ETA 9-04-2010: A dear friend just recently made this sweet bunny rabbit bird seed treat and shipped it to us! She used one of the recipes you’ll find below. I must tell you that the birds LOVE it!
While home in Louisiana, I perused several of the catalogs that come to my parents’ address. Some of the items were pretty, some useful, some amusing and some were downright TOO EXPENSIVE!! No questions asked, catalog pricing is insane.
One item that I found myself tempted about (especially since we are celebrating Advent this year) was the advertisement for the molded bird seed treats. They are adorable, make great Christmas decorations for outdoor Christmas trees and are useful all rolled into one. Unfortunately, the miniature molded bird seed treats came in at roughly six dollars each–before shipping. I’m not called the frugal one in my family for nothing. I came home and quickly exercised my Google talent. My search did not go unrewarded. Below, find several recipes for making your own bird seed treats–at a fraction of the price!
Birdseed and Fruit Mixture
Edible Glue: 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup water, 3 Tbsp. corn syrup (add package of plain Knox gelatin for extra holding power if necessary).
Add 4 cups birdseed and peanuts, fruits, berries, raisins, or anything else the birds enjoy.
Stars and Wreaths
Cover tray with waxed paper; roll out mixture 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Use cookie cutters or shape mixture into stars and wreaths. Freeze if using the suet. For birdseed mixture, let dry 4-6 hours; remove cookie cutters; turn over and dry 4-6 hours more. Use raffia to hang from trees.
Birdseed Bells
Coat outside of 2-1/4″ diameter peat pots with the suet mixture or use a paintbrush to coat with the edible glue and then roll in birdseed and place on waxed paper to dry for 4-6 hours. Use needle and thread to string 4-5 cranberries for clappers; pass needle through top of bell and knot at top. Use paper-twists or raffia bows to decorate at top and double as hangers.
above recipes courtesy of bird hobbyist
Kookie Birdy Cookie Molds
1 1/2 pound lard or suet
1/3 cup chopped berries, raisins or currants
1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds
1/2 cup crushed nuts
1/2 cup cracked hominy or cracked wheat
Melt the fat or suet on low heat in saucepan. Mix all ingredients into the suet. Spoon the mixture into shaped muffin tins or pre-shaped jello molds and cool in the refrigerator until solid.
Note: To create a hole for hanging the treat, insert a drinking straw into the warm mixture. Remove the straw once the mix is solid and cooled, thread with wire or thick yarn and hang.
When cookie molds are cooled, wrap each individually in plastic wrap and store in the freezer until needed.
above recipe courtesy of snowflake recipes
"This recipe uses gelatin instead of fat to hold together seeds. These cakes work great in warm weather too because they do not melt or turn rancid. Combine one ounce of unflavored gelatin and cup of water in a sauce pan over low heat. Stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Then add 1 cups of any combination of seeds the birds in your yard enjoy. Try half and half black oil sunflower and safflower seeds. Mix well, until all seeds are coated with gelatin. Pack the mixture firmly into a plastic container and chill until solid. Use molds in the shapes of stars, wreaths, trees, or other holiday shapes to make festive ornaments or tree toppers. Once the cake is removed from the mold, it's ready for the birds."
deb said:
Thanks for sharing the bird treat recipes.
Debbi
micah said:
this should be fun. i love having birds in our yard. there are so many creatures behind the house with the pecan and pear tree. there were always too many cats at mommas house to do bird feeders. but now we can in our fenced in back yard!!
RecycleCindy said:
I love your diy bird treat. It looks great and I’m sure the birds will like it more than the store-bought ones.
HappyCampers said:
I have been looking like a recipe such as this for ages! I refuse to pay $25 for THREE pressed birdseed treats, but they make such a cute gift I’ve always wanted to make them. This year, WE WILL! 🙂 Thanks for posting…
SimplyForties said:
This is a great idea. I’m going to make some of these for around my yard. Thanks!
Carla said:
These are wonderful! Thanks for looking up the how to and sharing it!
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Meleny said:
Can’t wait to try this recipe. I tried some others but they either just melted or the only birds interested were bluejays. I bet the edible glue is the secret! Thanks sooo much! I can’t wait to try these.
Karen said:
Thank you for the birdseed ornament recipe!! I saw the same adds in catalogs,and wanted to figure out how to make them. I am a first grade teacher and every year my class makes some type of Christmas decoration to sell at our Holiday Fair. The children make them and we sell to raise money for Christmas presents for a local homeless shelter. This will help me and others so much!
Marie Anderson said:
I like your bird seed treats (to look at)
and I’m sure the birds will love to eat them.
Mary said:
This recipe turns out nicely! Make sure and let them dry in the molds for a few hours then take them out and place them on a cooling rack. Let them dry overnite on the cooling rack. The birds love them!
Becca said:
Thanks for the tip! It’s always great to hear feedback on a project like this. 😉
Andrew said:
These are great we have just finished making them…just letting them dry before we give them the ‘bird test’. Thanks for a great recipe.
Alicia said:
Thanks so much for posting this and for the feedback left by others. I was looking for a moldable birdseed treat to use as favors for our wedding in Oct. I made the mixture and placed it into cupcake liners with a dried cranberry on top. This was my test batch to see if the birds liked them. I plan on putting a knotted hemp loop into the mixture for hanging. The note attached to the wrapper will read: A treat for your birds from The Love Birds. Corny, yes….but I’m loving the idea. Affordable, easy and nature friendly.
Becca said:
Alicia, that sounds super sweet. I know your guests will love the idea and the birds will eat it up!
Dodie Thomas Collinsworth said:
how did the birds like them, and did they hold together well?
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Jen said:
Thanks for posting! Great recipe! Will keep right in my recipe book to use it regularly !Nice to see so many international bird & nature enthusiasts!! It makes my day!
Brenda said:
I’m going to use this to make wedding favors for a fall/country wedding. This is great and I’m very excited to have found this site. Thanks
Sayrah said:
These are amazing! I’m using them for my wedding and everyone I show is crazy for them. My test batch was devoured before iwas finished:)
Becca said:
Oh, yay, Sayrah! So glad these worked for you. 🙂 And, thanks for the feedback!
Chris said:
Great Recipe, going to use it for Quail hunting.
Keli said:
Thanks so much for sharing, I can’t wait to make seed eggs and put them in egg cartons and give them as gifts – and not have to pay $20 + shipping for all of them! Only down side to this is for when people use this great idea to lure birds in to kill them. 😦 Was glad to read all the other upbeat, happy comments people left, though. I really love the wedding favor idea, so perfect!
Susan Dveirin said:
One year i made these with the gelatin, and the birds didnt eat them,!!
do you think i put too much gelatin in the mix or what, it was very distressing, as they were adorable and i loved them,
can the birds “smell”the seeds when coated with gelatin??I still cant figure out the problem, has this happened to anyone else?
I want so much to make them again!!
I used Christmas cookie cutters and filled them with seed,they set and then i pushed them out,
maybe i put a little oil around the inside of the cutter so they would come out better,meaning,easier
Mindy W said:
Looking forward to trying this with my son!
Penny said:
How much edible glue is needed. I wrote down the rest of the ingredients and I’m looking forward to giving it a try. I love to feed the birds and now that its winter I’m sure my little feathered friends will appreciate some nice home made treats.
will look forward to hearing from you.
Thank You
Penny
Texas
Sandy wilkins said:
Very interesting to read and I am going to try to make some feeders. Do you use self raising flour or cake flour?
ashlee said:
im making heart shaped treats for my baby shower as party favors but i tried this same recipe but mine fell apart when i hung it on the tree..is there anything i could do to make the glue harder to where it will stay together?! i really love this idea too much to do something else!
Toni Grahn said:
I made these heart shaped for our wedding October 6, 2012. I did have to change a few things to get it to work for me. Do not store in plastic. Use paper or cardboard. Freeze them. I did not use corn syrup. I think the sugar cause them to get rancid too fast. The treats were amazing. Thank you soooo much. Mrs. Grahn
Paula said:
I made the wreaths yesterday, and I can see them starting to turn mold. I read that the flour may be the problem. Next time i’m going to use just the water & Gallatin. And freeze them to store. How do’s that sound. Do you have any ideas for me.
paula
Terrence Kruckeberg said:
The seed that attracts the widest variety of birds, and so the best choice to offer, is sunflower. The worst choice is an inexpensive mixture, especially if it contains red millet, oats, and other “fillers” that most birds in most areas spurn. Wasted seed provides a breeding ground for bacteria and mold that can harm birds. ”
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Bonnie said:
Does anyone know if these could be tinted with natural coloring (not food color)? Maybe cherry juice or saffron? Just an idea.
karen said:
Of course you could, just replace the water with the juice 🙂
karen said:
I know this is a way old post but, my eclectus loves to just destroy his seed treats, just picking out the sunflower seeds which are not great for him in any quantity. I like this recipe because it looks like it will be stronger than just egg white (he really needs super glue lol) and will be way more economical as im only making these as a boredom buster for him. Thanks for posting
Cynthia Brown said:
How do you prevent them from molding? We made a batch for Christmas presents for daycare teachers and within 3 days they molded. Realized when we were preparing the present package. Gbaby and mommy were very upset because she had helped make them.
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