Question from a newbie!

[redragon]

Hello, I'm new to having bird feeders in my garden and so not knowing how to start I bought a Gardman Feeding kit. On the peanut feeder instructions it tells me not to put out whole peanuts between FEB and OCT.

Can anyone tell me why?

P.S Again sorry for my ignorance.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by redragon

Hello, I'm new to having bird feeders in my garden and so not knowing how to start I bought a Gardman Feeding kit. On the peanut feeder instructions it tells me not to put out whole peanuts between FEB and OCT.

Can anyone tell me why?

P.S Again sorry for my ignorance.

if they can get the whole nut tits and some other small birds have a tendency to jam them down their babies throats whole - this doesnt matter with soft food such as catterpillars and worms but has serious often fatal consequences with something as hard as a nut. feeding nuts in a mesh feeder is fine - just dont feed them on the table or floor or anywhere else that birds can fly off with a whole one

[James_Owen]

It's because sparrows, silly as they can be sometimes, may feed them to chicks that just can't handle whole peanuts and end up choking.

Although I think you could probably start with them again a little earlier than October.

[redragon]

Ok thank you so much for your replies!

[ron1863]

I use a mortar and pestle to crush my nuts

[Jennywrenny]

Originally Posted by ron1863

I use a mortar and pestle to crush my nuts

There are so many replies to that but I'd better not...

[cherrybee]

Originally Posted by Jennywrenny

There are so many replies to that but I'd better not...

I can imagine

[smartie]

We can all imagine!! Watering eyes all round

[nightshade]

I have found that a quick zizz in a coffee grinder is easier
(bought at a car boot sale25p)Robins take the finer pieces

[Elizabeth B]

I use a food processor for chopping peanuts - then I can do a lot in one go. I use them (among other ingredients) when I make giant suet blocks (weighing about 480 grams), and I usually put some in a dish on the bird table. The peanuts in hanging mesh feeders are not particularly popular though.

[redragon]

Originally Posted by Elizabeth B

I use a food processor for chopping peanuts - then I can do a lot in one go. I use them (among other ingredients) when I make giant suet blocks (weighing about 480 grams), and I usually put some in a dish on the bird table. The peanuts in hanging mesh feeders are not particularly popular though.

suet blocks ?? what's a suet block?

[eeyore]

its a block of suet

also called birds pudding - what you do is get a yoghurt pot or similar (coconut shells are good too) , punch a hole in the bottom and thread a piece of string through it tie it to a match to stop it pulling out.

then turn the pot the right way up and fill with melted suet mixed with chopped nuts , seeds , fruit , cheese etc. - then put the pot in the fridge and leave it to cool - when it has hardened you can hang it in the garden by the string and little birds such as tits will cling to the rim to eat the fat.

if you want to feed bigger or less acrobatic birds you can hand the pot by a hole in its rim so that it hangs horizontally.

you can also use old meat trays to make blocks of birds pudding to hang up in mesh feeders and /or use an old icecream cube tray to make a set of little blocks that you can feed on the table or on the ground.

[Elizabeth B]

Originally Posted by redragon

suet blocks ?? what's a suet block?

It's similar to these - but the blocks I make are much bigger. I put them in a special cage, so that the starlings can't gobble it down. It's used by bluetits, great tits, coal tits, nuthatch, blackcap, robin and long tailed tits. A chaffinch quite often goes on the cage, but I haven't seen it go inside yet - I don't know if it's too big, whether it's just scared.

[redragon]

Oh I get it ! I do remember making something like this as a child. I'll give it a go.

Thank you both for being helpful.

[Wild-Woman]

Originally Posted by eeyore

its a block of suet

also called birds pudding - what you do is get a yoghurt pot or similar (coconut shells are good too) , punch a hole in the bottom and thread a piece of string through it tie it to a match to stop it pulling out.

then turn the pot the right way up and fill with melted suet mixed with chopped nuts , seeds , fruit , cheese etc. - then put the pot in the fridge and leave it to cool - when it has hardened you can hang it in the garden by the string and little birds such as tits will cling to the rim to eat the fat.

if you want to feed bigger or less acrobatic birds you can hand the pot by a hole in its rim so that it hangs horizontally.

you can also use old meat trays to make blocks of birds pudding to hang up in mesh feeders and /or use an old icecream cube tray to make a set of little blocks that you can feed on the table or on the ground.

I always knew you should have been a Blue Peter host Eeyore.