One of the great things about living at Waterloo Farm is the variety of wildlife we get in the garden, and especially at this time of year, the birds. We always try our best to put food out for them, ensuring there’s something for everyone – peanuts and seeds in feeders for the little birds, apples and suitable leftovers for the bigger ones and food on the floor for those that don’t hover so well like our resident pheasant Fezziwig! As you can imagine we were getting through quite a lot of shop-bought fat balls to keep up with them all, so I decided to have a go at making my own, and I’m pleased to say my experiments have been a total success 
I have always saved the fat from any meat we cook in a little tub (leaving it to solidify before putting it in the bin) because it should never go into the drains, particularly now we have a septic tank, so I figured I could use it to make food for the birds. We have a large tub of bird seed, and I discovered that mixing the fat with the seed and then putting the mixture into yoghurt pots (and then freezing for a couple of hours) produces fat ‘cyclinders’ which fit into our fat-ball feeders (take the pots off first!). I have also done the same thing but threaded string through the pot and right through the mixture, so that when it solidifies you can take the pot off and hang the ‘ball’ directly onto the tree. For the larger birds I have made ‘cakes’ which is basically the same thing but in saucers (the plastic kind you get for underneath plant pots) and put them on the floor – watching the blackbirds fight over them is quite amusing!
Before adding the fat
The photos show my latest cakes – some bird seed and peanuts plus some stale bread and cheese all mixed in. I bought some blocks of lard which I melted and then poured over the mixture and left to re-solidify – the birds love them! The saucer on the left is actually the
After adding the fat
water tray from our bird feeding station so it can be raised from the floor giving a little more security for the little birds who feel vulnerable on the ground (and as I’ve witnessed 2 bird strikes can’t say I blame them!). When I make some more fat balls I’ll take some photos and post them here.
Don’t forget to feed our little feathered friends, especially in this bitterly cold weather …
Tags: Bird Feeders, Bird Food, Birds, Pheasant, Wildlife
Categories: Living the Country Life, Posts with Photos, Wildlife
I reckon you should feed up Nige with that. He could do with putting a few pounds on! lol