Birds are wonderful. There are so many different unique species of birds that you can look out for. There are birds that are really colorful, birds that have beautiful songs, or birds with both. You can spend afternoons bird watching, and attracting birds to your yard. A good way to attract more birds to your yard is to have bird food. There are a lot of different kinds of bird food that birds like. But what’s really fun is to make your own bird food. Here’s how to make bird food that all birds will enjoy.
Foods That Birds Enjoy
It’s important that bird food has flavors that birds like. Obviously birds won’t eat bird food that doesn’t appeal to them. When making your own bird food include some of all of these foods.
Fruit
Birds have a sweet tooth. So naturally they really like dried fruit. Be sure to soak the dried fruit overnight so that it won’t swell in the bird’s stomach, and then chop the fruit into small pieces. This will help make sure that the fruit is safe for the birds. Birds love fruit so you can include a lot or a little bit.
Lard
Birds like lard and it works perfectly as a binding agent to bind all of your ingredients together so birds can eat off of it. Use fresh lard, not lard that has been used before like leftover bacon grease.
Image Source: Pixabay
Peanuts and Peanut Butter
A bird favorite! Birds like peanuts and enjoy picking them apart with their beaks. The problem is that peanuts can be very salty and salt can lead to dehydration in a bird. When you use peanuts in your bird food, make sure it is unsalted and unroasted. This will make sure that the bird will not get dehydrated and be able to eat the peanut easily. The same goes for peanut butter. Make sure it isn’t a salty peanut butter. There are many kinds of peanut butter that don’t have added salt.
Seeds
The best kinds of seeds for homemade bird food is sunflower and nyger (niger or nyjer) seeds. Both of these seeds are highly nutritious and flavorful for birds. Birds love small seeds because they can easily pick them up with their small beaks.
Making the Bird Food
Making the bird food is simple! The first thing you need to do is decide which ingredients you want to include. The lard is essential to bind the ingredients together. Melt the lard over low heat and then put all of your dry ingredients into it, mixing it well. Make sure that the fruit and any nuts are chopped. Separate the mixture into small sections and roll them into balls. Place the balls in the refrigerator to cool overnight. Then put your bird food ball into a hanging bird feeder for all the birds to enjoy! You can try different mixtures and methods of making bird food to see what the birds around your house like the most. You can try fruity or nuttier mixtures, or mixtures with more seeds. Just mix and match the ingredients to find what tastes the best to the birds.
Summing Up
There are lots of mixtures that birds will enjoy. Your job is to find what they like the best. Try a lot of different things and have fun with it! Have your kids help you make the bird food and watch to see if they enjoy it. They’ll love watching the birds munch on their creation. You can try making bird food as a whole family and make it a competition to see whose food the birds like the best! Whatever you do, have fun with it!
Image Source: Pixabay
