How to make fat balls for birds (2024)

FAQs

How to make fat balls for birds? ›

Simply mix kitchen scraps such as cheese, cake crumbs and dry porridge oats with melted lard or suet

Clean the pine cone(s) and tie a long piece of twine around the bottom of each one. Gradually mix the lard with the birdseed until it all sticks together. Push the fat ball mix between the pine cone scales to create a big, tasty fat ball. Refrigerate your fat balls until the lard has set.

How to Feed Fat Balls for Birds. There are many ways to feed the high energy treat to your garden birds. One option is to simply place the suet balls on a bird table, or there are plenty of excellent fat ball feeders that you can enjoy watching the birds perch on to feed.

It works out slightly cheaper to make your own fat balls for the birds, but homemade fat balls are going to have better ingredients which are going to be better for the birds. Plus they're fun to make. Can you use butter to make fat balls for birds? It is not advisable to use butter to make fat balls for birds.

During cold periods, the fat balls may freeze or become too hard for the birds to eat. Bringing the feeder and balls indoors for an hour or so may soften them enough for the birds to feed on them again.

If you are a “quantity” birdfeeder, making your own is far more affordable than purchasing commercial products. That being said, it is messy and does require care around the stove and work area since you will be melting tallow (beef fat) or pork fat. Suet is animal fat that has been rendered and then allowed to cool.

High temperatures can cause fat balls to melt or spoil, potentially harming birds. If the temperatures are cooler, you can continue to provide fat balls, although we'd always recommend doing so in shaded areas during the summer months. Alternatively, consider using specialised summer suet that is less prone to melting.

Feeding in spring and summer

Home-made fat balls can melt in warm summer weather, and should be avoided. Shop-bought fat bars can be used, but throw away any leftovers after three weeks. Browse our online shop and discover a wide selection of good quality bird foods.

Can you use butter to make fat balls for birds? ›

Your local butcher might have these, but otherwise most supermarkets have it in the fridge aisle near the butter. Look for small blocks of 'Frytex' beef dripping, or a supermarket own-brand equivalent. Note that butter, margarine, coconut oil, peanut butter etc. are NOT suitable for birds.

Simply hang from a hook, bracket or branch and watch the birds flock to it.

Birds love energy-rich fat balls, which give them all the calories they need to get through cold winter days and nights. You can buy them in the shops but they're easy to make at home. Simply mix kitchen scraps such as cheese, cake crumbs and dry porridge oats with melted lard or suet, and set in the fridge overnight.

Birds will eat the fat of cattle, hogs and other animals. However, the fatty food most commonly fed backyard birds is beef fat also known as suet. The very best suet is found around the kidneys and loins of cattle. When rendered, this fat won't become rancid or melt in warm weather as quickly as other fats.

Vegan Fat Ball Bird Feeder

This recipe should make 4-6 'cakes' depending on how generous you are feeling. 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter (must be salt free!) Melt your coconut oil and suet in a saucepan until liquid. Stir in the crunchy peanut butter.

Begin with equal parts lard and peanut butter, melting and mixing them over low heat. Add a variety of ingredients to this gooey mess: unsalted shelled peanuts, raisins, rolled oats, dried mealworms, sunflower seeds or cornmeal. Then chill the mixture for a day before cutting it into blocks or cubes.

In general, no-melt suets contain less fat and greater quantities of flour, oats, cornmeal, or other absorbent components that will help bind the fat together without melting. A top no-melt suet recipe is: 2 cups quick or rolled oats.