Feed birds on a budget. Love feeding birds but don’t have a lot of money to spend? Here are some of our top thrifty tips for bird feed on a budget.

Bird Food On A Budget

Buy In Bulk

Without a doubt, the easiest way to feed birds on a budget is by buying bird food in bulk. Although your initial outlay may be higher, it saves so much money in the long run. Supermarkets and pet shops can be expensive when it comes to bird food and if you are making routine trips to keep topping your feeders up, the costs will soon mount up!

Most of the feed we stock comes in 13kg or 25kg bags as our customers find these to be good amounts to have on hand in storage and best for value. No heaving heavy sacks of bird food around either as we offer free next day delivery on most products!

Buy General Mixes

Some people enjoy experimenting with different bird foods, adjusting quantities or varieties. This may be because they want to see more of one particular species or not attract another – birds all have varying tastes in food.

However, this can get expensive. Especially if your birds don’t like a particular type of food. If you are on a budget, you can save time and money by buying a 25kg bag of Economy Wild Bird Seed. Our economy mix includes a mixture of common and popular seeds to ensure your bird table is popular with the maximum number of species. It’s a buffet for birds!

Meal Planning

It may seem as though birds don’t have a particular schedule, but they do like to stick to regular mealtimes. You will see increased activity around your bird feeders in the morning and around teatime.

Birds will learn what time food is provided and the amounts of food given. Once the bird food is gone, they will know they have to find the rest themselves. You can save on food, and therefore money by feeding measured amounts of food at set times.

Make Your Own

If you want to add a bit of variety to your garden birds’ diet, there are plenty of foods you can give to birds from your own table. Vegetable scraps, nuts, bacon fat, and bread are all traditional treats for birds.

You could also try your hand at making more interesting foods by incorporating some of your purchased mixed seed, plus kitchen scraps into fat balls or blocks. These materials can be bound together with molten lard and refrigerated until they set.

Block Unwanted Visitors

Bird food thieves may be costing you more than you realise! The most common culprits when it comes to pinching bird food are squirrels, rats and mice, and hedgehogs if you use a ground feeder.

There are ways to stop mammals from taking bird food by using special feeders or a squirrel baffle (you can even DIY one of these quite easy to save even more money) ensuring only your feathered friends are getting food. Also, you may want to stop larger birds such as crows, magpies and pigeons from taking more than their share of food by using a bird feeder that only allows smaller birds inside.

Prevent Spoilage

Finally, avoid wasting bird food by ensuring bird feeders are undercover or have a rain roof on them. Rain is the biggest factor when it comes to food going off so do what you can to keep food dry and fresh.

Always store excess bird food in a cool, dry place too to avoid spoilage. And avoid leaving bags or sacks open where mice could access them – store food in lidded containers or bins.

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