Bird watching is a fun and relaxing hobby for people of all ages. There’s something special about seeing wild birds up close in your own backyard. One way to attract more colorful birds is by offering tasty treats. Homemade bird treats are easy to make, nutritious, and cost a fraction of store-bought options.
In this article, we’ll provide 10 delicious tried-and-true recipes for homemade bird treats that will have your yard filled with happy birds in no time!
Benefits of Homemade Bird Treats
Offering homemade bird treats provides the following benefits
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Control ingredients You can ensure the treats are made from quality ingredients and avoid preservatives, artificial colors, flavors, and sweeteners
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Nutrition Tailor the recipes to include healthy fats proteins carbohydrates, and other nutrients birds need.
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Cost savings: Making your own bird treats costs a fraction compared to buying commercial treats.
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Customization: You can tweak recipes to attract certain bird species based on their food preferences.
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Fun activity: It’s enjoyable to make different homemade treats and observe which ones birds gravitate toward.
Key Ingredients for Bird Treats
Some key ingredients that are nutritious, affordable, and appealing to a variety of birds include:
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Seeds: black oil sunflower, nyjer, millet, flax, hemp
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Fruit: raisins, currants, berries
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Oats
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Peanut butter or other nut butters
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Suet or lard
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Dried mealworms
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Cornmeal
Mix and match ingredients to create recipes that will entice birds in your area.
10 Homemade Bird Treat Recipes
Here are 10 simple recipes for making your own bird treats at home:
1. Basic Seed Treats
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Ingredients: birdseed, vegetable shortening or lard, cornmeal
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Melt shortening and mix with cornmeal and birdseed. Shape into balls or press into a pan and cut into squares.
2. Peanut Butter Bird Treats
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Ingredients: peanut butter, birdseed, cornmeal
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Mix together peanut butter, cornmeal, and birdseed. Roll into balls and chill before serving.
3. Berry Suet Treats
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Ingredients: suet, dried berries, peanut butter, oats
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Melt suet and mix with berries, peanut butter, and oats. Pour into molds and chill until firm.
4. Dried Mealworm Treats
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Ingredients: dried mealworms, peanut butter, birdseed
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Mix mealworms with peanut butter then roll in birdseed to coat. Refrigerate until firm.
5. Fruit and Nut Treats
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Ingredients: raisins, peanuts, peanut butter, cornmeal
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Chop raisins and peanuts. Mix with peanut butter and cornmeal. Shape into logs, balls, or press into a pan.
6. Oatmeal Treats
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Ingredients: oats, peanut butter, seeds
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Mix oats with peanut butter then roll into balls. Coat with seeds.
7. Pumpkin Treats
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Ingredients: canned pumpkin, peanut butter, birdseed
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Mix pumpkin puree with peanut butter. Stir in seeds. Spoon into mini muffin tins and chill until firm.
8. No-Bake Cookie Treats
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Ingredients: oats, peanut butter, corn syrup, seeds
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Mix oats, peanut butter, corn syrup, and seeds. Drop spoonfuls onto waxed paper and chill until firm.
9. Suet Seed Treats
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Ingredients: suet, birdseed, dried fruit
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Melt suet and stir in birdseed and dried fruit. Pour into molds and refrigerate until hardened.
10. Nutty Suet Treats
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Ingredients: suet, peanuts, birdseed, cornmeal
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Melt suet and mix with chopped peanuts, birdseed, and cornmeal. Press into a pan. Cut into squares when firm.
Tips for Feeding Birds Homemade Treats
Follow these tips to get the most enjoyment out of offering homemade bird snacks:
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Place treats in feeders or platforms, sprinkled on the ground, or speared onto branches.
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Try different shapes like balls, logs, blocks, and muffins.
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Adjust recipes to include local, native seeds and fruits birds are adapted to eating.
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Avoid adding salt, spices, or seasonings.
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Offer treats year-round but increase availability in cold months when birds have greater energy needs.
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Provide a source of fresh water nearby.
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Keep treats mold-free by making smaller batches and refrigerating extras.
Enjoy the Show!
The joy of seeing colorful birds flock to your homemade treats is priceless. Try out different recipes and observe which ones appeal most to the feathered friends frequenting your yard. With a little trial and error, you’ll discover the tastiest treats to keep birds happy while also attracting new species to admire. Soon your backyard will be bustling thanks to your homemade bird buffet!
Shop Bird Treat Supplies
*If you want to know more about bird seed before we get started on these DIYs, I found this quick guide to seed types that looks helpful!
A traditional bird seed ball is a great project for your kids on a rainy day. You basically mix all the ingredients together and then roll it in seed.
Use different cookie cutter shapes to make these birdseed ornaments.
Birdseed blocks can be made much cheaper than buying them. Also, since you don’t need any fancy molds or cookie cutters, these might waste less bird seed because they don’t need them.
Gelatin is used to keep these suet cakes together. Use any mold you want, but the heart mold pan does make a cute bird treat!.
These bird treats can be hung from a tree with just some twine or string. You could also make bird seed wreaths this way.
Make All Kinds of Birdseed Treats from Birdseed Balls to Birdseed Blocks
To help feed those birds during the winter months you can make all kinds of bird treats. And I’ll list a few more below. To make most of these treats, all you need is bird food and a few pantry items, like peanut butter and lard. I think this is such a perfect kids project on a rainy afternoon.
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How to Make Bird Treats for Wild Birds
FAQ
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