[Carol Knights]

Last year we spent loads on peanuts, fat balls and niger seed for the birds and we had lots of feathered friends. I'm going to have to cut down the expenditure a bit and I have lots of standing teasels but could anyone tell me please the cheapest source of fat balls and peanuts so that I can continue to be generous to the 'friends.'

[RUSTYME]

you could buy large bags of nuts seed from a pet supply store and add fat collected at home . Yogurt pots make good moulds for the seed and fat mixture. You can make up any mix of seed you want , or buy wild bird seed mix . It works out much cheaper than the ready made fat ball things you get in a pet shop.

hope that helps ....

cheers

Russ

[ballingall]

I do find its cheaper to buy a big bag of peanuts from a wholesaler then to buy smaller made up bags from pet shops or supermarket. I bought a 12 or 15 kilo bag of peanuts last year which saw me right through the winter and cost about £17. From some places, buying a 2 kilo bag can cost over £3 or £4.

Locally to this area, Central Saddlery near Avonbridge stock peanuts, and so do McCash's in Perth.

Beth

[shetlandpaul]

tescos are selling peanuts at a £1 a kilo at the mo.may be cheaper getting some.

[Snoopy]

Can I just add, if you do feed the birds, you must do it all year and every year.

Birds that are being fed, forget how to forage and depend on the constant suppy, and when you stop they die - fact.

Also

Please make sure, if you have cats around, that the feeding area is well out of reach of them, as you will be feeding
cats as well as birds

Julie

[Carol Knights]

Thank you for all the tips. I'll see what I can do with the fat ball one. I was buying the peanuts in 20kg hessian sacks so I suppose they were probably as cheap as I could get them,  we got through four sacks during the whole winter. I think I might just have to be a little less generous.

[sabrina]

I make up my own fat balls using the fat off the lamb and pig joints, melt it down the add my seed and put it into moulds. Birds love it. I do not feed birds in the summer as there are plenty of grass seeds etc. I found that once the young birds started to fledge they would hang about expecting me to feed them and where not wise enough to keep out of the cats way. We have plenty of bird friendly plants in the garden to keep them happy. I grow sun flowers just for the birds,  have plenty of berried shurbs that are safe for them.