what do you think is the best make of bird food you have bought? - Page 2

Now theres some really good ideas for the fat balls im going to try and   i,ll try the lard as well, and Lyn thats a cracking picture  cheers all

Alan4711

I've tried niger seed - no takers - and all sorts of other fancy stuff but what our visitors and residents like best are the ordinary fat balls, peanuts and loose seed for the ground feeders.  I usually find the price of loose peanuts and seed is better than the pre-packaged stuff.  I can buy a mix of broken seeds and grains for just €1,50 a kilo but pay double for mixes with whole sunflower seeds in.  I tend to offer a mix of the two.

They also like the flesh and seeds I scrape from pumpkins, ditto melons in summer (no 1 cat likes those too) plus home made fat and seed loaves and just recently some leftover pumpkin and sultana muffins.

Anything WITHOUT wheat or corn in - it all gets flung out - the birds don't want it. I suspect that birdfood manufacturers put them in to bulk out their mix

Being country birds ours love corn of all descriptions.  Our garden backs on to arable fields and it's a mad house at harvest time when there's wheat, barley or oats being spilled as they harvest and then along the sides of the road where it falls from the trailers being driven to the weighing station.

Our 2 resident collared doves eat all the corn.  Although the other birds are choosy and wheat gets left until there's nothing better on offer, it all seems to get eaten in the end .  

I agree datona, when you add up the waste and the time taken to clean it all up it's not really good value for money, at least all the sunflower seed hearts get eaten between the finches and the blackbirds cleaning up under them. Regarding fat balls, when it gets cold I put what ever is good for them to eat, such as potato, (especially roasted), pasta, rice, fruitcake, mealworms, seeds, etc, and all the dripping thats been saved from the sunday roast, into the food processor with some granary bread and blitz it. adding left over cheese sauce goes down a treat too. i put it in the fridge and roll it into balls for the feeders as i need it and throw some onto the lawn for the ground feeders. through the week i save left overs for the next batch. did anyone see the programe  tonight on food waste, i recon 50 - 70% of that could have been recycled into above such delights for our feathered friends winter fuel 

I use the Chapelwood premium  Wild bird seed mix, the local garden centre to me puts in on offer in the spring so a 20kg for £10-11 (bogof) which a couple of bags does for the year. It has quite a good mix but you can top it up with sunflower hearts. The Blue/Great tits are loving this at the moment as well as the Dunnocks and the pigeons clear up whats left

The no mess stuff tends to clog up the feeders when it gets wet  so i glued (superglue) an old pot saucer to the bottom of the feeder, with some holes for drainage.

 It stops most of the seeds being dropped on the ground, the pidgeons and doves do a circus trick to try and stay on it to feed but most of the time it doesn't last long, so they don't take as much and are quite happy to take up the spillage on the ground.

I get the tubs of 50 fat balls (again when its a 3-2 offer) my birds love them but in my Dads garden 6 miles away they won't touch them.

i use sunflower hearts and suet pellet food (which all birds eat in my garden) even the blackbird gets on the feeder for them.

i also have wild bird seed and by mine from our local scats shop as it doesnt have the corn and bits in the birds dont like.. bit more expensive but less wastage.

also have niger seeds out and finch seed.

dont have peanuts out as they getting to wet and mouldy inthis weather and the blue tites etc love the suet pellets especially the ones with insects and nuts in.

thou i must say when i go and buy up i spend about £40 each time.. as the suet are 10kg for 11.49 a box so always get 2 of those and the sunflower seeds i can weigh out loose.. so that comes in about £15. for half and medium rubbish bin size.

and hte wild bird seed is.. um..um.. cnat remember not bought some for a while.

I find seed mixes and commercial fat balls are false economy - full of stuff the birds don't like.

What gets eaten and no mess left over is: sunflower hearts, shredded suet from the supermarket, raisins and very occasional food scraps (we don't have many leftovers).