Feeding the Birds

SnowyOwl_2

Can anybody tell me what the best home made food for wild birds is? I ask because I put one of those nets of peanuts out for the birds on Tuesday, and it's nearly all finished! It was 99p, not terribly expensive I know, but I haven't noticed any robins helping themselves (awww!) even though I have seen them in the garden.

NB I don't buy bread otherwise I live off sandwiches (I am such a slob) so breadcrumbs aren't really an option.

Oh just in case anyone is wondering about me being a cat owner and the wisdom of attracting wild birds to my back garden...one of my cats is 17 and in all the years I have had her has only ever caught fleas (sorry!) so i don't think she's going to start hunting now. The other one hasn't a clue about how to hunt - he practically rings a bell to let the birds know he is there. And I hung the peanuts high up on a fence which the cats can't climb anyway - the birdies are therefore safe.

rchddap1

Birds eat food like its gone out of fashion. However, when the baby birds are around its better to use seed than peanuts. We bought a large 25Kg bag of wild bird seed from Pets at Home last year for £9.99.

Nile

SnowyOwl wrote:

Can anybody tell me what the best home made food for wild birds is? I ask because I put one of those nets of peanuts out for the birds on Tuesday, and it's nearly all finished! It was 99p, not terribly expensive I know, but I haven't noticed any robins helping themselves (awww!) even though I have seen them in the garden.

A better idea is to buy a wire feeder for peanuts. This will help in two ways.

1 It will make the peanuts last longer, because the birds won't be able to widen the wire mesh (like they could with a net bag) to speed up access to the peanuts.

2 It will be safer for the wild birds who are currently feeding young chicks. If a young chick is fed a whole peanut it will choke and die. However, a wire feeder will only allow a bird to take small bits of peanuts out, not a whole peanut.

My tip is to visit your local pet shop (not the big superstore type) and buy your peanuts and sunflowers (without husks) at a cheaper price.

Galtizz

There's a recipe for lard cake somewhere, I'll see if I can find it, it doesn't seem to be on the recipe board

Edit: HERE it is, also loads of ideas HERE

Check out the Springwatch website It's got how to make a bird table, nest box and feeder from a milk carton, and don't forget to order your free pack

Vermilion

Scraps are good, but if you can plant one or two things in your garden that birds like, you create food and/or shelter for free.

I find this RSPB Guide a big help.

Some peanuts are toxic to wild birds, including some of those sold as suitable for human consumption, as the toxin is harmless to us. Bulk buying "safe" peanuts is probably the best money saving way of feeding peanuts unless anyone knows another way?

SnowyOwl_2

Oh Galtizz what a brilliant site, thank you! I am definitely going to do the bird table and also that trick with the milk carton.

Thanks also for the tips about whole peanuts, I will go and retrieve my net thingy and give it a few good whacks with a spade to break the peanuts up, then return it.

I have a Haithe catalogue - it's v.good, however their delivery charges to us in N.Ireland are astronomical.

spendaholic

Hello SnowyOwl.

We feed the birds and they really can eat for England (or even the wild west). We're not supposed to put bread out because of the high starch levels ... but it never, ever does our birds any harm. You can buy seed very cheaply from little hardware stores or small pet shops - the bigger the shop or chain, the bigger the price - or you can get it in bulk via mail order.

I haven't quite worked out the lard cake mixes for ours but find they're perfectly happy with a bit of seed and broken nuts covered with cooking fat from the Sunday joint.

If you have many babies, keep the earth turned so their parents (and them) can dig up grubs and worms - much cheaper than buying live food - and leave plenty of water out.

EDIT: Bruised apples make a nice snack for starlings, blackbirds and thrushes. And the thrushes will help you with any snail problem.

aurorahelios

Robins are ground feeders, they don't have the dexterity to feed from hanging feeders. You could try a bit of grated cheese, either on the ground or a table. In my garden this attracts both the robins and blackbirds.

gemmaj

Lard cakes sound good for winter but I read you aren't supposed to give them fats in summer, just seeds and nuts and things.

I too have just started feeding the birds (bought my house and moved in 2 weeks ago!) - so far my best idea for cheap feeding is to try and grow my own sunflower plants - if they flower they will feed the birds themselves or they could be harvested! (It all started by accident when some sunflower seeds got wet on the table and started sprouting!)

I'm with you on the Haithes/magazines postage - most places wont post to Guernsey and places that will want double figures!

Galtizz

Sorry to hijak your thread SnowyOwl, but I've been thinking about adding loads of things to attract the birds because I like to watch them, but are they good for the garden or not??

It's my first year of gardening and I've just got things growing, I understand that thrushes eat snails so they would be good, but are they going to eat all my strawberries and seedlings? If they do I might just put loads of food out in autumn and winter.

born_blonde

Have a look in Yellow pages for your local seed merchant. I buy my bird food in 20kg sacks for £7 a time this works out at about 17 -18 pence a lb. in old money. I also get my peanuts there by the sack but they are still expensive at £17 a sack once again 20kg. Yes we do have a lot of wild birds, my husband says they come from miles away. I feed them all year but chrush the peanuts during breeding season. They also love cheese and last night old pakoras! I keep the seed in a plastic dustbin under a dry hedge and unfortuately one sack lasts a month.