..cost

[justsomeoneelse]

hello all,
..i appreciate there's no price to put on enjoyment, but er... just how much is all this bird feeding malarky going to cost me ? suet cakes at £2 a time, energy balls at 50p or so a time, then the various seed mixes, not to mention peanuts, which need to be filled every fortnight.

i'm not trying to be overly stupid here, but sites such as this one selling sultanas/raisins at £3 per kg bag, er... aren't they the same as the ones supermarkets sell at a far lesser price ?

cereals... can i feed birds stale old cereals ? i'm not suggesting coco pops or sugar puffs etc, but are shredded wheat or weetabix ok ? they're natural yes ?

anybody out there got a simple recipe for home-made suet cakes ? please share ?


justsomeoneelse

[optrex]

Good post JSE, it will be interesting to see the responses. Fortunately my food lasts quite a long time atm, but I am sure as soon as the sparrows fine me, I will be in the same position you are.

[Emma]

We go through a 50lb sack of sunflower hearts each month. That sack costs £28.

I make my own suet/fat cakes as they costs next to nothing to make. I also make a gelatine ring which sells for £16.45 in the shop but costs me just 60p to make at home - EXACTLY the same. I do not provide fat/suet cakes this time of year as it can slow down the growth rate of nestlings, apparently.

My gelatin seed ring: http://www.bordersbirds.co.uk/2006/03/experiment.html

Sunflower Booty:http://www.bordersbirds.co.uk/2006/05/sunflower-hearts.html

Other than that the birds get:

Raisins and sultanas from the supermarket - always soaked overnight before putting out.

Nyger seed (one hanging feeder) can't remember the price

Peanuts (Aflatoxin free - four hanging feeders) 50lb sack lasts aaaages. £20.

We don't provide mixed seed seed anymore as there is too much waste - each species just take the type of seed that it wants and the rest gets thrown on the floor.

I think that's it, but I've probably forgotten something :)

[Emma]

Oh, to make fat cakes, just melt lard or suet in a pan and then pour it over a container full of sunflower hearts/mixed seed.

I use the type of container you get an indian takeway in :) The end result, once set, can be put out whole on a table or, as I do in the winter, put it in a peanut cake guardian to stop the bigger birds devouring it in 10 minutes flat.

[Jenny]

Good advice from Emma. I also use the smaller marg tubs to make bird seed cake - it fits in one of the old fashioned oblong red peanut feeders. May not be useful in non-midgie areas, but if you are in one and someone's got a midge magnet, chat to them and grab a bag; freeze dry them (but do warn other users of freezer first (ahem!) and mix them in with seed.

[Littleted]

I had a similar problem, especially with the starlings who demolish fat balls in hours!!! I tried making them myself for a while which i did really enjoy but overall still found it quite expensive as the suet cost a lot. Now i buy the big tubs full of fat balls and find this more economical.

If you want to make fat balls you can melt the shredded suet in the microwave - only about 10 seconds - this makes it slightly soft and you can mix in seed etc and mold it into balls then put into the fridge. If you put it in the microwave too long you'll need a container though as it will melt too much!!!

[birdgirl]

http://www.wildlife-gardening.org.uk/default.asp?ftr=Features\Projects\teresa-leech.xml
if you go this link it might help , i wrote it and Richard Burkmar the editor published it . hope it helps

[justsomeoneelse]

http://www.wildlife-gardening.org.uk/default.asp?ftr=Features\Projects\teresa-leech.xml (http://www.wildlife-gardening.org.uk/default.asp?ftr=Features%5CProjects%5Cteresa-leech.xml)
if you go this link it might help , i wrote it and Richard Burkmar the editor published it . hope it helps


hello all,
..i'm sorry, is that link correct ? i'm unable to open it.


justsomeoneelse

[birdgirl]

yes that the right link just click on it not right click

[birdgirl]

http://www.wildlife-gardening.org.uk/default.asp?ftr=Features%5CProjects%5Cteresa-leech.xml try this one justsomeoneelse

[peanut]

Instead of suet, which works out really expensive, I use blocks of dripping (around 50p per block from the supermarket). The trick is to mix in peanut flour (ground nuts, about 50p per bag from health food shops) and ground oatmeal. Then mix in whatever bird food you have in the house.

For moulds I use the plastic trays that comercial fat blocks come in to fit the square caged hangers, the plastic tubes that peanut cake is sold in (I wash and re-use the plastic hanger that comes inside) and for fat-ball substitute I use small yogurt pots and put them in fat ball hangers.

[PiratesAhoy!]

That sounds pretty much what I do, except I use the suet grains from the supermarket. Will look around for dripping though - thanks for the suggestion.

[NUTBAGS]

bird food can be very expensive but you have to consider why you feed the birds in the first place.Is it for the enjoyment you get,or does it make you feel good that you are helping wildlife.both reasons make the expense worthwhile.It is possible to cut costs though,by making your own fat products or finding cheaper suppliers,but quality is still very important.Make sure peanuts are certified aflatoxin free as this can cause death or disease to birds.You can buy cheap mixed seeds but generally speaking the cheaper it is,the more wheat it contains which is great if you want to feed the pigeons but less attractive to other species.
I sell bird food products myself and am always having to weigh up the difference between cheaper suppliers perhaps with inferior quality foods,against companies like CJ or gardman with dearer but better products.If i sold poor but cheap food i'm sure most of my customers wouldn't come back to me!

[Countrylass]

When I first starting feeding the birds 3 years ago a £2.99 bag of Robin mix from the supermarket used to last me a month. As the number of birds has increased and we have gained half a billion Starlings (much to my mom's disgust) the cost of feeding the birds has rapidly risen. We now have to buy in bulk (with bulk discounts) in order to keep the cost down. We do try to buy bits and pieces from the supermarket such as split peas, fruit and bread not only to make the bird food last abit longer but also to give the birds a little variety. We have to put out an economy mix purely for the Pheasants and Yellowhammers (still waiting for the Yellowhammers to come back). The year we didn't put the economy mix out was the year we had no Yellowhammers. We only buy from reputable suppliers and anything which is suspiciously cheap doesn't get ordered