Making Wild Bird Cakes....

I put seeds,currants,raisins chopped apple into the lard,anything really that I know the birds will like

When My Grill Pan Needs Emptying from all the Burger/Sausage Fat i Scape it out & put into a Hole Drilled Whole Coconut same as 1 u have there Ang :)

majeek, my wife makes her own fat cakes.
i believe she melts down a block of lard, adds a cup of seeds and some ground nuts mixes and pours into a mould , sets in the fridge and then carves into desired size. a lot cheaper than shop bought items. we also buy our seeds by the sack from our local avery and also the nuts in 1/2 sack size, this is also much cheaper .so the local bird population is fed well on a budget!!.................steve

I boil together one cup of sugar and one cup of water for about 5 minutes, then mix with 8 onz of melted lard.When cool I add breadcrumbs, flour, bird seed, boiled rice and scraps until the mixture is very stiff. Then form into balls which fit into a feeder. Sparrows in particular love them.This mix makes about 15 balls.

Lots of recipes for you and I will add mine which is very simple. I cup lard, i cup peanut butter, melted together and add 2-3 cups corn flour, depending on how thick you want. I then freeze it in a loaf pan and slice it when I need some, if you want to fill something you could use less flour and just pour into your shells and chill. Wood peckers really love this and it's cheap!

Some great ideas here. I use beef suet. No need to melt it as long as it's at room temperature; just mix with oatmeal, crushed peanuts and seeds or anything you have handy that the birds will eat and press it into the shell.

Never use animal fat, it blocks up their tiny arteries. use veg fat or suet.

Sorry Melsy your comment had me a little concerned as we have been making our own out of fat ( lard ) and suet .

RSPB recommend using these as unlike humans this type of fat is a good energy source and provides an excellent fuel for keeping them warm during winter months.

Your suggestion that their arteries could be blocked could lead people to think that veg fat or oils more approriate.

These are higher in poly unsaturated fats which birds cannot breakdown - so please stick to the stuff that we all find so unhealthy.

Go to the RSPB website which is a great source of info for feeding birds and sorry Melsy but they recommend feeding animal fats ( lard and suet) and NOT fat of a vegetable origin.

Thank you so much all of you, Brooke and I have lots of new recipies to try. i will keep you all posted on how we get on. maybe i'll write a blog when we do them, she has a horrible cough and cold, so i can see her having some time off school next week, will give me something to do with her, cheer her up a bit! and just to add to the comments you have made with regards to Lard and veg fat. although i have never done this before myself, i always throught that you use lard, or such like, and i have also read somewhere that bacon rind is very good for them this time of year again because it provides much needed energy that helps keep them warm. i always cut mine off because i don't like it, and put it out for them and they love it. so what bonkersbon and greenqueen have said does make sense. but thanks for your imput Melsy.

Have you ever seen small birds coming to a carcass? They will do this for the fat esp. in the winter!