How to Make Fat Cakes for Birds

Follow

Image Source

How to Make Fat Cakes for Birds

There’s nothing nicer than waking up on a crisp autumn morning to the sound of birdsong, so why not hang a few birdfeeders outside your window or in your garden to entice them to stop by?

You’ll be doing the birds a favour too – as the weather gets colder, a calorie-rich source of nourishment is just what they need to keep warm, and homemade fat cakes offer just that!

Here’s how to make your own fat cakes for birds, costing just a few pence each!

1)      Melt the Fat

Melt a block of lard or suet in a saucepan over a gentle heat, stirring continuously until smooth.

2)      Prepare the Dry Ingredients

In a mixing bowl, mix together twice as much dry ingredient as you have fat (i.e. if you’re using 250g of lard, you’ll need 500g of dry ingredients). There are tons of options to choose from but if you’re hoping to attract a certain species, here are some of the foods that popular wild birds love to eat:

Wheat Grain: pigeons, doves, sparrows, blackbirds and jays are all likely to pop round for a visit if you leave this delicious snack out for them!

Sunflower Seeds: almost any bird will eat sunflower seeds, except pigeons and doves. Buy these if you’re hoping to attract finches, woodpeckers, sparrows and blackbirds!

Suet: If you want to attract chickadees, nuthatches, jays or woodpeckers in particular, use suet rather than lard as your fat as it’s their dish of choice!

Other dry ingredients popular with most birds are porridge oats, dried berries and even cheese shavings. However, be sure to avoid apple pips, uncooked beans, mushrooms, onions and chocolate which are all extremely poisonous for our flying friends.

3)      Stir Together

Mix your dry ingredients together with the melted lard or suet to form a thick paste that sticks together. If it’s still on the runny side, add some more oats or seeds.

4)      Prepare Old Yoghurt Pots

Gather up some old yoghurt pots and cut a small hole in the bottom of each. Then thread a 20cm length of twine or string through and tie into a knot on the outside of the pot.

5)      Fill Your Moulds

Now pack your yoghurt pots full of the mixture, compressing it down firmly to ensure that it is all stuck together.

6)      Set in the Fridge

Leave your pots in the fridge overnight to help the mixture set and harden.

7)      Hang Them Up

Now comes the fun bit! In the morning, cut the yoghurt pot away and you will be left with a nice, solid fat cake on a length of string, which can easily be tied to a washing line or tree branch. Just hang them up and wait for the birds to notice!

I hope you enjoy making your own mini birdfeeders – if you have any recipes of your own I’d love to hear them, so please share in the comments below.

Estelle Page is a keen gardener and advocate for the environment. She loves to do her bit to help the local wildlife, whether that’s hanging bird feeders from her balcony or feeding the ducks at the nearby pond with her kids! She blogs for Capital Gardens, an online garden centre.

Follow