Many of you will be feeding birds this winter, providing essential nourishment. May I ask those who put out fat balls to remove the nasty fine plastic mesh and either break up the fat balls & put them on the bird table or use a feeder? Only one bird has ever got its feet tangled in the mesh in MY garden, one was too many. I rescued it & got a nice nip for my pains. Now I only use feeders, I want to help the birds, not injure or kill them which recently happened to a Woodpecker which got it tongue entangled…
jesika
040110
Lance Leopold
Great advice,Jesika.
Richard Hamilt...
Well said and as Lance said, great advice.
xx
robmac
We used to put a string through a lump of lard as kids J and the birds loved it No mesh was used at all
jesika:
Lard is good, suet is better but not easily found.
j
Barb Leopold
I have never heard of this – something you do in the northern hemisphere winter? Here we just put out seed, seed, more seed – oh and water, as it’s a hot, hot summer!
jesika:
They need high calory food, Barb. Seeds, fruit & nuts are good, but fat gives an instant boost. Bread is rubbish, doesn’t really help.
I feed year round. Just after winter all natural food sources are depleted so help is needed and at breeding time it means parents know where to find baby food!
Water is also necessary but I have a pond as do several people around here. Almost all have a safety/exit ramp.
I hope Christmas was good and the New Year will be a happy one
jxx
Vickie Emms
with a title like that, I just had to read this journal Jes :-))
My husband’s suggestion for giving the birds fat is this, hon. Get a block of wood about 35cms long, drill 3 holes x 4 sides about 2.5 cm in diameter and about 5 cms deep and stuff the holes with the fat, suspend the long/wood with a hanger of sorts and the woodpeckers will love it. You could even mix seed in the fat for extra dessert :-)) Let me know if this helps. I wouldn’t want to see your birds injured or killed by mesh either. What they do sell here in Canada is a wire cage that’s more or less square and then you buy these seed blocks to insert. The cage is forever, the seed block soon needs replacing :-)) They come with honey and fat too
jesika:
Thanks for this, Vickie. Some people do as you suggest, but for most of us, fat balls are an easy way to provide food, BUT the mesh is dreadful. It’s so easy to cut the mesh & put the ball, which has seeds & nuts, into the feeder, a special cage which holds 4 balls. MY birds get Christmas cake, mince pies, sausage rolls, seeds, nuts, fat balls, fresh water…
jxx
dougie1page2
cheeky!!
Vickie Emms
can I be your bird :-)))