Bird watching is a beloved hobby for many people. There’s something special about having lots of different colored birds come to your yard. Offering homemade bird food is a great way to get a lot of different species. Bird seed is popular, but there are many options without seeds that are just as healthy. Find out how to make 7 treats for birds that you can give them below.
Why Make Your Own Bird Food?
You can control the quality of the ingredients when you make your own bird food. You can avoid preservatives, artificial colors, and low-grade seeds. You can also change the recipes to attract certain species when you make your own. More kinds of birds will come if you offer a range of foods. Finally, homemade food is often cheaper than store-bought options. With just a few cheap items from your pantry, you can make healthy treats that birds will love.
1. Suet
Birds can get quick energy from suet, which is rendered beef fat. To make suet cakes:
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Melt 1 cup raw suet in a pan. Let it cool and solidify.
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Mix the suet with one cup of peanut butter, one cup of cornmeal, two cups of bird seed, and one cup of oats.
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Pour the mixture into muffin tins or form into balls Refrigerate until firm
Suet cakes attract woodpeckers nuthatches chickadees, titmice, and more. Offer them in mesh bags or suet feeders to prevent messes.
2. Fruits and Berries
Fruits offer natural sweetness and nutrients like vitamin C. Opt for bird-safe fruits like apples, cherries, grapes, oranges, and berries. Cut larger fruits into chunks and skewer them or fill a suet cage. Place berries in platform feeders. Fruits attract robins, catbirds, thrushes, mockingbirds, waxwings, orioles, and other species.
3. Nuts and Seeds
While nuts are high in fat, birds relish their hearty protein and calories. Offer peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, and more. Use a nutcracker to break them into smaller pieces for easier eating. Avoid salted or flavored nuts. A nut feeder with tail props is ideal, but platform feeders also work. Nuts attract woodpeckers, jays, titmice, nuthatches, and chickadees.
4. Mealworms
Live or dried mealworms are packed with protein. They are a natural food source for wild birds. Place them in platform feeders or dish gardens. Mealworms are gobbled up by robins, bluebirds, wrens, thrushes, warblers, orioles, and other insect-loving species.
5. Baked Goods
Surprisingly, birds enjoy human baked goods like muffins, cookies, and bread. Avoid sugar and chocolate, which are unhealthy. Make plain baked items with bananas, pumpkin, or apple sauce. Crumble them into chunks or balls. This is a great way to use up stale bread. Starlings, crows, sparrows, and blackbirds enjoy baked treats.
6. Birdie Bread
This homemade blend combines nutritional yeast, vegetable shortening, flour, cornmeal, oats, birdseed, dried fruit, and peanut butter. Mix the ingredients well and pack into a bread pan. Chill until firm, then slice and serve. The “bread” will attract a diversity of birds.
7. Birdseed Cookies
These nutritious cookies are made by blending birdseed, flour, cornmeal, egg, bacon fat, molasses, and dried fruit. Form into 1-inch balls and place on a greased pan. Bake at 350°F until browned. Allow to cool before serving. Cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, sparrows, and more will flock to these seed-free cookies.
Tips for Offering Homemade Bird Food
When putting out homemade bird food, follow these tips:
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Place feeders in safe locations away from predators. Nearby bushes offer refuge but not hiding spots for cats.
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Separate food items into different feeders to reduce waste and mess.
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Discard moldy or spoiled foods immediately to prevent illness.
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Clean feeders weekly with soap and water. Periodically disinfect with a bleach solution to prevent disease transmission.
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Avoid putting out foods during warmer months when bears are active. Remove feeders at night.
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Use dyed suet, hot pepper, or scent repellants to deter squirrels. Place feeders on poles away from jumps.
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Consider your region when deciding which foods to offer. Colder climates warrant more high-fat options.
With a little creativity, you can make appetizing bird foods using ingredients from your pantry and things found in nature. Offer a diversity of seed-free foods to provide comprehensive nutrition. Homemade treats are a cheaper alternative to store-bought options. Best of all, you can control the ingredients to ensure quality. Invite new species to your yard by serving up suet, fruits, nuts, mealworms, and other homemade foods. Your feathered friends will thank you!
When Should I Put Out Bird Feeders?
It varies by region, but typically it’s not recommended to put out bird feeders until at least December. This ensures that hungry hibernators such as bears are already bedded down for the winter and that the birds have something to snack on when foraging becomes difficult.
It’s best to wait until temperatures stay in the 40s (°F) or below before putting out homemade suet, which can go bad if it gets too warm.
Is it Good to Feed the Birds in Winter?
Rest assured that it’s fine to feed birds during the cold winter months. Supplemental food helps birds during especially tough winters—and this will not affect bird migration. Several factors trigger the urge for birds to migrate, but the most significant is day length. Because the days are getting shorter, some birds leave, even if there are still full feeders for them to use.
Outside food sources will be plenty for the birds to eat the rest of the year, so it’s best to bring feeders inside. Foraging mammals like skunks, rats, and bears can be very drawn to bird feeders, even though they are usually not welcome guests!
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FAQ
How to make homemade bird food without seeds?
Fruit and vegetable seeds, dried fruits, peanut butter and/or jelly, apples, pears, nuts, and unbuttered popcorn are some other things you can give birds instead of bird seed.
What is the best homemade bird food?
Birds?! Attract them with homemade suet cakesone pound cake of lard8 oz. a jar of peanut butter, one cup of diced fruit peels or other leftovers, one cup of regular oatmeal that hasn’t been cooked, one cup of corn meal, and one cup of birdseed, plus more just in case. Several small freezer-safe containers that are about the size of your suet feeder.
What is the 5 7 9 rule for bird feeders?
Can birds eat oatmeal?
Oats for porridge could also be a healthy food source for birds in your garden, and you probably already have them in your kitchen. However, ensure the oats are uncooked as cooked oats could harden around a bird’s beak. Jun 29, 2019.