Not all bird species fly away from the cold. In winter, however, you can expect a laborious search for food in this country. People with a heart for animals don’t stand idly by. Of course, there are all sorts of ready-made feeds that can be bought in stores. But making birdseed yourself is more rewarding. We’ll tell you recipes with which you can make feathered visitors happy and, above all, full.
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Different preferences
Anyone who thinks that all birds love the same food is wrong. Of course there are the typical grain pickers. But there are also bird species that prefer, even need, soft food such as berries. Other species, on the other hand, are not very choosy and will accept anything edible that is near their beak. With the knowledge of the nutritional preferences, you can specifically resort to recipes that fit the current needs.
- Soft food eaters: blackbird, thrush, dunnock, robin, starling, wren
- Grain eaters: Finch, Bullfinch (Bullfinch/Bloodfinch), Sparrow (Sparrow), Siskin
- Omnivores: tit, woodpecker, nuthatch
Doing it yourself has advantages
There is nothing wrong with buying ready-made bird seed. But doing it yourself offers many convincing advantages:
- varied alternative to standard goods with cheap ingredients
- collected berries can be processed in this way
- cheaper than in stores
- spart Plastikverpackung
- making and shaping is especially fun for children
- Love and responsibility for nature are encouraged
The basic components of the recipes
In summer, the little flyers can help themselves to nature at the richly set table. On it are, among other things, all kinds of seeds, nuts, berries and insects. In principle, all of these delicacies can serve as ingredients for a homemade bird seed. The most common recipes are mostly limited to a few simple ingredients that are easily available to us. But you can make the birds happy and add a few rare delicacies. It is important to distinguish between soft feed and grain feed.
Ingredients for soft food
Here are a few examples of ingredients that may be included in soft food.
- Berries of rowan, elder, sea buckthorn, sloe or hawthorn
- Hagebutten
- apples
- raisins
- wheat bran
- oatmeal
- ground mealworms
You can buy ingredients for soft food in stores. You’ll have to look a little longer for some of them, though. It is worth browsing in health food stores and online shops.
Ingredients for grain feed
The selection of usable grains is large. There are also various types of nuts that are also on the grain eater’s menu:
- Bucheckern
- cereal grains
- hemp seed
- pumpkin seeds
- sunflowers
- Peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc. (chopped)
- Seeds of wild herbs and grasses
fat as a binder
Mixtures for grain feed and soft feed become binding and thus only become malleable when fat is added to them. In addition, fat is also eaten by the animals and serves them as an additional source of energy. Many recipes recommend beef tallow. It is available in butcher shops by pre-order or in some online shops. The kilogram costs around 6 euros. But you can also use clarified butter. You get a vegan version if you use vegetable fats as an alternative. Of course, these must have a firm consistency.
time of manufacture
Freshly made bird seed tastes best. In addition, the fat used should not be given the opportunity to go rancid. When you make the birdseed yourself is therefore closely linked to when you need it. This is where the experts disagree. Some advocate year-round feeding. Others, on the other hand, advise only working in winter. In any case, it is certain that the need for extra food is greater in winter and in the city.
Recipe for soft food
Here’s a simple recipe for about 1.2kg of soft food. If necessary, you can convert the quantities and thus produce smaller or larger portions.
- 500 g unsalted, solid vegetable fat
- 100ml oil
- 200 grams of rolled oats
- 100 grams of wheat bran
- 300 grams of raisins
Grain feed recipe
The quantities given are sufficient for approx. 1 kg of grain feed. The grain types are basically interchangeable. So you can create your own recipes. The more types of seeds you use, the more bird species you will attract with the homemade bird seed. Make sure you only use natural nuts and kernels. They must not be salted or contain any other spices.
- 400 g beef suet
- alternative 400 g Coconut fat
- 200 g sunflower seeds
- 100 g chopped hazelnuts
- 100 g chopped peanuts
- 50 g of hemp seed
- 100 g cereal grains
- 50ml oil
Instructions for the preparation
Recipes for soft food and grain food are prepared in the same way.
- Put the fat in an old saucepan. This should have a volume of about 2 liters so that all the ingredients fit in and the mixture can be stirred well.
- Melt the fat over low to medium heat. It should be completely melted but not boiling.
- Add the oil. It will soften the bird seed so it won’t crumble later.
- Remove the pot from the stovetop and stir in the remaining ingredients.
- Let the mixture cool down a bit. Check the consistency from time to time. For the next step, the birdseed should be as firm as possible but still malleable. Then you can shape the bird seed into a suitable shape for serving.
Serve feed properly
In order for the finished birdseed to keep the animals healthy and alert, it only has to be served correctly. It must not get wet and dirty. It also doesn’t make sense if birds perch in it. This is how diseases spread. It must therefore be filled into suitable containers or set into forms that can be hung.
fill containers
The container should be frost-resistant and not too large. Half coconut shells with holes, flower pots with holes in the bottom, old mugs with handles, special wood for feeding, feeding owls, etc. are ideal. Before filling, a weather-resistant, stable cord is pulled through the hole and knotted inside or attached to a small stick. So she can’t slip out again.
The animals should also be given a way to hold on close to the food. This is usually achieved by sticking a thin branch into the container before filling. After the mass has cooled down, it is shortened so that about 15 cm are still sticking out.
Shape birdseed
The prepared mixture can also be formed into fat balls with your hands . Work in a string right away or place the dumplings in a standard dumpling holder. Alternatively, place large cutters on a baking tray lined with baking paper and fill them with bird seed. Insert a stick into each. The stick is pulled out again after hardening. A fastening cord can be attached through the resulting hole.
Incidentally, you should always hang up the homemade bird seed in the shade and high up. That way the fat won’t melt in the winter sun. And the birds remain inaccessible to cats.
Make bird cake yourself
Spoil the hungry wild birds with a delicious cake. Sugary recipes from our own cookbooks are not usable for this. Mix the following ingredients together and bake at 180°C until the cake is firm and brown on the outside:
- 3 Eggs
- 500 g fat quark
- 400 g vegetable fat
- 150 grams of raisins
- 200 g chopped hazelnuts
- 300 grams of rolled oats
- 150 grams of flour
Feed the bird cake immediately after it has cooled. Leftovers stay fresh for a few days in the fridge.
durability
Grains and dry berries have a long shelf life. But in combination with fat and in wet and cold weather, the feed should be used up quickly. Food that has not yet been used can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week. However, you can also freeze the food in portions for many months. So you can stock up for the entire winter.
