Feeding the Birds

rosie383

Just thought I would pass this on. A lady from ( I think) the RSPB was on our local radio today, and she said that turkey fat is a very dangerous thing for birds.
Apparently it doesn't solidify completely, so it gets stuck on the birds' feet and feathers and can kill them, or at least cause them big problems!

Penelope_Penguin

rosie383 wrote: »

Don't put turkey fat on your bird table!!!!

Absolutley - put it in your fridge and use it to roast potatoes

rosie383

Good point!!!!! Yum!

fairtrade

Also, because it does not soldify it is liable to become rancid.

Primrose

And for goodness sake, don't pour it down your sink either - or any kind of fat from your roasting tin. The last thing you want at Christmas is blocked drains and Dynarod and other drain busting companies charge an arm and a leg for being called out over Christmas Bank Holidays!

We mix any surplus fat (but not turkey fat) from roasting tins in with a large amount of whole porridge oats. The oats soak up all the fat and the birds seem to enjoy it.

juliapenguin

I'm not doing a turkey, but just out of interest, would it not then be ok to give the birds the turkey fat if it's been soaked up by the oats?

fairtrade

Not really, one of the problems with this type of fat is high salt content, so it will not freeze/solidfy and will go rancid even if soaked up by the oats. I keep the containers from the takeaway to pour the stuff into then bag it and bin it.

OrkneyStar

I used lard melted and mixed with seeds to make bird food balls.
Our chicken fat will be poured in the bin inside something.

lostinrates

Thanks, I didn't know not to do feed turkey fat to birds!

patchwork_cat

Apart from anything else it is a bit sick don't you think feeding bird fat to birds?