How to make your own suet balls for birds

How to make your own suet balls for birds


The most important points at a glance

  • With simple step-by-step instructions, you can make your own suet balls and bird feeders and provide targeted support for native winter birds, especially when natural food sources are scarce.
  • Making and hanging the suet balls is a fun activity for young and old alike, fosters children's understanding of nature, and also beautifies the garden.
  • ELEO offers suitable garden decorations such as trellis obelisks, on which you can conveniently attach the homemade feeders; Furthermore, the decorative Tissano garden stake is a stylish addition to your garden.

 

Make your own suet balls – even your children will love them

As soon as the days turn cold and the nights frosty, our native feathered friends have a hard time finding food. Suet balls offer winter birds a nutritious food source that you can easily make yourself.

We'll show you step by step how to make this high-fat bird food, including a feeding bell, and give you interesting information about garden birds in winter.

When should you feed birds?

Traditionally, you start feeding birds in your garden in November and continue until the end of February. If March is particularly cold, you can certainly continue. The lower the temperatures, the more grateful the birds are for the food, as insects and other insects are hard to find.

It's important that you stop feeding them by April at the latest. This is because some bird species are already giving birth to their young, for whom the food can be harmful.


Which bird species like suet balls?

Basically, our native garden birds can be divided into two categories: seed eaters and soft food eaters. Seed-eating birds include tits, finches, and sparrows. Robins, dunnocks, blackbirds, fieldfares, and wrens prefer soft food. These birds aren't necessarily attracted to seeds and kernels, but rather enjoy raisins, fruit, rolled oats, and bran – soft food, hence the name "soft-food eaters." Your homemade suet balls, enriched with plenty of seeds and kernels, will primarily attract tits, finches, and sparrows. Soft-food eaters also readily accept broken pieces of fat found on the ground. The best suet ball recipe – tits and other birds will love it. Our suet ball recipe is incredibly easy to make. The base is fat, which hardens at +10°C. Energy-rich grains and kernels are added. The mixture is poured into a classic clay flowerpot.

Materials you will need:

  • a clay pot (10 cm diameter) with a hole in the bottom
  • a little cooking oil
  • a piece of twine
  • a branch or stick that is longer than the clay pot
  • Ranko obelisks, you can quickly and easily hang the suet balls and feeding pot on them.




    Bird in a feeding ring with suet balls

    ©Dieters-Fotowelt/AdobeStock: Bird in a feeding ring with suet balls

    Feeding birds: an important and enjoyable experience for children

    Watching winter birds feed is a special highlight and brings joy. This spectacle is particularly important for our little ones, as it allows them to learn about the different species. Especially children who grow up in larger cities have far too little contact with native birds. A homemade suet ball is a particularly good way to introduce our children to our birdlife, and the shared experience of making it strengthens the bond with your child. And if you're looking for a creative place to hang your homemade suet ball, our vine obelisks are a great option. We hope you have fun making it!

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    Image credit cover image: ©JuergenL/AdobeStock

    • Tip:Beef or mutton tallow is particularly well-suited as a fat for your suet balls, as it has a high energy density. You can get tallow from your trusted butcher. Coconut oil can also be used as an alternative. However, you should make sure it is organic.

    Important tip: Unfortunately, commercially produced suet balls for birds are still sold in plastic nets. These nets are very dangerous for birds – they can get tangled in the small mesh and seriously injure themselves.
    by Jennifer Faatz Jennifer Faatz

    An afternoon in a beautiful garden is like a mini-vacation for me!

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