You don’t need to be a carpentry expert to make a bird feeder. With a little imagination, it is even possible to build a feeder from scrap materials. Feeder in winter, waterer in summer, here is a homemade accessory that can have style and is essential to allow the birds of the sky to live in the best conditions whatever the season. Here are some ways to make a feeder without tools with the children, in complete safety.
What is a bird feeder made of?
The manger must be made up of a container which will receive the seeds, possibly from a toit if it is installed in an unsheltered location, and a support wood for example. You also need a chainstring or raffia for example to be able to hang the feeder at height so that the birds are sufficiently far from the ground and therefore feel safe while they peck.
A bird feeder with recycled items
No need to spend money when you have everything you need to make a small original manger intended for garden birds, such as the thrush, the winter wren, the sparrow, the various tits, the wren, the robin and other passerines. Being able to attract all these birds to your garden allows you to then enjoy the pleasure of admiring them and learning a little more about their way of life. Arrange several bird feeders that we took the time to make is a very pretty way of making available to them food reserves they need to face the harsh cold of winter.
For a luxurious model one can for example use:
- A ceramic lunch and its matching saucer,
- A pretty glass bottle which, fixed upside down on a wooden support, will be perfect as an ultra-decorative automatic seed dispenser.
These two examples are extremely famous and their tutorial is freely available on the Internet.
But there is even simpler, and there is no need to get out the saw, the square and the ruler to make a feeder for the birds of the sky. The goal being to make this accessory with the children so that they learn how to take care of the birds. They can also make a feeder almost without the help of an adult, as is the case with the following examples.
- A apple juice carton cardboard (empty): just cut out a triangle at each corner, 5 cm above the base of the container, then thread two small wooden sticks 1.5 cm below the triangles, so that they cross the brick from side to side and protrude enough to act as perches. The birds will only have to land there to peck the seeds through the triangular holes.
- And wicker pot and lid : the pot is filled with seeds and the two pieces are suspended, taking care to fix the lid at a distance from the base so that it serves as a roof for the feeder.
- A decorated egg carton according to the inspiration of the moment: we fill the six cells with food for the birds and we hang everything with a colored tie.
- A burlap seed sock : we make a small bag that we fill with seeds before hanging it using an old lace or a string simply on the trellis or under the porch. The birds will have no trouble clinging to the burlap and beaking it to collect the cereals contained in this funny sock.
- And half grapefruit completely stripped of its flesh: it must be pierced with four small holes through which you just have to pass a string or raffia tie in order to hang this vitamin feeder on a tree branch after having filled it with suitable seeds.
- A half coconut shell : the procedure is the same as with the half-grapefruit. If the latter must be replaced often, coconut has the advantage of being durable over time.
tin can covered with moss for a more natural effect, two small boards linked together to form a roof to put on top of a fat ball, a old cutlery jar or even a old jug suspended by its handle are so many simple accessories that hang around the cupboards or the attic and are perfect for making all kinds of feeders for small birds with the children.
Making a bird feeder: precautions to take with wood
All the wooden parts that are extracted, for example, from an old preferably untreated pallet have to be sanded with a wood rasp then with a fine grain Emery cloth. This makes it possible to remove all the roughness and obtain pieces of wood perfectly smooth. two layers of ecological stain or linseed oil are essential for finishing.
Making a wooden bird feeder with a roof, base, bottom and two sides involves the use of a saw. It is therefore not a model whose construction can be entrusted to children. This type of feeder with a roof, however, allows the birds to come and eat in all weathers, even in heavy rain.