Recipes to Make Homemade Bird Food

Winter is here, and it's the perfect time for you to put out bird feeders, especially because natural resources are relatively scarce during the cold months.

According to Almanac, it is okay to feed birds in winter as it does not affect their migration process. They pointed out that supplemental food is actually quite helpful for birds in harsh winters.

It is also worth noting that, depending on the region, it is better to wait until at least December to start putting out bird food. Otherwise, it might attract bears, raccoons, and even rats.

HOMEMADE BIRD FOOD

Squirrels can also be quite troublesome, which is why it is recommended to set your feeder about ten feet away from trees or fences and five feet off the ground.

Another aspect you need to consider when feeding birds is that, if you’re giving them seeds, they need to be accessible and dry.

You can play an important role in helping [birds] survive.

To achieve that, sweeping snow off platform feeders and even making windbreakers are very good options. You can also build temporary shelters with roosting boxes or other materials so that birds can protect themselves from cold weather.

Coming back to food, you have plenty of options when it comes to feeding birds, but Bird Watchers Digest recommends choosing high-energy alternatives.

Some of their suggestions include suet, meat scraps, and peanut butter, especially because fat gives birds that energy boost they need in tough winter. Take a look at these recipes to make homemade bird food.

SUET

This solidified mix of fats can be done with almost any seed. For this particular recipe, you’ll need two parts of melted fat, two parts of yellow cornmeal, one part of natural peanut butter, and one cup of seeds. You can add one cup of raisins and two tablespoons of honey, but it’s completely optional.

Once the fat is melted, you’ll add all the ingredients, cook, and stir the preparation for a few minutes. Then, pour it into small containers, like tuna fish cans, and refrigerate until it’s hard enough to hold its shape. Finally, place the suet into a suet cage or a sturdy mesh bag.

WOODPECKER PUDDING

For this recipe, you’ll need eight pounds of suet, two pounds of peanut butter, eight ounces of corn syrup, and two pounds of rolled oats. Now, melt the suet and pour the melted fat into another recipient.

Add peanut butter, corn syrup, and oats to the hot fat and continuously stir until well blended. Finally, put the preparation in a can and refrigerate until you’re ready to use it.

PORRIDGE FOR BIRDS

You’ll need three parts of melted fat (suet is preferred), one part of cornmeal or finely cracked corn, one part of natural peanut butter or any other nut butter, one part of sunflower kernels or chopped nuts, and one part of chopped dried fruit.

The preparation is quite simple: just put everything together with some water until you get oatmeal consistency. You can cook it in a double boiler until well blended. Then, refrigerate into tuna fish cans and attach it to your bird feeder.

Remember that, while it’s not impossible, food can be challenging to find for birds in winter, so you can play an essential role in helping them survive.