This homemade bird feeder recipe craft — how to make a DIY bird feeder as an easy kids craft! We have several different recipes for birdseed ornaments. Make this a DIY organic nuts & seeds bird feeder craft throughout the year (with peanut butter, without peanut butter, and with lard).
Our house backs up to a woods, so we love to see the birds (and other creatures like bunnies and deer) come up into our backyard.
Even though we have store bought bird feeders, we decided to try to make some DIY bird feeders of our own.
These turned out to be super simple and really fun!
(And, they even make great gifts for friends, too.)
Since then, my daughter has made these several times throughout the years!
Homemade Bird Feeder Recipes
How To Make Homemade Bird Feeders With Peanut Butter
To make our homemade bird feeder, we started with some cardboard we recycled from a box.
We cut our cardboard into heart shapes.
(Those are the shapes my daughter wanted to use, but you can cut your birdfeeder into any shape you want!)
Then, we spread peanut butter on both sides of the cardboard and pressed it into bird seed. We strung the shape through twine and then hung our bird feeder on our tree!
We understand that some may not be able to use peanut butter on their feeders.
Don’t worry!
Here’s an alternative:
Homemade Bird Feeders Without Peanut Butter (How To Make Bird Feeders With Lard)
Clearly there are some people who can’t use peanut butter because of allergies and sensitivities.
No worries!
You can still make this DIY bird feeder with . . . just using lard instead of peanut butter!
Lard is still safe for birds and is what basic suet is made of.
So, you can still make these homemade bird feeders without peanut butter!
How do you make homemade wild bird food?
Once you decide if you’re going to use peanut butter or lard for the base, you’ll need to add in the wild bird food (seeds, etc.).
You can make a homemade bird feeder recipe using:
- Black sunflower seeds
- Dried fruit
- Raisins
- Unsalted peanuts
- Nyjer seeds
- Millet
- Uncooked oats
- Fresh, unseasoned pumpkin seeds (fresh or dried by you)
- Plain, air-popped popcorn (NOT seeds)
What should you not feed wild birds?
What foods are bad for birds?
- Milk
- Salt / salty items
- Raw meat
- Baked goods (cookies, cake, cupcakes, pies, etc.)
- Bread
- Honey
- Dried (desiccated) coconut
- Polyunsaturated margarines
- Vegetable oils
- Split peas, beans, dried rice or lentils (only large birds can digest them dry)
- Junk food (cheese puffs, potato chips, pretzels, etc.)
- Popcorn kernels
DIY Homemade Bird Feeder Recipe Craft
YOU’LL NEED:
- Sturdy cardboard (an old box or shoebox works great)
- String, twine, or yarn
- Peanut butter or lard (or both–this is what basic suet is made from)
- Mixed bird seed
- Paper plates
- Hole punch
- Scissors or craft knife
CRAFT DIRECTIONS:
1. Draw the shape of your bird feeder onto the cardboard. (We decided to use hearts, which makes this an awesome Valentine’s Day craft, too!)
2. Cut the shape out of the cardboard with scissors. (A craft knife
3. Using the hole punch, punch a hole at the top of the shape. (You may need to use scissors or the craft knife if your cardboard is really thick.) Thread the ribbon or yarn through the hole and tie it to make a big loop.
4. Pour the birdseed onto the paper plate.
5. Liberally spread one side of the cardboard shape with the peanut butter or lard. Place the shape, lard/peanut butter side down, into the birdseed on the plate. Press firmly, but gently.
6. While shape is still facing down, spread peanut butter or lard on the other side of the shape. Flip the shape over and press into this side into the birdseed. (Add more birdseed to the plate, if needed.)
7. Lift shape and fill in any empty spots by pressing birdseed into it with your hands.
8. Hang outside and enjoy watching all the feathered friends that come by to enjoy your yummy craft!
Learn About Birds for Kids
Wooden Bird Feeder DIY Kits
Want to keep going and learn more about birds?
Grab a DIY wooden bird feeder kit to make with your kids (and learn a whole new skill set!).
All About Birds: Birds for Preschoolers and Up!
Pair this craft for kids with an awesome bird book and you can actually accomplish a lot of fun nature learning!
Our favorite bird books include: Birds, Nests & Eggs (Take Along Guides) and Beginning Birdwatcher’s Book: With 48 Stickers.
We’ve used both of these a great deal throughout the years (and for all seasons) in homeschooling.
This is an easy craft to pair up with learning all about birds and why birds are important in our life.
Here are other children’s book picks for nature studies and learning all about birds:
