Can I use this baking block to make fat balls?

Can I use this baking block to make fat balls?

Tesco baking block

Thanks,

Terry.

  • Hi Terry, personally, I wouldn't use it for making fatballs. Firstly, it contains 5% salt which is not good for birds as well as other ingredients like emulsifiers and flavourings. Also, it contains palm oil, the excessive use of which is believed to be damaging the rain forest in southeast Asia.

    Most of us use pure lard which is salt free to make fat balls and raw pastry. It's equally as cheap.

  • Hi Terry,   I completely agree with TeeJay and would instead make use of cheap own brand lard which doesn't contain the harmful additives.    A lot of us on the forum also make raw pastry for the birds:   own brand plain flour, block of own brand lard   (half fat to flour ratio),   just don't add any salt like you would for home use pastry;  you can add a few bird seeds or things such as crushed peanuts, suet pellets and then bind the mix together with just enough water so it's not sticky.     Add more flour if the mix becomes sticky and the birds will love the raw pastry.    You can place the pastry in a fat ball feeder or suet block feeder or even place bits of raw pastry on the shrubs, twigs, fence, etc.     Tit birds love the pastry and especially if you get long tailed tits who will make a beeline for it.     

  • Thanks for the prompt reply. I had a block of this baking block at the back of the fridge, and thought I could use it for the birds, but I guess not. I will have to use it for something else as I don't like to throw anything away. Glad I asked first, as I don't want to do any harm.

  • Thanks for the advice and recipe, I will certainly give that a go, sounds easy to make.

  • Last winter, I made homemade fat balls for birds to feed the birds in the garden. It's a very fun and cheap thing to do to encourage more birds to visit my garden. But instead of using lard as the main source of fat, I used peanut butter and suet instead. The birds seem to like it. It is also a great food for birds all year round and especially in winter.
  • Earsom said:
    I used peanut butter and suet instead.

    Hi Earsom,     It's always nice to make salt free raw pastry or fat-cake type products for our birds but just a warning ............  if using peanut butter intended for humans and not the dedicated bird variety then it may be too high in salt content which could be harmful to birds/wildlife.      I wouldn't recommend the peanut butter unless you purchase the wildlife "flutter-butter" product which would be free of salt content.    

  • There are some peanut butters aimed at human consumption that don't have added salt or sugars. Quite possibly because some people have to be very careful about their salt consumption. You have to read the labels carefully.

    e,g, groceries.morrisons.com/.../morrisons-100-crunchy-peanut-butter-347346011

    "100% peanuts, No palm oil, No added sugar and salt, No artificial colours or flavours, Suitable for vegetarians"

    "Ingredients
    Peanuts (100%)"

    Nothing else (according to the label). Nurtitional information states zero salt.

    (no, I don't work for this place and never have - just used as an example)