Home Made Wild Bird Food Recipe

It's been a very mild autumn so far, but winter is just around the corner and the wild birds will be needing our help. I feed them all year round, and this is the mixture I use for the bird table. Ground feeding birds like pigeons and sparrows get fed a shop bought mix on the shed roof (this location keeps them safe from predators, and keeps any leftovers out of the reach of mice and rats, but not squirrels!)

Homemade wild bird food recipe

Ingredients
Cup of Tea.
A small handful of Dried Fruit (I use supermarket own brand sultanas).
3 level dessert spoons of Couscous.
1 teaspoon of Chili Powder or Paprika.
1/2 - 3/4 cup of Uncooked Oatmeal.
2 tablespoons of shop bought wild bird seed.
1 fat ball.

Method
Make a cup of tea, you'll need the hot water to soak some of the ingredients, and by the time you've drunk it, we'll be ready for step two.

Step one.

Place the dried fruit, couscous and chili powder in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soak. Now go drink your cup of tea, answer a few emails, read the paper or whatever for around about 20 minutes.

Step two.

Break up a fat ball in your bird feeding dish, you should crumble it into small pieces. I usually mash it with a fork.
By now you should have fluffy couscous and plump sultanas, add them to the fat ball, don't worry if they are a little bit sloppy, but if they're very wet you may have to strain off a little water first.
Put in as much oatmeal as you need to dry the mixture a little. Note that we are using uncooked oatmeal, never use cooked oatmeal, as it can solidify like glue on birds beaks.
Finally add the bird seed, making sure everything is mixed in well.
Now go feed your friends, and be sure to leave some water out for them too!

What?When?Why? Feeding tips

1. Chili Powder. Birds are not affected by chili powder, but mammals are. If you put chili powder in bird food you will deter rats, mice and squirrels.
2. Uncooked Oatmeal. As I already explained, cooked oatmeal is very bad for birds. Always use raw uncooked oatmeal.
3. Bread. Feed bread sparingly, as it is not good for birds.
4. Peanuts. I mostly feed peanuts over the winter, as fledglings can choke on them. some birds start breeding very early in the year, so be careful. Occasionally I will run some through the food processor and put them in my food mix.
5. Dog/Cat kibbles. leftover dry pet food is a big hit with my garden visitors. I pop it in to soak with the couscous and sultanas. Never give dry kibbles to birds always soak them first.
6. Cheese/lard/suet. All of these are acceptable to birds and will help them through the winter, obviously, grate any cheese first!

Happy Feeding!