How to Feed Backyard Birds Cheap

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By piscean6724
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Feeding wild birds during the fall and winter is a very enjoyable and relaxing hobby. With personal budgets having to be tightened, the amount of money left over to purchase expensive seed mixes is shrinking. In this article you will learn many ways to feed wild birds using much less (and sometimes no) money.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

open tray feeders - with mesh bottoms for drainage
left overs from your kitchen/super market
freezer bags
your favorite wild flower seeds
mesh bags
old containers like yogurt cups
closed bottom feeders for some suet

Step 1

One of the cheapest ways to feed wild birds is to plant flowers that produce the seeds they love. Then all you have to do is let the flowers stay on the plants and produce seed heads. You can then leave the seed heads in place for the birds to find or you can collect them and store them for later use in your bird feeders. Bird favorites include sunflower, cosmos, zinnia, black-eyed Susan's and coneflower.
Step 2

Many birds absolutely love fruit. Planting fruit-bearing plants is another way to feed the birds with little cost to you. Some favorites are blueberry bushes, crabapple trees, holly bushes, dogwood trees, and grapes.
Step 3

Many insect eating birds enjoy suet during the winter. There are many recipes for making suet much cheaper than the blocks bought in stores. You can also save bacon drippings into a small container such as a yogurt cup and place in a closed bottom tray feeder. Often, butchers will sell you their pieces of fat trimmings for just pennies - or perhaps give them to you. These can be served in open tray feeders or placed in old onion (mesh) bags and hung on a tree limb.
Step 4

Keep an eye out for aging fruit at your local grocery store. Birds don't mind a few bruises on their fruit. These pieces of fruit can be purchased very cheaply - or even free. Serve these in open tray feeders. Even half eaten fruit that we normally throw away can be given to the birds. Apple cores are a favorite. During the spring and summer, left over pieces of fruit can be frozen and served as a special sweet treat to the birds in winter when finding fruit in the wild is extremely difficult.
Step 5

Left over bread products such as muffins, bagels, sandwich bread, buns, donuts, pizza crust, rolls, biscuits, etc can be crumbled and placed in a tray feeder. These can also be frozen during the spring/summer then thawed and served during the winter. Many birds absolutely love peanut butter covered bread. Use the cheapest peanut butter you can find because the birds don't care. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, cornmeal or plain oatmeal. These don't last long and will cause a feeding frenzy!!
Step 6

It's surprising how many birds enjoy cooked pasta. If you have left over pasta (without seasoning of course) place some in an open tray feeder and watch the birds devour it.
Step 7

Another great option for those seed loving birds is to save seeds from melons, pumpkins, butternut squash, etc. Wash them to remove the remaining pulp. Then place them in the oven on a cookie sheet for about an hour at 180 - 200 degrees or until dry. This will prevent sprouting. Another way to dry them is to place them in the sun on an old window screen - but watch out for scavengers!
Step 8

Actually, many birds enjoy scrambled eggs, cooked chicken, and other cooked meat. Freeze these left overs throughout the year to be served during the winter when other sources of protein are in short supply. Serve in small quantities to prevent uninvited guests from taking over your feeding station. These left overs are also favorites of cats, dogs, racoons, rats, etc.
Step 9

Other inexpensive options include cracked corn and chicken feed. These can be purchased in bulk at farm stores and will last much longer than most wild bird seed mixes.

Comments

juliev said

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on 1/12/2009 Here is the rest of my (lengthy) post:

This addiction to feeding crows began for me one morning when deciding I was ready to start a diet following Thanksgiving, and finding I still had pies around. I've always admired crows, and seeing about 10 crows scavenging around the base of my bird feeders which they couldn't access, I tossed two fruit pies out under it, which burst apart. It didn't take them long to devour this feast, and I'm sure they did so with their eyes glazed over too! Crows will eat anything, and the mushier the better! Working part-time, I am able to do this on the 3 mornings a week that I am home. Or, if it's to be an especially cold day or night, I make extra time to do this before leaving for work. It's very gratifying to know you've added a measure of energy and comfort to these amazing little creatures' lives, as they endure our rather harsh winters. Only thing t

on 1/12/2009 I'm glad to find articles like this!

I found an inexpensive way to feed crows in winter; and believe me, once you get their attention, you often end up feeding 100 birds. I do buy large cheap jars of p.b., and every two weeks, I buy a giant bag of day old bread (containing a dozen or more loaves) from our local distributor for a measly $1.69. From 2-3 loaves, I quickly make up 20-25 p.b. sandwiches, and tear them into 4-5 wedges each. This is a *neat* way to feed them, because they usually pick up a sandwich (or two, or three!), leaving nothing behind, and fly right off. But...since I hate to see some birds left without a crumb, and squirrels often share it, I usually supplement the feast with a handful or two of unshelled peanuts, cheerios or other cereal, trail mix, crumbled muffin, ripe grapes, or crumbled nutty suet cake. This addiction to feeding crows began for me one morning w