Homemade bird food

[assumpta]

Hi, hopefully someone can help. I have made some bird food using lard and seeds and have moulded them into ring shapes so I can hang them up. The only problem is that they have not set hard enough and are breaking up. I have tried to put them in fridge, but this didn't make much of a difference. Any ideas please.

You are brave - melting lard smells like the devil!
If you add some suet to the mix and melt that in too, it does help them to set into firmer shapes. They will then need to be fridged to make them set really firm. Good luck. Finely chopped peanuts/sunflower hearts are also good to add in and the birds love them.

Thank you so much for that. I think I am going to have to break them all up and start again, as they are a bit too soft. Does the suet actually melt?

I've never been able to get it hard.
I usually make it straight into whatever container I'll put it out in (coconut shell/takeaway pot etc)
I pour the fat (at least some of it has to have had meat cooking in it) and add crumbs/left over cereals etc day to day til it's full.

I used to put mine in the freezer then when frozen put it on the bird table it stays hardish while its cold outside but goes soft if warmer, either way it still gets eaten but now i buy the big tubs of ready made fat balls ( about 36).

Hi, yes, suet does melt and smells less rank than the lard.

Great I will try that. If all comes to all I will just pop it in empty yogurt cartons. They should be able to eat if out of that if I tie some twine around it and hang it up. What do you think?

Sounds like bird heaven. I bit the bullet today and cleaned the whole of my bird feeder station - all parts, inside and out. It was rather grubby and slimy so it did need doing. I am not surprised that the birds were a bit less than keen