Fat Balls

Called into my local Aldi yesterday after visiting P.O. ,looking for my neighbour and as I didn`t need anything I stood behind the tills.
As I had some rubbish I walked to bin to drop it in and it was full of fat balls, so I pondered for a minute ,then collared member of staff and asked if I could take fat balls to throw onto waste land behind me.After discussions between staff it was decided I could remove what I wanted to from bin.
Out to car found 2 large plastic Tesco bags and went in and proceeded to fill my bags ,with my back to the shop so as not to see all customers in queues watching me ,
I reckon it was 2 or 3 of the tubs they sell for 6 or 7 pounds worth.
Home I went removed plastic from about 18 or so and broke them up,to give small birds a chance, onto field.
I was just so appalled at the sheer waste, I buy perhaps 5 or 6 of these tubs through the winter,but to be honest they do seem to prefer the "Wilkos" ones

 

jeez, what a waste!

 

We make our own:

 

I make my own too the birds seem to prefer them and there is less mess than with the shop bought ones.

Rusty

 

So your recipes please, I have seen them with lard ,tried it once but it was too sticky as the lard didn`t set hard

 

Track down an old fashioned butcher who can access fresh suet. (Thanks for reminding me it is about time I arranged my 20 - 25lbs worth) ! ! ! I slice it into thick chunks and then I render it down into liquid form, if you keep the temp' of the oven down it doesn't smell too bad.

I collect old apples, wild bird food, cheese scraps, broken biscuits and stale cake (as if)! and add the warmed liquid suet, manouvre this gloopy mixture into plastic coffee cups and before it sets push in a loop of string.

I normally make too many and they tend to go mouldy on the top, but this year I have a vast container so I'm going to store them under water in there so they are away from the air.

Hope this helps. Cheers, Tony.

I

 

I always use lard and put bird seed and any scraps I have. I then make into balls and put in tuperware box and put in freezer for an hour or and this set them. Then store in garage.

Rusty

 

OMG. Thank goodness, when I saw the heading, I wondered what
I was going to find.

Yeah, a recipe would be good, as my little robin keeps
following me round the garden, and I thought I would hang something for him

 

Heated lard, birdseed (sacks of hen food, so really cheap), breadcrumbs (brown bread - look out for loaves reduced to 10p), homegrown sunflower seeds and raisins/sultanas (now on buy 2 get 1 free @ Tesco) pushed into fir cones (with a string loop attached first to hang them from) and then rolled in oats (Tesco Value - bought when there was a buy breakfast cereal and get money off fuel promotion at Tescos - the 50p/litre one, so they worked out cheaper than free).

If you hang these up the birds will ignore shop bought fat balls (and there's no danger of birds' feet becoming tangled in the plastic mesh bags that commercial fat balls are supplied in ).

 

I'd try all these things, but our local birds are ungrateful.

We put out a new feeder, full of seed. They ate the lot, so we refilled it another twice. Only the last refill just hasn't been touched.

 

I buy commercial grade peanuts and blitz them down - some to paste and some to small lumpy bits. I melt dripping and stir in the peanuts and decorate the top with whole peanuts.Pour into moulds that fit into a wire square cage when cold. Woodywoodpecker loves 'em so do the tits:robbie eats the bits that drop to the ground.

 

I've made my own too using pelleted suet instead of lard...

I do find it amazing that in various shops in our own town the price of a 6 pack of fat balls varies from 49p to £2.49!!!!; if I buy any I always get the cheapo ones and they're all eaten within a couple of days..

 

Yes get the cheaper ones from Home Bargains they are smaller but yes Bilbo gone in couple of days.

And the crows keep knocking them off .

I hate the crows.

 

I bought a load of cheaper fat balls last year and threw most of them out ,they just moulded up.Even the starlings wouldn`t touch them.

 

If you put peanuts in then remember to break them up I put mine in a hand held blender and whizz them a couple of times, saves the birds choking.

Rusty