Is it still ok to feed dried fruit to birds bearing in mind the young

I've been feeding dried fruit all through the winter but bearing in mind that they say not to feed whole peanuts I was wondering if it ok to keep feeding the dried fruit cos that is quite big as well.  I tried to chop them up in my food processor just in case but they would not chop very well kept sticking together.  I did them by hand in the end but a very long job which I don't fancy doing. 

The whole peanuts risk geting stuck in baby birds' throats and choking them so I expect big chunks of dried fruit would be as bad.  Have you tried soaking it a bit before chopping in the processor?

I find the parents come and fill their tums at our fat ball, peanut and loose seed feeders and that gives them the energy to hoover all the aphids and caterpillars off my roses, clems and veggies for their babies.   Works well for me as I don't use pesticides and then don't have to go round squishing or picking myself.

I have a little electric Tesco Chopper that I put the peanuts in and chop them up to bits was only about £7.00  and I do put dried fruit in as well,  I feed the birds 365 so there's always plenty of them about,  they do bring the chicks when they are fledging and feed them from the feeders be it fat ball feeders or seed,  like obelix I think if you feed them regularly they in turn do you the favour by eating the aphids and other  nasties in the garden

I worry about that too so I usually snip the dried fruit with a small scissors - less cleaning up that way, but when you see the size of some of the insects and fat caterpillars these little birds feed their tiny babies I do wonder .....

Ah but remember insects and catterpillars are a lot softer than dried fruit,

Forgot to mention I soak the fruit too so its soft

Probably got on quite well Bunny till we started to destroy the hedgerows and trees but I think some of them do enjoy the company of a human being,  I know I have a male Blackbird that I've called Charlie,  he comes and sit's on the fence when I 'm in the garden digging and sings his sweet song for me. 

There won't be any baby birds about for quite some time. The birds haven't even started nest building yet. So just carry on with the Winter feeding regime.

Ah, but sparrows are notorious for that sort of thing, like rabbits.

I have Wood Pigeons,  Collard Dove and Blackbird's mating here in part of the country,  often open the blinds to find the "at it" on the top of the fence,  not a very nice thing to see first thing on a morning 

Lavender Lady - I throw dried fruit in a little bowl then pour over boiling water from the kettle and leave it for half an hour until it's cool and the fruit is soft.  I've never known if it's a daft thing to do or not!  My peanuts, I pour a pile of them onto a tea-towel, cover with the other end of the tea-towel and then attack them with my little mallet or hammer until they're tiny fragments.  Yes - it's mad in this house!!!!

Just an ever so  slight  deviation from feeding,  when I was out with the dog a few weeks ago I found an area where a dog with very long soft fur had been brushed,  I picked it up put it in a poo bag and brought it home,  I put it in one of those wire flat suet feeders for the birds in the hope that they might take it for lining their nest's,  I've just noticed that they have started to take some as there's loads missing