Cheapo bird food options

[Tengu]

They are eating me out of house and home!

And I dont aim to be like my uncle who keeps the RSPB bird food dept in business (and the tree rats and the wood pigeies...)

Dad gets a lot of cheap oatmeal.

I aim to get some tommorrow, that and lard and see if the supermarket has bread marked down to 5p...

Ill supplient that with some bird peanuts (I have onion nets to make feeders) and a sack of mixed seed.

But no, they are not getting dried mealworms; Ill eat those myself!

any other ideas?

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Oatmeal mixed with lard... which is about 50p for a large block.

al.

 

[Mesquite]

Don't use bread unless it's ground down into crumbs then mixed in well lard or equivelant and even then in small quantities.

It swells up in the birds stomachs for little nutritional value and consequently they starve or have to expend more energy feeding to make up the difference.

As TBL says oatmeal in lard and you can get cheap seed mixes and peanuts from pet shops or the market to add to it. Uncooked bacon rinds go down as well.

 

[Nagual]

Aye, cheap lard mixed with oatmeal, raisins peanuts etc put up either with a bit of string or into a net of some kind - your birds will go mental for them. If you're feeling really kind add some black sunflower seeds. Tits especially seem to love them. Of course several birds prefer to ground feed, so sprinkle some underneath the nets if possible.

 

[ged]

The cheapest way to help the birds is to get an air rifle and shoot the squirrels.

 

[Neumo]

Farm seed supplier? Buy a sack of suitable seed that will keep you going for months. Lidl did some cheap bird seed a while back, worth a look.

 

[Hugo]

Me and SHMBO are RSPB members, our little birdies are keeping us on our toes.
The woodies are greedy but do clear up everything left.
Tree rats are a problem this year.

 

[MSkiba]

The cheapest way to help the birds is to get an air rifle and shoot the squirrels.

Because air rifles are cheaper than lard?

 

[Bigfoot]

Try not to hang seeds and things in nets - young birds can get their claws stuck in netting. Best to use a proper feeder or even a bird table or hang from a bit of string. There are plenty of recipes for making your own fatballs if you search online. Also check your local poundshop, they often have birdfood at lower prices (but make sure its proper stuff, don't take bags of salted peanuts for example, the salt will kill the birdies).

 

[MSkiba]

My mum is an expert on this subject and has lots (i mean lots) of birds visiting her garden. One thing she mentiones in this cold weather, puting out a bowl full of hot water is much appreciated by the birds. It dosnt last long but every little helps and hot water isnt expensive.

 

[Teepee]

Around £10-£15 will get a 25kg sack of mixed seeds from a feeds supplier-enough to keep the squirrells and wood pigeons coming into air rifle range for the rest of the winter.

 

[Tengu]

You will be glad to know I do not suffer from tree rats and woodies.

I got 8lb peanuts and 15lb wild bird mix from the pet dept in the market today this was £15

oats are £1.89 for 2kg from morrisons and their lard is 27p a pound. They are also doing an offer of 2 coconuts for £1

 

[ged]

The cheapest way to help the birds is to get an air rifle and shoot the squirrels.

Because air rifles are cheaper than lard?

Hehe, no, because one pellet costs about 0.001 $currency_units and, used properly, it can save the lives of hundreds of birds. A squirrel will eat every baby bird that it can find.

 

[ged]

I got 8lb peanuts and 15lb wild bird mix from the pet dept in the market today this was £15

I'm full of admiration for your contribution to the birds' well-being. Not cheap, is it? They're costing me a fortune too, but they're worth it, the little darlings.

 

[ged]

Around £10-£15 will get a 25kg sack of mixed seeds from a feeds supplier-enough to keep the squirrells and wood pigeons coming into air rifle range for the rest of the winter.

Hehe, the bullfinches here are getting through that every week! :yikes:

 

[Teepee]

Hehe, the bullfinches here are getting through that every week! :yikes:

It sounds like your bullfinches are delivering seed to the pigeons.

If only royal mail were that efficient.....................

 

[johnnytheboy]

You could try someone with a pheasant shoot, they will have bird food delivered by the ton, i'm sure abit barter would sort you out a bag of wheat, we are feeding the birds of fife at our shoot in industrial quantitys, we have put about 3 ton of grain out since this hard weather hit, we have about 100 woodies moved in on our area and hedgerow birds in their thousands. I have never thought about having a feeder at home but when you see how hard hit the birds are it seriously made me think about it.

Allot of folk about here put the fat from the ham hock soup on the brid table, apprently they love it!!

Is it true squirrels eat eggs?

 

[ged]

You could try someone with a pheasant shoot, they will have bird food delivered by the ton, i'm sure abit barter would sort you out a bag of wheat...

Wheat is good for the larger birds like pheasant and pigeons, but it doesn't seem so popular with the birds we see in our gardens as things like sunflower seed and peanuts. There's quite a bit of wheat in some of the fat balls that you get in pet food shops, and the blue tits throw most of that into my wellingtons.

Is it true squirrels eat eggs?

Yes.

We should be clear about the species. Grey squirrels are not native and their introduction has been disastrous for many native species.

http://www.conservation-issues.co.uk/Articles Pages/Grey_Squirrel_Article_07-07.htm

 

[Oblio13]

There's a butcher here who cuts up deer during the hunting season as a sideline. He hangs ribcages stuffed with fat scraps in his trees and calls them his "redneck bird feeders". Wish I'd taken a photo, it looked like the site of some Satanic ritual. It attracted an amazing number of birds, especially woodpeckers.