. Roll the pine cones that are packed with peanut butter into the seed. Press firmly.



Hang from the trees. The peanut butter is healthy for the birds and they will go crazy for it. Best of all they clean it up....



Best wishes and I hope you have fun making them! :)

Answer 5

Well done on helping our birds, your answers have yielded a few recipes all of which the birds adore but for a quick treat a scrunched up digestive biscuit is relished and don't give birds whole peanuts now make sure they are broken down Enjoy:)

Answer 6

pour a cup of honey and wild bird food in a jar and mix them together. Cut a plastic tube in half and pour in the mixture and hang both ends on a tree.

Answer 7

wild bird seed from a pet shop and lard. heat the lard mix in the seed and pour into pots. pop a bit of string in the middle like a candle wick and let cool, hang up using the string.

Answer 8

Block of lard and then add sees, peanuts, bits of fruit (apples, pears etc). Bits of bacon or some other type of fatty meat is good.

Fill old yoghurt pots with the mix and hang from tree.

Answer 9

why do you want to make the birds go wild? i would just use some of the regular food for them, because the last thing i would want is a load of crazy, wild birds scaring the good folks of my neighbourhood.

Answer 10

heat lard and mix food into it fix wire into the pots bending the wire inside the pot so as the mixture does not slide of after it sets.

Answer 11

Wild birds find their own food. If they were fed, they wouldn't be wild would they?