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Homemade Wild Bird Food

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By Louie Doverspike
Homemade Wild Bird Food
The incredible diversity of birds in the world produce a diverse set of food needs. There is a specialized birdseed mix for nearly any variety of bird. With so many options, the expenses can quickly add up. Rather than paying a premium to have a special blend for every circumstance, make your own birdseed mix. Some recipes serve as a good general base from which you can create your own seed blends.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You'll Need:
  • Black-oil sunflower seeds Dried corn Rolled oats Raisins Lard Skillet Pan Bird feeder
  • Black-oil sunflower seeds
  • Dried corn
  • Rolled oats
  • Raisins
  • Lard
  • Skillet
  • Pan
  • Bird feeder
Step 1
Measure. Begin with black-oil sunflower seeds. This seed is beloved by most popular bird species, including chickadees, finches, nuthatches and cardinals. Your mixture should be up to 3/4 sunflower seeds, so begin with them.
Step 2
Add rolled oats. While not popular with all birds, oats are enjoyed by certain species and the oats are harmless enough that other birds will simply ignore them.
Step 3
Add a little dried fruit. Larger birds in particular, including jays and woodpeckers, will go for certain dried fruits. Raisins work particularly well. This should be a small part of the final mixture.
Step 4
Mix in dried corn. Popular with a variety of birds, including blackbirds, jays and pigeons, corn is an exceptional counterbalance to the sunflower seeds. Spread corn sparingly, at the same proportions as the raisins. Around 1/20 to 1/10 of your mixture should be enough.
Step 5
Melt lard or suet in a skillet. Suet is the fat around beef tendons and is beloved by most bird species. If you can't find suet, which can often only be purchased directly from a butcher, then lard is an acceptable substitute.
Step 6
Arrange your seed mixture evenly in a shallow pan, then coat with the melted lard. You might want to perform this step outside, since it can be a little smelly. The basic idea is to make a thin cake, like a brownie, by coating the seeds with an even layer of lard.
Step 7
Refrigerate the mixture. Once the lard has been evenly coated over your birdseed mixture, you should allow the cake to solidify overnight.
Step 8
Cut your seed cake into large squares. You can either slide sheets of the hardened caked into special suet bird feeders or crumble the cake for spreading on the ground or in a dish style feeder.

Tips & Warnings

 
While many recipes suggest peanuts or peanut butter, it tends to drive away certain species.
 
Avoid using alcohol, avocado, chocolate, lima beans or navy beans, since these are poisonous to many bird species.

Resources

About The Author

Based in Seattle, Louie Doverspike has been writing magazine, journalistic and outdoor articles for 6 years. His articles have appeared in AntiqueWeek magazine, the Prague Post and Seattle Represent! Louie holds an English degree from Hamilton College.
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