Topic: No wonder I'm getting through fat balls by the dozen

[MrsKP]

I don't think anyone's told him, that he's too big for this twig!

 :-\

[Svea]

hmm, shouldnt you remove those feeders and put them back in the autumn?

my neighbours have a feeder still up from the winter, and the bloody pidgeons are everywhere  >:( >:(

[Robert_Brenchley]

Hang them somehere that bigger birds can't get to them.

[Marianne]

I can see that you have a birds nest on your shed. 

I wonder whether the more obscure reason for Mr Magpie for being there is to "snack" on the babies too as they leave the nest, after having eaten your fat balls.  Hopefully not.  ;) :D

[Obelixx]

The RSPB advises feeding all year.  In winter it keeps them alive.  In spring it gives them the energy to make good nests and healthy eggs and then look after feeding babies on insects and caterpillars so more survive to adulthood.   I do this and the local sparrows and assorted tits are more numerous than before I started, having successfully raised 3 broods over last spring and summer.

However, I too get magpies and crows coming to feed at the moment.  They just about manage to hang onto the fat ball dispensers - metal cages holding 5 balls each - then smash the balls with their beaks so they fall to the ground and the chunks can be carted off to their babies.    They can't manage the loose seed dispenser though so this weekend I shall get a couple more and swap them over.  Then the path below won't be covered in grease.   Yuk!

[Carol]

I follow the RSPB advice and feed the birds all year, maybe cut back a bit during august and September when the birds seem to go on holiday to the countryside.  At present, the feeding is hectic with Mothers coming in to help themselves and the males coming in for big mouthfulls of food to take to the young.  The Blue Tit feeds fats/seed to its young from my hanging food but not all the time.  They are back and forward into the trees for the caterpillars and now and then onto the fat.  Fat Balls are demolished in no time by the Jackdaws.  According to Springwatch a certain 'bug' is not present yet for the Jackys to feed on and that is why they are still coming into gardens to feed.  Thank goodness I dont have the Magpie.

 :) :) :)

[MrsKP]

The baby dunnocks and sparras are having to fight off the baby starlings for table space just now.  the little darlinks are everywhere !

they all seem to like the fat balls most so i'm quite happy to keep feeding as long as they want them even if the garden some resemble a scene from The Birds !

Mostly it's all one big happy bird family and now the sonic cat scarers are in place, it gets very busy out there.  Hours of endless watching fun.

The bird house is empty, after an initial day or so of viewing potential "lets" the tits decided to take up residence elsewhere.  It is in fact a bit of an optical illusion as the twig is quite a few feet infront of the box.   I'm going to move it to another side of the shed later on as i don't think they had a clear enough fly-in to the hole.

although the magpies are a bit bullyish, they don't often come into the garden so when one does, they're as funny to watch as the wee ones.

the robins have disappeared though, so i hope they're ok.

[Garden Manager]

I feed the birds all year too. i have one for seed, one for peanuts, and one for fat balls, plus a 'ground' birdtable for seed spilt from the feeders and other scraps (bits of bread, cereal etc). This is the first summer I have been putting out fat balls - i thought they were just for winter/spring, but they are proving sooo popular that I have had to keep on supplying them.

I think I go through more fat balls than the rest of the food put together - the local starlings go mad over them, as well as the sparrows. And yes the magpies have tried to have some as well but rather unsucessfully - they dont seem to be agile enough to get at them properly.

The bird table food i put out is meant for all the ground feeders, but one wood pigeon has decided its his personal dinner plate and wont let anyone get at it when he's around - I have even seen him fight with other pigeons to keep them away, let alone any other species!

[tim]

The Jackdaws are our 'pest'.

Offer yours a pine cone 'fat-ball', KP - nothing touches them!!

[MrsKP]

is it the obvious .... home made pine cone soaked in fat and seed poured over ?  or am i missing something ?   :P

i want the teenies to eat but the bigger ones can find someone else to raid.

 ;D

[tim]

No - it's huuuge bought-in thing. Waste of time!!

[MrsKP]

ahhhhhhhhhh i c.  shan't bother then.

i do make my own.  i wonder if they know they're eating burger, bacon and sausage fat.

 ::)

[nippie]

Good to hear you all feed all year round. I have an ongoing argument with my sister- in- law, who stops feeding in the spring.
My argument is that the parent birds know what to feed their young and will not feed them anything they shouldn't have.

[Obelixx]

Precisely - and they also need a quick feed themselves to give them loads of energy for hunting juicy caterpillars etc for their young and when the young are old enough they bring them to the feeders and then they know where to come to get through winter and carry on the cycle.

[Juliet]

Although the RSPB do say to feed birds all year, they also advise people not to put out peanuts, fat, and bread in the Spring and Summer because they may harm nestlings if fed to them:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/gardens/whatyoucando/feedinggardenbirds/when_to_feed.asp

Also they ask people not to put out food in mesh bags as birds' feet or tongues may become trapped in them - if you click on the link above & then on "How to feed wild birds" and scroll down to the bottom of the page you'll find the following:

 "Mesh bags - a warning
Peanuts and fat balls are regularly sold in nylon mesh bags. Never put out any food in mesh bags. These may trap birds' feet and even cause broken or torn off feet and legs. Birds with a barbed tongue, eg woodpeckers, can become trapped by their beaks. "

[Obelixx]

I have 2 plastic covered metal feeders which hold 5 fat balls at a time and I always remove the mesh when filling them.   Half the woodpeckers love it, the others prefer the peanut dispenser and boy do they all complain if I'm out in the garden when they come to feed.   I get shouted at a lot lately because they have started bringing their young but feel nervous if I'm visible.

The tits and sparrows are becoming less timid but are nothing like as bold as the UK versions and I haven't seen a robin in weeks, let alone had one hovering by my spade waiting for grubs and worms.

[MrsKP]

point taken about mesh bags but i've never had one injured yet and i am trying to rig up a diy protection ball that would let the wee birds through but not the pigeons.

i refuse to pay £25 for an off the peg number.  bl00dy ridiculous price.

[froglets]

I stopped with the fat balls after spotting the local squirrel knawing through the top of the bag, use it's paws to remove the ball, then tuck it under his "arm" and scoot off into the trees.

Amusing, but not what I pays me money for.  I know there's lots of small mammals helping themselves to my seed hangers etc, but at least that way it get shared with the birds.