After posting a successful reel showing how I made a bird feeder, I wanted to write this post as a font of knowledge for making your own successful bird feeders in many ways! And, well, it's not that. But, you will find TWO successful ways to make a bird feeder so I think that's good bang for your buck.
I love attracting birds to the garden, doing some investigative bird watching and cooing at how cute they are. Unfortunately, I had to stop feeding them at my flat because the house over our back fence had a rat problem and they used to sneak in to eat our bird feed (the rats, not the humans)! Needless to say we swiftly stopped feeding the birds and left pools of peppermint oil around the garden to fend the rats away naturally.
However now I spend half my time at my lovely boyfriend's house and he too has a garden where he puts out nibbles to attract the birdies. Forever one hoping to save the planet in small steps (and to do it as frugally as possible) I decided to make my own fat ball mixture. And, guess what? The birds loved it!
YOU WILL NEED:
- container: this can be little plastic yoghurt pots for example from the recycling, half a coconut, half an orange with the segments removed
-seed: bird seed of your choice, could be a pre-bought mix, sunflower seeds, you could even use mealworms depending on the birds you want to attract
-lard or suet
-optional: chopped fresh bird-friendly fruit/berries
STEP BY STEP:
Step One: Using your container(s) of choice, measure how much bird seed fits and make a note. Half this amount and that is how much lard you will need.
Step Two: Put a saucepan on low heat and add lard and stir till melted.
Step Three: Add your bird seed (the amount you measured earlier). Give it a stir. If you are adding any fresh fruit or berries, make sure it is chopped into little pieces and sprinkle it in now.
Step Four: Pour into your container(s). If your container has a whole for any string, make sure this hole is not facing down and is above any lard (if not, you'll have a big mess to clear up.. I learned this the hard way). If using a coconut or orange, I recommend grabbing a plastic container from the recycling and popping it in here to stop it rolling around.
Step Five: Place in fridge for 24 hours. Then, either hang outside or remove the fat balls from your plastic containers. You can use the same containers again next time.
Health and Safety Tip: If re-using any containers that have been outdoors (eg half a coconut) make sure you pour some boiling water thoroughly over all areas of your coconut before using it again. This is to make sure you don't bring any bird diseases into your fridge!
I was hoping I could find a way to make these with string through them but every way I tried this, I ended up with lots of leaked and wasted lard which is the opposite of what we are trying to achieve by doing this. So, if you manage that, please let me know.
If you decide to follow our recipe, tag us on instagram @allies.garden and give us a follow whilst you are there.
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