7 ways to feed fat balls to birds

Don't over think about ways to feed fat balls to wild birds, because in the end if you offer a safe environment to feed, they should return the favour by coming to you.

Up to 7 ways to feed fat balls to birds who visit your garden, those include: Fat balls in netting but should be avoided at all costs; use a specialty hanging fat ball feeder to hold more balls, or use single fat ball holder; Serve up fat balls loose in piles, or break them up into pieces - or pop them into a bottle top.

If its your first time feeding fat balls to wild birds then don't despair, its as easy as throwing bits of fat ball over the lawn or patio.

Feed wild birds with little waste made with use of a fat ball feeder, those made to hang off a bracket or branch - or why not use one at a time with a single fat ball holder.

No extra cost is needed to feed fat balls to birds, as you could simply use them loose to site around the garden in a secluded spot.

Best place to feed fat balls to wild birds is up high and out of the way; although there's no harm in breaking up fat balls to throw on the lawn to feed ground feeding birds.

To do it in safety, then impale a fat ball onto a twig or branch in a hedgerow or tree.

If you feel you can move onto a more life-changing step, you can begin the process of inviting a Sparrow, Robin or Tit to feed out of your hand, with time and patience.

1. Fat Balls in netting

While I don't agree at all with the use of disposable plastic netting, fat balls in netting can be a way to feed fat balls to birds in your garden.

With the convenience of not getting your hands greasy while positioning them in a suitable spot in the garden - the netting makes for a useful hanging string.

Ideally you'd want to hang the fat balls in netting, be it single or multiple fat balls within a dense tree or visible on the outside of a hedgerow.

It doesn't stop there, fat balls in netting can be hung off a bracket or on the bird feeding station, or simply balance it on a garden ornament.

Once again, I don't agree with use of plastic netting so I will say its more beneficial to use loose fat balls while using a fat ball feeder to hang them off a bracket or branch.

2. Specialty Fat Ball feeder

Simplest, yet cleanest way to present fat balls to wild birds in your garden would be of course the use of a purpose-made fat ball feeder, made to be hung.

Benefit to that is, while the bird feeder is capable of holding up to twelve fat balls at a time, the cage container can help maintain a tidy feeding area.

Hang up any type of fat ball feeder, including a festive fat ball feeder ring, or what is known as a donut feeder - but you would need more clearing as this type of feeder tends to be more wider than the traditional long, narrow fat ball feeders.

If deciding to go for this method, and I recommend it, remember it can be hung up anywhere - providing the type of feeder hoop or hook to hang is long enough.

I would say you'd have no difficulty hanging a fat ball feeder off a bird feeder station, but so too would a bird feeder bracket on a wall be a recommended spot.

3. Novelty single Fat Ball device

It has to be said, the use of a classic long caged fat ball feeder, the kind that holds multiple suet fall balls, can have its down sides.

What with you being able to replenish it with as many fat balls as you want, more fat balls are going to go too waste as fat balls do go off within a few days or more.

Solution to that while maintaining a mess-free fat ball hanging way, is using a purpose-made single fat ball holder.

Its not also necessary mind you as you'd only need to insert one or two fat balls to a larger fat ball feeder if you wanted too.

However, advantage to a single fat ball feeder only is its very easy to place around the garden in search of the perfect spot.

Whether it be a hanging up style feeder or one you can stick to the glass window.

Use a single fat ball holder when you want to not use too many fat balls at a time, all while experimenting with locations around the garden.

4. Offer Fat Balls loose

When making use of a fat ball feeder of any kind it comes at extra cost, if you are not in possession of a fat ball feeder already that is.

What you can do instead is simply buy a tub of cheap fat balls for sale online or in-store to use loose around the garden.

Remember, the way in which you feed wild birds in your garden does not have to be fat balls in a type of feeder, ever.

All you need is the all important suet fat balls for wild birds to place around the garden where you feel it will bring birds to feed.

Position fat balls at height for wild birds who prefer to feed high up, or why not place fat balls on the ground to assist in exclusive ground feeding birds only.

Place fat balls under the wooden bird table on a stand or why not wedge fat balls on top of the pole on a bird feeding station.

5. Impale branch or twig

If deciding to use fat balls loose rather than with the assistance of any kind of fat ball holder, then you are at an advantage as nothing can hold birds back.

To use fat balls loose you can place them in what is going to be the most successful area in the garden.

That is inserting fat balls onto a hedgerow or tree branch while using a narrow twig to squash a fat ball on, or impale fat balls onto a more thicker branch.

Now it must be said the suet that holds the fat balls shape won't always do when trying to impale a branch or twig through them.

What you'd need to do is indeed insert a fat ball into a twig, but as its going to often fall apart in the process, you can use your hand to mould the fat balls back into shape.

Its quite messy with the chance of loosing chunks of fat balls below you, but don't clean it up as ground feeding birds can clean it up as they arrive.

6. Pop onto empty glass bottle top

More so a genius way of feeding fat balls to birds in your garden, that wasn't invented by me by the way - but is sure a fantastic solution if no fat ball feeder is available to hand.

Its where you take a clean, empty glass milk bottle or perhaps a glass coke bottle if you are thinking smaller scale - to then wedge fat balls into the open top.

You don't wedge the fat balls too far in as they will fall through into the glass bottle, making it almost impossible to recover them.

So simply wedge the fat balls into the open top just to make a secure fit.

And while its possible to line up as many bottles as you want in a place in the garden that is left alone for visiting birds - you set the bottles up side be side as garden birds come and go.

What else you can do is hang up the glass battle with fat balls inserted in the open top.

Simply use a length of metal wiring or why not a piece of string, tying it around the neck of the glass bottle while relying on the lip to prevent the string or wiring slipping all the way off.

7. Break up Fat Balls

Closely followed up by presenting wild birds fat balls out in the open, rather than using a bird feeder still applies on my final suggestion.

While offering birds fat balls as is, whole and plump; lay out suet fat balls on a level surface or create a pyramid.

But what can be better is if your birds can simply land next to the fat balls, while pinching a little bit at a time - if only to cater to the more timid birds

And while the use by date would be massively shortened if breaking fat balls up, it just might be the solution to why birds won't eat your fat balls - because they can't pinch a little bit at a time.

Where to leave out crumbled up fat balls would be on a wall or perhaps the top of a fence panel you often see them land on.

You can use a garden ornament or furniture, or why not throw them over the ground as all birds can eat off here - but not if you have a rodent issue as mice or rats would arrive in no time.

Summary

My 7 suggestions of more practical ways to feed fat balls to birds, but along the way there is a few imaginative ideas.

However, no fuss ways to feed fat balls out in the garden to wild birds would be in those nasty plastic nettings - though I really don't recommend this at all.

Best way to feed fat balls without making too much of a mess is with use of a long fat ball feeder, or why not try the single fat ball holders.

More environmentally friendly is feeding fat balls to birds loose, be it fat balls sold as bulk in a tub or box.

As the fat balls are loose you have an option to pile them up around the garden, high up off the ground or lower down on garden furniture.

If you want you could impale fat balls onto a twig or branch as the best possible solution.

Well your at it why not break up fat balls to allow birds to come along and fly off sooner with fat balls in their beaks.

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