Food for Wild Birds

Murielson

Apologies if this has already been done before, maybe should also be in a different forum but had a search and can't find anything.

Getting a lot of feathered friends visiting the garden just now which we are happy to encourage (fewer pigeons would be nice but ...). All sorts of tits, sparrows, robins, finches etc and some have also taken to nesting in boxes we have put out. However, costing us a fortune in various types of feed and wondered if you could share best places to get wild bird food at best value

We put out:
Wild seed mix
Fat balls
Peanuts
Suet blocks
Niger seed
Sunflower hearts

Have done bulk buys via Amazon and ebay in the past, use Wilkinsons a lot too but looking to tap into the collective knowledge here to get best value so we can keep on putting out food and getting the benefit of watching the wild birds do their thing which is very relaxing in these troubles times.

Murielson

Hello and thanks for response. I've since found this thread wich will hopefully prove useful if anyone else looking  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6165468/has-anyone-got-any-tips-on-where-to-buy-bird-food-for-wild-visiting-garden-birds/p1

twopenny

I used to only buy from the pet shop but then found that the birds prefered the cheap stuff more than the classy stuff. I'm assuming they know best.

The fat balls and blocks from Poundland and our local DIY store Properjob are my go to now for the song birds.

The pigeons have to clear up the leavings from the lawn and hopfully with the limited diet, the weed seeds

25_Years_On

I buy the 12kg  £3.99 bags from B&M bargains for seed mix. I also picked up the 150 fat balls for £8. Sometimes there are reasonable prices elsewhere. The local garden centre had 12kg bags of seed mix for £5 a couple of months ago. My problem is lack of birds. I've never seen so few around. Sometimes  the feeders get quite busy but often it's quiet. In previous years I'd be filling two seed feeders everyday and putting out three fats balls. It's now rare to have to put any in daily. At least it's nice to see the greater spotted woodpecker on the fat balls.

Murielson

Wilkinsons have offers on at the moment, notably £1 suet blocks for 50p plus offers on peanuts, £30 for 25kg

Brewer20

We buy the seed from B&M as in one of the above posts. Mix the meal worms with it and maybe put out some peanuts in a separate feeder. I find the birds love the black sunflower seeds rather than the other. They don't like Niger seeds either, they always leave them.
Best tip is, my wife makes her own fat balls. Get a couple of blocks of lard from the supermarket and use the cheap seed from the above mentioned. Just cut the lard up and roll it up with the seed to form something resembling meatballs, job done. Then find a container and freeze them. When required put them straight out into the feeder frozen and watch those birds go mad, they seem to like them frozen.  Ok it's messy to make up the balls (wear disposal gloves) but satisfying to do your own.