am now making my own fat balls.

[naturelover]

I have been buying fat balls from pet shops,then someone on wab said they were not nice make your own,so yesterday i bought 2lb of beef dripping melted it in a saucepan and poured it over, wait for it,crushed crackers,cockatiel seed,wild bird seed,sunflower seed,chopped peanuts,and sultanas,it nearly filled my mixing bowl.
I stired it well and left to cool.after about four hours i gave it another stir and left it another hour,by this time it was starting to set,so i got my hands in there and started to roll some balls,what a mess i got into as it started to melt in my warm hands,so that was no good what do i do now?.
Putting my hands in two plastic sandwich bags solved the problem,when i am down town next i will invest in some of those plastic through away gloves then i shall be well away, i made 19 big fat balls out of that mixture and it cost me next to nothing to make,in fact they look good enough to eat.
Put some out today but there wasnt many birds about as it was pouring with rain all day,of course now its dark its stopped,will see what tomorrow brings.

[Brocker]

Good job Naturelover. I also spend alot of money on fatballs. It looks like I will be making my own from now on. Let me know if the birds like them.

[Ollie]

I've been making my own fat balls for a while. What I do is save empty yoghurt pots and pour the mixture into them just before it sets then put in the fridge overnight and they are ready to use next day. The single one serving plastic yoghurt pots are just right size for my fat ball feeders.

Sometimes you can you push the fat balls out the pots, other times you have to cut them but seeing as we eat around eighteen of these a week we always have enough empties in stock. Saves getting so messy shaping the mix into balls.

The birds love them much more than the bought versions. I put sunflower hearts, peanuts, dried mealworms, a general seed mix, raisins, niger seed and any left over cake biscuit crumbs etc in the mix
Roger

[paddy]

Although it makes them a bit more expensive, i throw a pack of suet into the mix - it makes it a bit less of a mess than using dripping on its own, and the melted dripping melts the suet. You can then cut it up with a knife, and make 'tubes' out of them. Nobody told the birds they have to be ball-shaped!

[Brocker]

Thats interesting Paddy. I will try that. I like the idea of being able to cut it with a knife. Thanks.

[twylite]

is it ok to use vegetable fat?,have not made any since i was at school we used a crushed weetabix to bind the mix togeather but i think oatmeal is ok. do you think puting the mix in one of those nets you get with satsumas would work ok?

[naturelover]

well the birds love the fat balls i made BUT more starlings than anything,and the noise right outside my patio doors, not that it bothers me,the small birds dont go near when the starlings are about,but i have the other feeder futher down the garden that they use so no one goes without.

[paddy]

What's good about the homemade balls is that as the starlings feed they crumble - something the shop-bought, sand-filled ones don't - so as soon as the starlings are gone, the dunnocks and robins can move in and feed on the spillings.
I'm experimenting with making the food up in bulk now, and freezing it after it's been shaped. Taking the first load out tomorrow - will see if they hold together!

[agrumpycow]

Originally Posted by paddy

What's good about the homemade balls is that as the starlings feed they crumble - something the shop-bought, sand-filled ones don't - so as soon as the starlings are gone, the dunnocks and robins can move in and feed on the spillings.
I'm experimenting with making the food up in bulk now, and freezing it after it's been shaped. Taking the first load out tomorrow - will see if they hold together!

That is how we do it. We shape them around a wire to hang them with and pop them in the freezer. We take them out as needed. It works well for us.

[John]

I still buy fatballs but also make loads of my own blocks. I add cheap porridge oats to the mix then loads of various seeds, kibbled nuts and mixed dried fruit.

Once out in the feeding stations it doesn't last long.

John