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I meant to post this during the feed the birds week but I never quite got around to it.
I have no birds visiting my garden which eat corn and I found the corn in bought fat balls was discarded and then grew. This recipe is tailored to the birds I get in my garden, they eat every last bit so none of it is left for rats or to grow. It also works out at a fraction of the cost of bought bird food.
Fat balls (or blocks)
3 x 500g blocks of dripping (lard does not set hard enough)
1 x packet of value muesli
1 x packet of value sultanas
A few handfuls of sunflower hearts
A few handfuls of millet
A few handfuls of peanuts.
Melt the dripping and add to all the dried ingredients.
Spread it into a roasting tin.
Cut into squares when set.
The quantities can be reduced if your birds aren’t quite as greedy as ours.
Ingredients can be added/omitted to suit the birds in your garden.
I also put out a dried mix which the Blackbirds, Thrushes, Dunnock, Chaffinches and Robins love.
1 x packet value sultanas
A few handfuls of crushed peanuts.
Just mix it all together and feed.
(I hope I've posted this in the right place).
Build it and they will come.
Hi Silverspotter and welcome to the forum. Many thanks for that information. I am sure we are all aware of the dangers of those green mesh bags but actual feeders possibly causing a problem certainly hadn't occurred to me so I appreciate you bringing it to my attention.
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
Silverspotter said: All this about fat balls has prompted me to let everyone know the dangers of using fat ball feeders that do not have a lid. Last year I had to rescue a starling who had managed to get stuck upside down inside a feeder, as he had tried to get the last little bit of fat ball that was left. With the help of a friend I was able to release him by cutting the feeder open but his wings were damaged and bleeding so I don't know if he will have survived the ordeal. So please, everyone, make sure your feeders have well fitting lids.
All this about fat balls has prompted me to let everyone know the dangers of using fat ball feeders that do not have a lid. Last year I had to rescue a starling who had managed to get stuck upside down inside a feeder, as he had tried to get the last little bit of fat ball that was left. With the help of a friend I was able to release him by cutting the feeder open but his wings were damaged and bleeding so I don't know if he will have survived the ordeal. So please, everyone, make sure your feeders have well fitting lids.
We had a starling get caught in a fat ball feeder that DID have a lid (the cylindrical type of feeder). No idea how buut somehow the bird had managed to work the lid off to get in through the top and ended up trapped. Unfortunately the starling was found too late :-(
After that I fed the fat from a table attatched to the wall where there was nothing for them to get trapped in.
Millie & Fly the Border Collies
I have always used the square block cages but was about to change to the squirrel proof feeders and use the fat balls, but have now changed my mind again. Thanks Silverspotter and Kat Tai.
I have a similar homemade recipe that I adapted from one I found on an american website, I have an old metal casserole dish that I keep for this.
The starlings were eating the shop bought ones too quickly so needed a cheaper alternative, needless to say all the ingredients are from the 'bargain brands'
1Kg Lard, 1Kg Flour, 1Kg Porridge oats, 1 Kg Mixed seeds, 1 Jar peanut butter (optional).
Melt the lard (and peanut butter) in the pan whilst mixing together all the dry ingredients, then mix these into the melted fat (quite a stiff mixture).
I then line some plastic cups with freezer bags and fill each one with the mixture (this makes them easy to remove), these are left to cool in our cold porch and fit perferctly into our large fat ball feeders.
Thestarlings love them!!!
"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag" Mary Poppins
That sounds interesting ND. Definitely another one I shall try. Thanks for that. Roughly how many does that make, and do they store in an airtight container?