The weather is getting colder and more unpleasant and it is becoming more difficult for the birds to find food - at the latest when the first snow has fallen. And since particularly low temperatures were predicted for the winter of 2021, it would be a wonderful idea to provide food for the birds. After we have already given you a few recipes and suitable onesBird food mixesas well as ideas for bird feeders, today we would like to provide you with a recipe with which you can make suet balls yourself. Which fat is suitable and does the whole thing work completely without fat or even vegan? How long can you keep the finished dumplings before they spoil? We explain everything you should know.
Make your own fat balls: Ingredients that are suitable
The basis for the dumplings is fat. Not only does it serve to make the bird food more nutritious, but it also holds all of the seeds, grains, and berries together. WhichIngredients besides the fatThe most suitable ones depend on what types of birds visit your garden. There are soft food eaters who prefer foods such as berries, oats, wheat, spelled and nuts. In contrast, the so-called grain eaters, as the name suggests, prefer grains such as seeds, sunflower seeds and nuts because they have a stronger beak. That's why it's worth first observing the birds in your garden.
Examples of soft food eaters include:
- Blackbirds
- Thrushes
- robin
- Woodpeckers
- Star
- Wren King
They feed mainly on fruit in summer, so you should definitely leave fruit on the bushes or trees in the garden even in winter.
Examples of grain eaters include:
- Finken
- tits
- Sperlinge
Collect ingredients on a walk
Suitable feed mixtures are of course available to buy in stores. You can also collect the ingredients from nature, at least some of them. This is especially a great idea if you make suet balls yourself with children - in kindergarten or primary school, for example (only collect non-toxic bird food!). The following natural products are ideal and particularly tasty for birds:
From trees:
- The maple seed
- Apple cores
- Birch seeds
- pear seeds
- Bucheckersamen
- Ebereschenbeeren
- Alder cones
- Pine cones
- Kirsch cores
- Plum pits
- Pine cones
- Walnuts
From shrubs:
- Rose hips
- hazelnuts
- Elderberries
- Privets
- Mehlbeere
- Pfaffenhütchen
- Snowball
- Weißdorn
Cereals, grasses, flowers and perennials:
- dock
- Thistles
- Heather
- millet
- Shepherd's purse
- Burdocks
- Knöterich
- Korbblüter
- Dandelion
- Report
- Mohn
- Night candle
- Vogelmiere
- Plantain
Make your own fat balls – which fat?
Hardened vegetable fat is well suited for suet balls. For example, you can make suet balls yourself with coconut oil. This would also be a variant for vegan bird food. But mutton tallow is also often used, as is pork fat. What is important here is that thisunsaltedare. No matter whether you make suet balls yourself with lard, mutton tallow or vegetable fat, you can implement our recipe by simply using your preferred fat.
Make your own fat balls with vegetable or animal fat
Fat balls are usually hung in a net in the garden. Since the birds' claws sometimes get caught in them, which leads to injuries, we recommend that you make suet balls yourself without a net. To do this, you can, for example, put the finished mixture in a cup or use a cookie cutter to shape it through bird food and then hang it on a string or form dumplings and place them in a grid. Small clay pots can also be filled with it. The fat dumpling recipe is quick and easy to make:
Make your own suet dumplings – recipe
- 170 g Fett
- 200 g grains, seeds, nuts and fruits
- cord
- containers or cookie cutters
If you would like to make the fat balls yourself, gradually heat the fat on a low heat until it has melted. Then stir in about 180 g of the food. If you use cookie cutters or want to form balls, let the mixture cool down sufficiently and harden a little - on the one hand to avoid burning yourself, but on the other hand because it is not possible to shape with a mixture that is too liquid. If you are using flower pots, cups or other containers, add the mixture while it is still hot and liquid and allow it to cool. Before the mixture has completely hardened, press the remaining grains and fruits onto the outside.
Recipe without fat and vegan
Would you like to make your own fat balls without fat to save time? Just use peanut butter instead! Make sure to use peanut butter that is natural and, above all, contains no salt or sugar. If you also want to make suet balls yourself that are vegan, make sure that the peanut butter does not contain honey. You don't need to heat the butter as it already has exactly the right consistency for kneading and incorporating the grains and fruits.
How long does it last?
If you store the finished mixture (preferably in portions) in an airtight container and in the refrigerator, it will last for about a week. The low shelf life is due to the use of fat. You can also make suet balls yourself and then freeze them. This way you could store them for several months. However, in this case, it is very important that you thaw them well before feeding them. So if you make suet balls yourself in elementary school or kindergarten, you should either feed them straight away or tell your parents about it.
Make your own fat balls in kindergarten or at home
Also read: “MAKING BIRD FOOD COOKIES: HOW TO MAKE TREATS FOR FEATHERED FRIENDS IN WINTER!”
