Seed for the bird table

[Jackie]

Having just bought a 6kg bag of sunflower seeds a thought has just occurred. The bag was bought at Bricomarché in the animal section near the fat balls but I wonder if this is actually intended for birds. There is no mention of use on the bag and I wonder if this was just intended for planting and as such might be treated seed which could be poisonous to birds. Any thoughts?...........................J

[woolybanana]

Usually there are pictures of birds on the plastic bag or whatever. I cant see Pricomarche stocking sunflower seeds for planting somehow.

[Cat]

If the bag was in the animal/pets section, it is intended for animal consumption. 

As an aside, we bought a bucket of fat balls last week, and two bird feeders.  The greedy whatnots have already munched their way through eight fat balls, is this a sign that we've a siberian winter ahead of us, or just that we've got an awful lot of hungry birds?

[andyh4]

It's a sign that you're feeding and no one else is.

 

Our birds hate the fat balls from around now until Easter.  Outside that time they can go through 2 or 3 a day.  Insde that period a single ball could last 10 days.  So my take is that when my neighbours put out better food they eat that and when they stop, my fat balls ([:$]) are the best that's around.

 

Back to the orignal question - now is not the time to be sowing sunflowers so it's a safe bet it is for birds.

[Gastines]

I note that Carrefour are selling 20 fatballs for 1.e.90c.  far cheaper than the pet stores. The way our garden birds get through them I need to buy econimically. All the duff walnuts I smash up and fill the feeders with the bits of nut and sunflower seeds. They are very partial to pasta. prefer Tagliatelli to Spag,cooked of course. Always have loads of sparrows/greenfinches/great & blue tits/jenny wrens and robins. My favourite the goldfinches seem to have gone and one bird I don't see here,but like, is the jay.

To anyone who read my wrong viewing of the "Penguin" , there is a resident seal in the Port de Mordreuc up the Rance. She has been something of a tourist attraction for a couple of years and seems to thrive on all the attention she gets. This one is not a figment of my imagination.

Regards.

[woolybanana]

How can we know that?????[6]

[Gastines]

If you look up mordreuc.com or port de mordreuc on Google you will see the seal is even mentioned in the tourist guide. Somewhere there is also a picture of it and it's name Bouboule. Always a nice spot for a walk and snack/lunch even in the winter.

[woolybanana]

A seal named Bouboule? As they say, pull the other one, it has got bouboules on it[6]

[Missy]

Cheaper alternative to the fat balls from the pet shops

Get a pound of lard, melt it down in one of these aluminium dish from the chinese take away or any old soup/tomato tins.  Put any of the seed from your garden shrubs or the seeds you got from the pet shop, also all your bread and toast crumbs, apple cores, roughly chopped walnuts or any other nuts (but your OH's![:$][:D])

Put dish on bird table when the 'cake' has gone cold and hard. Put it such way that rain water doesn't collect in it. I do my bird 'cakes' in tins, just half full and lay the tin down. This way it makes a little shelter for the bird whilst pecking at it.  

[Michael]

Hi Missy - whats the French name for lard? We just can't find it in the supermarkets.

[Missy]

Try saindoux. If not at the supermarket ask at any good charcutier. A charcutier specialises in porc meat and by products..

[Bob T]

We buy the 12 kg bags of sunflower seeds from the local farmers co-op at around 10 euros each. The blue and great tits manage to polish off a bag in about three weeks.