Feeding birds in winter is very important and is allowed when there is a lot of snow and ice. Because the animals then have no energy to look for it themselves and they cannot reach it. So it is certainly allowed to feed them, but you have to be careful with what you give them.
Those very nice garlands with capped peanuts, for example, are disastrous for the animals. Because they have to open it first. And that takes too much energy. But what is the best way to feed birds in the winter and what do you give them?
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Birds’ body temperature drops in winter: they need more food
What applies to people in winter also applies to birds. Their body temperature drops due to the outside conditions and to get it back up to the standard they have to eat much more than they do in other periods. In addition, that food must also be very energy-rich. The point is that in winter there is almost nothing for birds to find useful food. Or one is under a thick layer of ice that they cannot reach. Helping to feed is then a solution.
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What do you give birds in winter?
There are plenty of ready-made products available in the shops to feed birds. These include:
- fat balls
- peanut chains
- apple pickers
- Whole packages with all kinds of bulbs
Make your own fat balls for the birds in winter
Making your own bulbs is cheaper and also fun to do. Moreover, such a bulb can contain everything that is needed to feed the animals. For such a ball, take the cheapest hard frying fat, but without salt. In addition, take a bag of sprinkles.
Heat the frying fat briefly in the microwave after it has been cut into small pieces. (You can also heat on the stove or gently on the stove). Then mix frying fat and the food with each other in a ratio of 1 to 1. Then let the mixture solidify for a while in a colder environment. Then balls can be made from it. Pass a wire through it so that the sphere can be hung.
Using empty flower pots for bird fat balls
An empty flower pot can also be used very well for this mixture. Put the mixture in a pot and then hang it with the opening (not the bottom) downwards on a line.
Fat on the ground for birds that can’t hang from a fat ball
Not all birds are good at hanging from fat balls. It is wise for those animals to simply put some of the mixtures on the ground so that they can feast on it. Blackbirds in particular will make great use of this because they do not like to hang from a fat ball.
Old bread, apple, and lose peanuts for birds in winter
Stale bread, apples, and regular peanuts are also very good for the birds in need in the winter. Just scatter the bread in the garden in small pieces. It doesn’t matter what bread that is, whatever’s left can be used. Buying cheap bread is of course also possible, the birds love it.
Which birds are attracted to bread in the garden in winter:
Many birds love bread in the winter. These include:
Blackbirds
- Thrush
- starlings
- Have to
- jays
Apple peels, apple cores, and apples that are somewhat damaged for birds in winter
In addition to pieces of apple, apple peels, cores of apples and apples that have a place here and there is also a source of energy for the birds in the winter. Blackbirds and thrushes love slightly rotten apples or frozen fruits.
Peanuts – absolutely don’t take peanut chains from shelled peanuts for the birds in winter
Such a chain of shelled peanuts always looks very nice, but a bird has to do a lot at a time when it already has little energy to eat from such a chain. The animals first have to break open the shell with their beak and because they already have so little energy, it costs them too much effort. It is therefore much better to hang peanuts that have already been shelled in a net. The birds can eat directly from it.
Prepare drinking water for birds in winter
When it freezes, there is also no drinking water available for birds. So, in addition to food, it is just as important if not more important to ensure that there are containers with water in the garden. A shallow saucer with lukewarm water will last for a while,
but it is of course important to refresh again and again because the water keeps freezing. The saucer must also be kept clean to prevent diseases from breaking out among animals. A few rocks in the water can keep the birds from sitting in it. They often know this themselves, by the way, because bathing in water in winter means frozen wings.
