My partner and I reused a coconut shell feeder and filled it with lard and a storebought mix of bird seed. We put it out back in Nov/Dec but no takers! The birds are definitely still out there, they'll take some seed from the windowsill. They ate up the last one which was entirely storebought, and hung in the same place... we are sad they haven't enjoyed this one especially over winter and we're wondering if anyone has suggestions on what may have gone wrong and if there's anything we can replace it with to encourage them back. I've read that you can put cheese, raisins and peanuts in too, any thoughts on those?
hello Sage, with any home made bird food I would ensure there is firstly no wheat in the seed mix as most birds will not eat it, opting to discard it onto the ground. Anything with lard added should not be too sticky as birds could find it sticks to their beak and any excess fat/grease could get on to their feathers. I would suggest maybe trying a tried and tested version of homemade pastry which a lot of members here have made and has been popular with the birds;
For homemade raw pastry: plain (supermarket brand flour) lard, make it as you would for pie pastry but leave the salt content out; add a few suet pellets or a little seed (no wheat) and a small handful of mild cheddar cheese (just a little as it contains salt), you can add a few kibbled/crushed peanuts if you want (only peanuts suitable for wildlife) mix together with just enough water to bind the pastry together so it is not sticky; add more flour if sticky. Press the pastry (ensure it is dry not sticky) into your coconut shells or place in a fat cake or fat ball feeder or pinch little pieces of pastry off and put it on to twigs in the garden. Most birds (except finches) will love raw pastry. At this time of year birds require high energy fat products like peanuts, suet, fat-balls, fat-cakes along with the most popular seed which is sunflower hearts. Good luck and hope your birds enjoy their treats.
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Regards, Hazel