OK - youngest daughter has to make homemade bird feeders to get a badge at Daisies (US Girl Scouts). To make them at home in the UK I would simply have softened (not melted) a block of lard and mixed in a load of bird food then re-refridgerated to set in something like a yoghurt pot threaded with string - Simple.

I can find loads of different types of Bird Feed but I am struggling to find a suitable alternative to block lard and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions? Obviously it needs to be something which can be refridgerated and which will hold together when hung up outside!

Any help would be appreciated, as usual I have left it to the last minute and she needs to have something to show her Daisy Leader on Wednesday

Thanks

I'm not sure if Pet Corner is the best place for this, but it's certainly not Daily Life fortunately. If you get no joy, I can move it to 'General/Other' and see if it gets more attention there. I've changed the title a bit as it needs to catch folks' eye. The original looked as if you might have been making them.

Good luck with the project. Thankfully my 'helping children to make things for school/Brownies or whatever' are past. Though the grandchildren might be on my tail sooner or later. I can just hear my daughter saying 'I'm sure Granny has a boxful of interesting bits and pieces somewhere which might be useful...'

you can get tubs of lard at Migros and now Coop I believe... it is near the oils with a pinky, white tub... blue is coconut

Thank you - wasn't sure where to put it and forgot about pets corner and the title is certainly more appropriate!!

Take a gander at the National Audubon Society's website - they have several suggestions for home made bird feeders, suitable for children to make by themselves.

http://web4.audubon.org/educate/educ...d_feeders.html

I do the pine cone ones; if I can't find lard/suet, I just use more peanut butter. Birds seem to like these just as well.

Good luck!

Hi, as former Daisy leader and currently Brownie co-leader in Bern, I have made bird feeders with ten girls!! Don't use Coconut fat (I thought the birds would love it!! they don't) but try to find Saindoux (bigger Migros have big pots of pork fat,it's written Saindoux on I think..can't remember the german name,sorry) (my parents have bought it here and tend to leave it in the bottom of the fridge!) Saindoux is the same as lard so is perfect. If you can't get it you can take pine cones and cover them in peanut butter, crunchy sort. They love doing that, its nice and messy. I'm not sure what we can do about the salt in these products but the birds seem to cope with it. You can also keep any fat left in the pan after cooking bacon, sausages etc.Just buy the bird seed mixes they sell here,mix with the fat and fill empty tubs and pots. Hope this helps,

I was going to reply suggesting saindoux but see someone has beaten me to it... and having bought a tub today (for cooking purchases) it's called 'Schweinefett' in German. And 'Strutto' in Italian.

In Migros it's with the oils and is a white tub with a pink label and has illustrations of happy pigs...

In Coop it's with the butter and margarine and is in a yellow tub with blue-and-white writing...

Thanks to all for your help - will head out to see what I can find on Monday and (if I can figure out how ) will post photos of the carnage - sorry wonderful creations - when they are done!!