Don't forget the birds!

babaloushka

With the snow and ice this last week or more, the wild birds are having a really difficult time getting enough food to stay alive. Please remember to leave out something for them - nuts, seeds and fat balls are the best. My OH has just braved the ski slope to town to buy more for our wee feathered friends - you should see them all scrambling for the green net balls on the tree outside the kitchen window It's the best Xmas tree tableau ever

Cul a cnoic

Was in Lidl or Aldi last week and got a few bags of their bird feed mixes. Excellent value, think it was 1.29 a bag (1kg)

North_West_Art

good job this is'nt the Dublin forum :pac:

Bob Z

is it bad for birds to get food like this? i used to do this but i read sosmewhere they dont bother hunting anymore and dont learn

babaloushka

North_West_Art wrote: »

good job this is'nt the Dublin forum :pac:

I must be missing something?

North_West_Art

'bird' is the sland word for girl or woman in Dublin.... sorry, dry one

babaloushka

Bob Z wrote: »

is it bad for birds to get food like this? i used to do this but i read sosmewhere they dont bother hunting anymore and dont learn

Not at this time of year. No matter how much they hunt, they're not going to find anything and they will learn by simply dying When snow and ice are thick on the ground, there's just no food available. I suppose you could say that's natural, but the birds have so much else to contend with from humans that a little 'unnatural' help redresses the balance a bit
Just make sure you don't give them crap like bread or other junky processed waste - nuts, seeds and natural fats are as good as it gets.

babaloushka

North_West_Art wrote: »

'bird' is the sland word for girl or woman in Dublin.... sorry, dry one

The 'fat balls' probably didn't help

North_West_Art

:pac: I only see that now!

whelpy

i use to feed birds peanuts but they're so expensive. Someone on boards recommended giving damp porridge flakes and they really love it.

I also used to collect fat that dripped off from sausages, rashers etc. in the george foreman (hardened up) instead of the fat balls. But i think doing this is a bad idea, what with all the processed crap in sausages, salt, additives etc. etc. etc.

babaloushka

whelpy wrote: »

i use to feed birds peanuts but they're so expensive. Someone on boards recommended giving damp porridge flakes and they really love it.

I also used to collect fat that dripped off from sausages, rashers etc. in the george foreman (hardened up) instead of the fat balls. But i think doing this is a bad idea, what with all the processed crap in sausages, salt, additives etc. etc. etc.

I buy the fat balls in a shop in NI - 6 for 79p - but you can definitely make your own with lard and crushed up old nuts (apologies to North_West_Art ). These are 'unfit for human consumption' and usually cheap. Not sure about the porridge as it's very high in carbohydrates but I'd rather feed them something than nothing.

Graces7

Cannot afford to buy food; hardly for myself.. Raw porridge oats are great. Lots of vitamins etc in them

Filled a half melon with lard and oats; it froze and then the night it thawed a little the feral cat who comes around must have found it.

Nothing wrong with bread either. It is simply flour basically. This is how we have always fed them and they do fine.

But always so many theories... Ay me!

babaloushka wrote: »

I buy the fat balls in a shop in NI - 6 for 79p - but you can definitely make your own with lard and crushed up old nuts (apologies to North_West_Art ). These are 'unfit for human consumption' and usually cheap. Not sure about the porridge as it's very high in carbohydrates but I'd rather feed them something than nothing.

Glenman

I did my bit for them over Christmas...shot a few grey crows....less mouths to feed....