If you want to do something good for the local birds that don't migrate south, especially in the cold winter, you can provide them with a feeding place. After all, it is more difficult for them to find food in winter, especially when there is snow.A birdhouse, which offers additional shelter, or a simple feeding place is a great idea that you can also benefit from: you can watch the birds through the window together with the children. And the more diverse the food, the more species of birds you will attract to your garden or balcony. It is particularly important that you always use high-quality food for the birds with ingredients that will not harm them. We would like to give you a few recipes with which you can even make cheap bird food yourself.
Make bird food yourself – which fat?
So-calledFatty food, depending on additional ingredientsSuitable for both grain eaters and soft eaters, it provides the birds with the energy they need for the winter and can even save their lives on particularly cold days. So you are always doing something good when you make bird food yourself. Beef tallow is considered a particularly good source of energy. Since this can become extremely solid in the cold temperatures in winter, it is recommended to mix in two to three tablespoons of cooking oil per 500 g of beef tallow when melting.
Otherwise, coconut oil (notCoconut oil!), as well as sunflower oil and other vegetable oils. Fat is not only a great source of energy, but also holds the grains used together. Alternatively, you can of course offer the grains, seeds, nuts and dried fruits without fat. To do this, simply sprinkle the mixture on a suitable surface that should be protected from moisture (e.g. a birdhouse).
Mix bird food yourself – with what?
As already mentioned, different bird species naturally prefer different foods. Basically all kinds of seeds, nuts and grains are suitable. The little guys also like dried fruits, including raisins and currants. However, it is important to ensure that they are unsulfured. Otherwise, dried fruits are poisonous to birds. Below we have listed some suitable ingredients with which you can make your own bird food mixture:
Make your own bird food – ingredients besides fat or oil:
- Oatmeal (whole grain and multigrain)
- Spelt
- flax
- crushed peanuts
- Sunflower seeds
- linseed
- Wheat
- millet
- Mohn
- Distelsamen
- Clay
- beechnuts
- dried rose hips
- dried rowan berries
- crushed hazelnuts
- dried elderberries
- dried mealworms
- Owner
How do you make bird food yourself?
To make your choice a little easier, we would like to introduce you to a few recipe ideas below with different ingredients that you can use if you make bird food yourself. We also have some suggestions on how and in which containers you can offer your homemade bird food. On a stick, in a clay pot, with cookie cutters, in fruit bowls, yogurt cups and as a classic fat ball are just a few of the possible variations.
Make your own bird food with lard, oat flakes, nuts and seeds
- 250 g unsalted pork lard
- 250 g Coconut fat
- 300 g oat flakes
- 250 g sunflower seeds
- 50 g coarsely chopped peanuts
- 50 g coarsely chopped hazelnuts
If you would like to make this bird food recipe yourself, melt the fat in a pot over low heat. As soon as it is liquid, you can first stir in the oat flakes and seeds and then the nuts. Then take the pot off the stove and let the mixture cool down. Stir frequently to prevent it from sticking to the pot. At the end you should have a kneadable mass that you can now shape and feed as desired.
Store food that you do not feed immediately in the refrigerator for a maximum of a week or portion it out and freeze it. Bird seed will last a few months in the freezer. However, it should definitely be thawed before feeding.
Make your own bird food – oatmeal with oil, eggs and low-fat quark for an energy-rich cake
- 3 Owner
- 500 g low-fat quark
- 400 g vegetable fat (more if necessary)orVegetable oil in smaller quantities
- 300 g oat flakes
- 100 g unsulfured raisins
- 250 g of any, coarsely chopped nuts
- 100 – 150 g Flour
This is a very quick recipe that requires no cooking. Instead, the oven takes on the task of baking a food cake from the mixture. So if you want to make bird food yourself with children without cooking, this recipe is perfect. Only the fat needs to be melted if you use it. But with oil you can save yourself this process. Simply mix all the ingredients in a bowl. The children can do this too. You can make your own bird food with peanuts, but of course you can also use any other nuts. It is important that you chop up the nuts so that the birds can eat them.
Then pour the mixture into a baking pan and bake the cake at 180 degrees for about 15 to 30 minutes. Once the cake has cooled, you can feed a small portion and store the rest either in the refrigerator for a few days or individual pieces frozen for six to eight months.Important:Always thaw thoroughly before feeding!
Make your own bird food – recipe for soft eaters with suet and mealworms
- 500 g beef tallow
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 500 g mix of any dried fruits, fine oat flakes and dried mealworms
Over low heat, melt the suet and stir in the oil. Then add your self-made food mix, mix everything together and either let it cool down so you can shape it with your hands orfill a containerwith it (see ideas below).
Make bird food yourself – recipe with dried fruit
- 200 g oat flakes
- 150 g frozen wild berries
- 100 g raisins (or currants)
- 100 g dried fruit
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
- sunflower or olive oil
Soak the raisins or currants in water (preferably overnight). Before preparing, soak the oat flakes in a little oil. Shred itthe dried fruitand the eggs and mix all the ingredients together. It is best to divide the soft food you receive into 100 gram portions, which you can then freeze. If you wish, you can add 200 g of suet to this recipe.
Make your own bird food with coconut oil
For example, for 1 package of Palmin you need 150 g oat flakes, 100 g wheat bran and 50 g raisins for soft food eaters or 100 g each of sunflower seeds, hemp seeds and chopped nuts for grain eaters. Then you can make the bird food yourself.
If you want to make your own bird food with palmin, all you have to do is melt the fat and then mix it with the selected grains. If you would like to use cookie cutters (see below), simply spread them out on a baking tray or baking paper and fill them with the seed, grain and nut mix to just below the edge. Then pour in the slightly cooled and not too liquid fat.
Form homemade food for birds - ideas for the feeding station
After preparation, you can shape the mixture into any shape you like and then hang it up in the garden, on the terrace or on the balcony, away from cats. For this purpose, a wide variety of variants and tools are available. We would like to present a few creative ideas to you below.
Make your own bird food with pine cones
Tie twine around the peg, grab a bit of the lining with one hand and press it to the peg. Continue like this until you get theCones with sufficient foodhave covered.
Make your own bird food in a clay pot
For hanging, tie string to the middle of a small stick and thread the loop through the draining hole from below. The stick prevents the line from slipping completely. Then turn the clay pot the right way around. Now you can make your own bird food and fill the pot with it. Insert a longer stick in the middle of the food for the birds to hold on to later. Hang up the resulting food bell.
With cookie cutters
You can make your own bird food cookieswith standard cookie cutters. Lay out a piece of baking paper or another surface, distribute the molds on it and fill them with the homemade and still warm food. This should not be too liquid, otherwise it will run out of the molds. Therefore, let it cool down a little and become thicker.
Use yogurt cups for shaping
Take a yoghurt pot of any size, poke a small hole through the bottom, thread string through it for hanging and fill it with the food. Once it has hardened, you can cut open the cup and remove it. You can also tie a branch to the string for the birds to sit on.
Make bird food yourself - instructions with fresh fruit or fruit peels
Halve an apple, hollow it out a little and fill the hole with the food. Many birds like fresh fruit, so they will snack on apples too. Alternatively, you can use orange or lemon peels as containers, tie them with string and hang them outside filled with bird seed.
Make your own bird food in cups
Do you want old ones?use old cups, you can simply fill it with the food, insert a stick at a slight angle and then hang the cup outside by its handle once the mixture has solidified.
Make your own bird food with toilet roll
For a feeding stationUse toilet rollsIt's best to use peanut butter to spread it on and then roll the coated roll through your food mix. The roll can then simply be stuck onto a branch or provided with string for hanging. You can also choose this idea if you make bird food yourself with children.
Make your own fat balls
Do you want the classic ones?Make your own fat balls, you don't even need a mold. Take string and tie a thick knot or a small stick to it. Allow the prepared food to cool enough to handle with your hands, but not so much that it is too hard to shape. Then take a larger amount of the food, press a knot or branch into the mass, form a ball with your hands and then hang it in the garden. You have already made a homemade fat ball.
Since the preparation is really easy, you can make your own suet balls spontaneously and quickly. Suitable ingredients for making suet balls include pork fat, but also vegetable fat and beef tallow. Do not use hanging nets as birds can become entangled and even die.
Feeding birds in summer or winter?
Everyone knows that you can and should make bird food yourself in winter or provide it at all. However, things like this don't just do something good for our feathered friends at this time of year. You can also treat the birds to food in summer. However, the composition of the food differs depending on the season. While thehigh-fat foodfrom the recipes above is perfect for the winter to provide the birds with enough energy, the food in the summer should contain more animal food. So when you make your own bird food in the summer, add insects and worms. These are becoming fewer and fewer in the wild and also serve as food for the young.
Also read: “MAKING BIRD FOOD COOKIES: HOW TO MAKE TREATS FOR FEATHERED FRIENDS IN THE WINTER TIME!”
