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Especially in winter, the natural food sources are not sufficient for the native bird life. We show how you can make fatty food for the birds in your garden in just a few steps.

In a nutshell

  • Bird populations in Germany are threatened by intensive agriculture
  • in winter food is not enough
  • Feeding at the bird house and natural management of the garden contribute to the preservation of the bird population
  • Food with a high fat content suitable for all native bird species in winter

Making fatty food - basic recipe

You can quickly and easily produce suitable fatty food for birds yourself with the following instructions.

Ingredients:

  • sunflower seeds
  • cereal grains
  • hemp seed
  • millet
  • Poppy
  • possible other ingredients: raisins, rowan berries, beechnuts, crushed hazelnuts
  • 500 grams of beef suet
  • 3 tablespoons sunflower oil

Preparation:

  • Melt 500 grams of beef tallow in a water bath
  • Add 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil
  • Mix in 500 grams of sunflower seeds, cereal grains, seeds and alternative ingredients as desired

Fatty food for birds on a stick

Prepare the bird seed according to the instructions. Fill it into standard yoghurt cups. Stick a twig inside. When the beef tallow has cooled, you could take out the fatty bird food by the stick and hang it in the tree with the branch.

feeding bells

Put the feed prepared according to the basic recipe in a small flower pot. Stick a branched branch into the water drainage hole. After the fat has cooled, the homemade feeding bell can be hung in the tree. Alternatively, you can fill halved coconut shells with the food. Hang the feeding bell in a shady place. The fat would melt in the sun.

Idea: As an alternative to the flower pot and coconut shell, you can use an old cup as a bird feeder.

fat balls

Allow the fat feed mixture to cool slightly. Form balls out of it with greaseproof paper. Work a string into the dumplings for hanging.

Attention: Avoid using nets to attach the fat balls. The birds get tangled up in it very quickly.

Birdseed Tag

Put the fat feed for birds prepared according to the basic recipe into ordinary Christmas cookie cutters. Thread a string through the cooled food cookies and hang them on a tree in the garden.

Notice: For nuthatches and other winter birds that like to run up the tree, you can spread the homemade bird seed on the bark of the trees.

Fat food for soft eaters

Robins, blackbirds, dunnocks, wrens and small-beaked birds are among the soft food eaters. You cannot process hard grains and sunflower seeds.

Ingredients:

  • 200 grams of beef suet
  • 3 tablespoons sunflower oil
  • 100 grams of dried rowan berries, cranberries or wild berries
  • 200 grams of cereal flakes
  • 100 grams unsulphured raisins
  • 100 grams of finely chopped unsulphured dried fruit
  • 4 hard boiled eggs

Preparation:

  • Soak the raisins and dried fruit overnight
  • Melt the beef tallow in a water bath
  • Add sunflower oil
  • Mix the grain and seeds and mix with the beef tallow
  • Mix in the dried fruit, berries and raisins and finely chopped eggs
  • freeze in 100 gram portions

Notice: Soft food eaters love mealworms in winter food. You can purchase these from specialist retailers.

Fast fat food for birds

When your feathered guests in the garden need a quick replenishment of food and you want to save yourself the hassle of heating and cooling the fat, here is a quick recipe for fat bird food.

Ingredients:

  • various cereal flakes
  • sunflower or olive oil

Preparation:

  • Mix oat, buckwheat, rye and spelled flakes with sunflower oil
  • Mix well

Put the oil-soaked cereal flakes in the bird feeder. The feed provides the birds with the necessary fat in the cold season. The disadvantage is that the oil can soil and stick the plumage. Clean the bird feeder regularly.

frequently asked Questions

How long can the fatty food be stored?

Place the homemade food in an airtight plastic container. Store these in the fridge. The birdseed stays fresh for a week. You can also prepare larger quantities and freeze them in small portions.

Can you only feed wild birds in winter?

Wild bird feeding is permitted all year round. Bird conservationists advocate feeding due to declining natural food supplies. From April to July no fatty food should be fed. To protect the young birds, do not eat fatty food, sunflower seeds and large fragments of nuts during this time. Replace them with wild herbs and insects.

Is fruit suitable for winter feeding?

Soft food eaters such as robins, blackbirds and dunnocks enjoy fruit and raisins in winter. Take care of the cleanliness in the bird feeder. When picking apples, just leave a few small apples on the tree. The feathered garden visitors will be happy about it in autumn and winter.

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Category:

Animals in the garden