Fat ball feeders for garden birds.

[Outdoorsman]

I rescued a starling from an empty fat ball net bag yesterday. The youngster was in a lot of distress. Luckily I was watching at the time and was able to effect an immediate release from the netting. Holding the bird was a wonderful experience. It stopped struggling and seemed to know that I meant it no harm.

The empty netting can be harmful and I suggest that they are removed from the fat ball and the fat ball placed in a container, protected from the sun and rain.

Does anyone have any ideas of how to make a safe container, for holding fat balls, out of everyday materials? I'm working on a few ideas using wood and wire netting.

Best wishes to all nature lovers everywhere...

[Lonnie]

Thats a good warning, I hope quite a few others read your post as well, no ideas at present, but I will give it some thought.

[orange-gnome]

Probably stopped struggling because it was scared stiff!!!

Lets not romanticise it now....birds are scared of humans and so they should be! If you were a hundredth of the size of a person would you start biting??? I don't think so, I think you would either be frozen solid or just give up and hope for the best!

[Outdoorsman]

Yes, you're quite right orange-gnome. It was terrified, but having read a previous answer - about a starling losing its leg in similar netting - what else could I do? I was there on the spot instantly and cut it free. As soon as the fat balls are small enough I'll remove them from the netting and put them in wire cages with the peanuts. No more netting after that experience!

I checked the starling for injuries before I let it go. Beautiful colours, lovely eyes, long pointed beak. I picked up a swift once. It had bumped into my motorhome, out on the coast in the East Riding village of Tunstall.

I'm going to design a wire netting cage tomorrow...I recently made a seed hopper that works on the gravity principle; it works OK. Not my design though...I copied it out of a book on making nest boxes and bird feeders.

Regards.

[les saisies]

Fat ball holders are available from most pet shops and garden centres. designed to take up to 4 small round fat balls.Just remove the net before placing the fat balls in the holder.

Square wire holders also available for the square blocks.

[nattab]

when we were kids my dad used to help us make fat balls like candles, i know it sounds silly,

we'd clean out our yoghurt or jelly pots and hold a piece of string in the middle then i think he put everything in and left it in the fridge, in the morning he would squeeze it out of the pot and hang it on the washing line. don't get me wrong, after a while it would fall apart from all of the birds getting at it, but they would just pick it off the grass and we were left with the string at the end. hope this can give you a few ideas.

[shaneystar2]

You can make your own fat cakes by pouring melted fat ,suet or lard onto a mixture of ingredients such as seeds, nuts, dried fruit, oatmeal, cheese and bread. or stale cake. Use about one-third fat to two-thirds mixture. Stir well in a bowl and allow it to set in a container .. then turn it out onto the bird table.

[mycats]

Thanks for telling us this Outdoorsman ! It's not something I even thought of (oops maybe I should have) I just went out side and removed the empty fat ball net from my garden. I usually forget and sometimes there a couple out there.

[smudge]

We always remove the netting from fat balls before placing them in the plastic containers, for the same reasons you've kindly expressed Outdoorman.

Like shaney, I occasionally make my own fat balls & the birds love them to bits.

When's this blinking rain gonna stop, so we can get out there & enjoy the birdsong?

[Outdoorsman]

Thanks everyone for your comments and ideas. I've just got back from a big garden centre, after buying �16 worth of fat balls, proper safe feeders and suet blocks.

The weather's been wet and cool (10 C) the last two days and the fat balls have held together well. They might melt as the sun gets things warmer though.

Only one problem now. We only have a small garden where the birds come to feed (18 feet by 18 feet) and it's also where Indoorswoman hangs her washing 2 or 3 times a week! Thankfully the weather has been too wet to hang out, so I've been having a ball with the birds!

There's always a snag.

Regards.

[Thunderbird+]

Good thing you was there at the right time Outdoorsman, I've always bunged 2 or 3 fat balls in one of them cillindrical wire holders, netting and all and never had any probs, but thats not to say it wont happen, i'll be taking off the nets in future. it will save me picking up the nets from all around the garden too. Thanks for the tip.

[gessoo]

A sparrow got his leg trapped in one of our peanut feeders the other day - between the wires on the feeder and the plastic bottom. Fortunately, we were able to rescue him. It's the first time I have seen this happen on the feeders and I am now concerned about these as well!!