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Fat Balls


woolybanana
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When I go shopping I'll have a look and see how much they are.

I'll tell you one of the things I do, and that when I have fried anything or any fat as come off anything say pork chops. I save it in winter and chill it and mix it with the seed I buy for the oiseaux. Bit sticky mixing it all together but many of them love it. 

Are you feeding the birds to wind your poor dog up, [:-))]I remember the blog.

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Hell, yes, it really winds him up but my devious plan is to try and get as many species in the garden as I can over the winter so they can be fotographed when Destroyer is asleep or has been strapped down.

I have very little fat as I try not to eat the stuff and eat little fat or red meat, so nice big greasy fat balls seem the most likely alternative to attracting birds.

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I'll look then when I am out, I should really get some for our birdies too.

There always seemed to be too few birds in France, that was the thing I always noticed, the dawn chorus should have been a true cacophony where we lived and it was pathetic. I used to love getting home at 5 in the morning when we lived in England and being serenaded to sleep by the birds.We reckoned that they were all shot and ate in France. Such a pity.

I'll look forward to seeing the photos. It'll be interesting to see how many species or just birds you encourage into your garden.

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I remember seeing Valerie Singleton make these on Blue Peter once. You put all your seeds etc in yoghurt pots along with a string and then added the melted fat/dripping. When it set solid you could push them out and hang them up or put on the bird table.
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So easy to make !

Need : 

Foil dishes left over from that last take away or a bucket. Blocks of lard. Packets of bird seeds from the pet shop, apple cores & peelings, carrot peels, any bit of vegetation trimmed off whilst preparing vegs, all that cut/shredded/diced up fairly small, bread crumbs or any stale bread made into crumbs, maggots from the fishing tackle place.

Gently melt the lard in a large pan and once melted, mix in thouroughly all the other ingredients. Put into the foil dishes and leave to cool before distributing around the garden.

Or fill half of a bucket and leave to cool. When solid, turn the bucket on its side and wedge between 2 stones or in the V of 2 tree branches, anywhere you can have a good view of the oiseaux for your photo endeavour. This way the little birdies will have shelter from the wind and rain when they come to feed in the bucket. A 1/2 bucket lasts my birds about a month. I also fix over the bucket some chicken wire as the big nasty magpies, jackdaws, jays, squirrels are not invited to this restaurant. 

It seems expensive and time consumming but for a little enjoyment certainly cheaper that 6.50€. Economy of scale ...

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They cost a cup of tea and a bun in the pound shop, we have a €1 bazaar shop around here where everything costs €1.60 (you figure!) they would probably sell you half of one [:D]

a life long platonic girlfriend once bought me a tiny china bird feeding dish in the shape of a cupped hand, it was useless as it didnt drain and the food went soggy, but I still consult the book that came with it "How to attract birds to your home", after all chloroform is hard to come by these days!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Do you remember the tv programme Magpie (depending on your age!) since then I've been buying coconuts bashing them in half, make a hole at the top to thread a bit of string ready to tie to a branch. Now melt some lard or similar in a pan, pour in mixed seeds, stir then when cooled slightly pour into the coconut shell and leave to set. Then dangle your large hairy fat balls (te hee) where you can see them !!
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