Requesting info on cheap bird food

[Kaleva]

I love to feed the birds but my current and future financial situation prohibits me from purchasing any meaningful quantity of black sunflower seeds throughout the winter like I used to.

I can afford to keep suet cakes out for the birds but that's about it.

The birds that come around are:

Various species of Woodpeckers
Chickadees
White-breasted Nuthatches
Mourning Doves
Goldfinches

I may be able to provide thistle seed during the entire winter for the goldfinches and with the suet cakes, store bought or homemade, all the birds listed above could be covered other then the mourning doves. We have lots of squirrels here and while they leave suet and thistle seed alone, they do love sunflower seeds.

[Curmudgeoness]

1. My personal opinion

is that cheap seeds are just not worth it. The waste seed is more volume than the seeds that the birds will eat.

And thistle is not cheap. I realize that what I do is out of your financial ability right now, but I have gotten to the point that the only thing I feed is shelled sunflower seeds....and all the birds love them, including every bird you have mentioned. I have thistle out and no one touches it. Even the goldfinches flock to the sunflower. I don't think it is any more expensive than the thistle. Just keep it away from the squirrels because they will eat you out of house and home.

I also feed cracked corn or chicken feed, which are cheap and the doves love. For the squirrels, whole peanuts can keep them busy for a while, and so can cobs of corn.

When it really gets cold, I make cakes of Crisco and flour---just enough flour to hold it together. This is for those times when the temps are really low and the birds can use all the extra calories they can get. For smaller birds, I will form this mixture into tiny balls. This can also be put into holes in a log that I have drilled out and hung. Cheaper than suet. For a steady diet, I doubt that it is good for them, but it seems to do no harm short-term.

[XemaSab]

2. For the ground-feeding birds

I go to the Tractor Supply and get a bigass bag of seed for $10 and scatter it around.

If you go to a butcher, he might be able to kick down some free fat that you could render into suet.

[Kaleva]

3. Zick Dough

"Melt in the microwave and stir together:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup lard

In a large mixing bowl, combine
2 cups chick starter
2 cups quick oats
1 cup yellow cornmeal and
1 cup flour

Add melted lard/peanut butter mixture to the combined dry ingredients and mix well."

http://juliezickefoose.blogspot.com/2010/03/zick-dough-improved.html

A 25 lb. bag of chick starter costs just under $16 at a nearby hardware store. Such a large bag would last a long time but it won't go bad if kept in a tight container.

[GentryDixon]

6. I found this recipe here a few years ago.

The birds love it, and it takes no time to whip together.

[Kaleva]

4. I put out a suet cake a few days ago.

A solitary chickadee stops by about every day to pick at it for a bit then flies off. It's been my experience that birds prefer what they find on their own and go to the suet cakes when sources of such food is scarce. But I have it out there and at least one chickadee knows about it! I may put out another and when the weather turns very cold, there will be many more feathered visitors dropping by.

[Kaleva]

5. Getting more visitors now

The solitary chickadee was around today a couple of times eating the suet that I've noticed and also a nuthatch and a woodpecker.

I've always enjoyed feeding the birds and loved watching woodpeckers, gold and purple finches, mourning doves, blue jays, chickadees, nuthatches and starlings eat to their fill.