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sarahjm

Can you make fat balls at home?

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Hi all,

 

In the spirit of not wanting to throw anything in the landfill if we can help it - how can we recycle fat from the grill pan (solid fan from sausages, cheese on toast etc etc)

 

I was thinking about making my own fat balls for the birds, adding seeds etc - has anyone else done this? Is that the right kind of fat for garden birds to have? I know it's the right season for them to be needing fat balls...

 

Also, if I do make some / buy some can the chooks have them too?

 

thanks!

 

S xx

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Thanks Craig, think I'll try yoghurt pots as moulds...!

 

Thanks Clare - do you know why the birds can have fat and not the chooks? I was going to hang the bird feeders / fat balls etc in the chickens area so that the chickens would have tidy up any fallen seeds and bits of fat, should I re-think?

 

S x

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I have also used Fat Traps for over a year now and they do work well. You can buy them here...

 

http://www.lessmess.co.uk/fattrap.asp

 

... I bought a set of four and gave 3 of them away as Christmas presents! Some of the family were happier than others ... :wink:

 

I find that some oils are better than others. Any meat oils are best, followed by fowl. You can use a certain amount of vegetable oil, but too much will make the mix too liquid. I put in a mix of nuts and seeds in as well - the birds really like them. They are easy to clean too - but let the oil cool a little before pouring in otherwise you can melt the trap!

 

Hope that helps...

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We have used our home made fat balls for over a year and not had any problems. I find that the birds know that there is usually something to eat in my garden so they usually clear up a fat ball I have made in less than three days, so I guess the rats don't get a look in:cry:! We do have some interest from field mice and squirrels for the nuts and seeds in the middle of the fat ball, though, but I don't mind that so much. The fat trap allows you to have the fat ball on a string too, like the commercial ones, so hung from a light tree branch I would guess the rats can't get to the good stuff? :roll:

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