Fat balls

[Headfry]

Another question from Mrs HF......
Fat balls, you should never hang them out in the plastic mesh bags as these can trap the birds, so....
Why, oh why, do they sell them in bags???? they are plastic too, so not good from the green aspect either!

[shirlthegirl43]

I have hung out hundreds of fat balls over the last few years and have never seen a bird stuck in one. I collect all the empties and chuck them in the incinerator when I am burning old brambles.

[Birdie Wife]

I can only pass on anecdotal information - I have heard of a very few birds that got trapped in the mesh - and some people throw the mesh away, resulting in more trapped wildlife in landfill. I always cut the plastic rings that beer 6-packs come in too, for the same reason - gulls on landfill sites can get trapped in them. The re-usuable fat cake holders are better, or even better - make your own, with this recipe.

[shirlthegirl43]

Thanks for the recipe - I had been wondering how to go about making my own to see if it is cheaper!!

[HeyWayne]

Is the title of this thread intended to make me snigger like a small child?

[scarey55]

Is the title of this thread intended to make me snigger like a small child?

Scared posted an article on our blog some time ago designed to do just that - entitled fat balls and great tits!
So headed to show how much the wild birds love the food we put out for them of course

On a more serious note, Thank you Birdie Wife for the link to making your own.
We bought a big bucket from the local supermarket a few weeks ago full of fat balls with a feeder (rather like a peanut feeder) especially for putting the balls in without the need for the plastic mesh but the balls are due to run out soon so I think I will be making my own.

[Headfry]

oh HeyWayne you are soooo naughty!
see your point though!

[Two_Sheds]

I've never seen a bird caught in a fat ball, but I did find a very tangled up and very dead sparrow in somebody's strawberry netting.

[rustylady]

I hang my fat balls up (in their green netting) in chains suspended from the apple tree. Individual fatballs are joined up with plastic covered wire. No casualties so far, and I've been doing this for years. The starlings love them, but seem to spend more time arguing than eating.

[Rockhag]

Is the title of this thread intended to make me snigger like a small child?

Wasn't just me then. :P

[Flummery]

We put ours into a mesh holder. On Saturday morning a daft starling fell into this head first. Mr F had to cut the thing in half (holder, not bird!) wth his wire cutters. Out popped the bird and flew away swearing at us in starling language. We have bought a new one - with a lid!

[Headfry]

oh dear, Rockhag not you too! naughty naughty naughty

[HeyWayne]

I've no idea what fat balls look like, and I'm not going to google it on a work computer!

[Flummery]

Try bird cake HeyWayne. The first site that comes up is the RSPB giving you a method of making them yourself in yoghurt pots. It suggests hanging them upside down (you put a hole in the base first and tie a knotted string) but I just refrigerate them and pop them out to put on a bird table or in a metal mesh feeder. Also it won't get you banned from the internet at work!

[HeyWayne]

Try bird cake HeyWayne. The first site that comes up is the RSPB giving you a method of making them yourself in yoghurt pots. It suggests hanging them upside down (you put a hole in the base first and tie a knotted string) but I just refrigerate them and pop them out to put on a bird table or in a metal mesh feeder. Also it won't get you banned from the internet at work!

Cheers Flum. Might be a job I can manage at the weekend (they seem to be getting busier and busier in the run up to Christmas). Seeing the news this morning about the declining numbers of birds might be a good time to do my bit.

We have a footpath that runs along the side of our house (when the people opposite were trying to sell their house, it was described as "woodland") which has a load of bushes, trees (Oak, Birch & Ash mainly) and such so we get a lot of birds anyway, but I guess every little helps.