Bird fat ball recipe

My recipe for making your own homemade wild bird suet cake. It’s great fun and really quick – around 10 minutes.

You will need the following equipment:

• Mixing bowl
• Saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• Containers for your mix. I like to reuse strung coconut husks from bird feeders I have previously purchased. You can read more about using old yoghurt pots here.

You will need the following ingredients:

• Blocks of suet or lard. If you would like to make a vegetarian version, you can use flutter butter (special low salt peanut butter for birds) mixed with vegetarian suet instead.

Dried mix using any of the following at a ratio of 1:2 suet/lard (or vegetarian option) to dried mix (twice as much dried mix as suet).

• Any dried fruits. I like raisins, sultanas and cranberries.
• Sunflower hearts or other small seeds
• Any muesli mix or crushed porridge oats
• Insect mix (optional)
• A few spoonfuls of peanut butter (optional)

How to make the suet recipe:

Chop up the suet/lard/vegetarian suet and slowly melt it in the saucepan. Add your flutter butter if you are using this in your recipe or are using it to replace some of the lard.

Mix up your dried ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Add your dried mix into the warmed suet/lard in the saucepan.

Stir with a wooden spoon and ensure all the dried mix is coated.

Pour it into your moulds.

Place in the fridge to set overnight.

Using the ratio of 1:2 suet:dried mix, one block of suet will fill approximately 3 coconut husks.

Please don’t use normal peanut butter instead of Flutter Butter because it is high in salt which is toxic to birds. Flutter Butter has no salt.

I run a hedgehog hospital in York. I also love all other wildlife and my website is packed with tips and advice for helping wildlife in your garden.

I also make handmade silver jewellery inspired by nature. You can visit my jewellery shop here.