Wild Bird Food Blocks provide an effective and less-messy way to attract backyard birds. Made up of different seed formulations bound together with pectin, these food blocks are easy to hang from trees – and an engaging way to get kids involved with bird feeding!
Suet blocks are square-shaped structures containing animal suet (renderd beef fat). Other ingredients may also include peanuts, birdseed and cracked corn.
Contents
Suet Blocks
Suet provides wild birds with a natural, energy-rich source of sustenance during the colder winter months when insects become scarcer; additionally, suet helps combat boredom and pecking problems among captive poultry flocks.
Suet blocks contain high-grade animal fat such as beef or pork fat. Some suet products also feature sunflower meats, peanuts, cranberries and even sandworms to attract specific bird species.
Make your own suet block by mixing rendered fat such as lard or tallow with ingredients such as nuts, seeds and dried fruit – or purchase pre-made cakes, nuggets and balls designed to fit cage, log and specialty feeders. Suet should always be stored in the freezer to extend its freshness and avoid melting.
Seed Blocks
Soil blocks offer an alternative method of seed-starting that’s both cost-cutting and waste reduction: no plastic cell trays to dispose of and their roots have the ability to air prune themselves more effectively than when wrapped around cells in a tray.
To create soil blocks, prepare a batch of seed starting mix and thoroughly hydrate it. It’s ideal to do this several hours before you plan on making blocks so the water has time to permeate through and fully penetrate your planting medium.
Some recipes use only sand to ensure proper drainage and water retention, while others combine this with peat moss, coco coir or PittMoss alternatives like coco coir or PittMoss as well as organic matter like compost to improve aeration and nutrients. Other optional elements can include greensand, azomite or rock phosphate as mineral additives to promote germination and boost growth.
Cylinders
A cylinder is a three-dimensional solid shape composed of two identical circular bases connected by a curved surface. Its line segment connecting these centers, known as its axis, defines its height or altitude.
Volume is calculated as the product of its curved surface area and circular bases. To calculate curved surface area of a cylinder, first locate its radius (r).
Cylinders can be found in everyday objects like bottles, pipes, fire extinguishers and cold drink cans. Unlike other 3-D shapes like cones, cubes or pyramids, however, cylinders lack any vertex points; instead they consist of two circular edges connected by one rectangular edge.
Cakes
Purina Power Nuggets provides more balanced nutrition than whole grains for cardinals, doves, chickadees, finches and other wild birds. This highly palatable and easy-to-use 20-pound premium block supplement features Purina Power Nuggets as a premium add-on.
Seed cylinders, cakes and bells are long-lasting and less messy alternatives to loose bird seed. Held together with pectin or hot pepper (to deter squirrels), these seeds come together quickly and are long-term options that don’t become lost among loose bird seeds.
This nutrient-rich block attracts woodpeckers, flickers, chickadees and nuthatches as well as other wild birds. Packed full of hundreds of dry insects to provide energy-rich nutrition during cold seasons, this product can be placed year round in suet feeders to feed birds throughout their year – as its ingredients include animal suet and other fats used for its recipe – lasting up to 12 months due to animal suet and fat components used in its composition. When buying products with added palm oil content which contributes towards deforestation while negatively impacting wild animal populations worldwide – avoid these products as these contributes towards deforestation and impacts wildlife worldwide!
Bells
Buddhism utilizes bells as an invocation of the universe and God, purification, healing the environment, as well as being used as symbols of paradise and life throughout Eastern and Western religions.
Making a seed bell with kids can be an enjoyable afternoon project that won’t break the bank. All it requires is some bird seed mix and garden essentials like terracotta pots.
Seed blocks, cylinders and cakes are often seen as cleaner ways of providing wild bird food than loose seed. Not only are these containers longer-lasting and less messy than loose seeds, they may help deter squirrels and other mammalian predators while simultaneously offering year-round nutrition to birds. You can hang one easily using a simple hanger or place them inside a bird feeder with mesh covering.
