Feeding birds
susiejennie
Posts: 20
When it was so frosty a few days ago I wanted to put out food for the birds. I ended up melting a little lard and popping in chopped up seeded brown bread. What is best. - I have a new bird table with roof and a birdbath nearby.
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Posts
That wasn't too bad Susiejennie
But not too much bread as it contains salt which is bad for birds. Dripping is better than lard as it sets hard and doesn't get wiped off their beaks onto their feathers.
Lots of ideas here https://www.rspb.org.uk/makeahomeforwildlife/advice/helpingbirds/feeding/ to help you feed the birds and keep them healthy
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Many thanks Dove. I clicked on the webb and was most informative.
I bought a half coconut shell with fat and seeds in it as a starter and since then I melt a packet of suet in a small pan, mix into it various seeds until it is a stiff consistency, lay the shell on its back at an angle, in a soup bowl or similar to prevent the warm fat running out of the hanging hole. Leave until cold and set then hang up on the bird feeder as usual. I put 4 cup hooks, one at each corner of my bird table to hang fat balls etc on.
I found buying buckets of fat balls cheaper than individual ones, I also buy loose bird feed as that is cheaper than packets. My local garden centre provides large plastic bags, scoops etc. so you can take as much or little as you want.
I now have a wrought iron feeder station, having watched a rat climb the central column of my wooden bird table, it reached over the edge and pulled itself up onto the table, ate as much as it could then swung over the edge, holding on only by its back feet it hung down full length before and dropping to the ground from about 4ft.
My neighbours have chickens so there is very little I can do about the rats except put down poison whenever I find one of their holes. I put the treated grain into the corner of a thin polythene bag, tie it off and keep replenishing with bags until they stop disappearing. My garden is surrounded by a Cornish stone wall and bank and is honeycombed with rat tunnels.