How to Use Old Peanut Butter for Birds

The changing of the seasons bring the migration of different birds to our city parks and backyards. These bird habitats allow families with children to practice conservation and enjoy nature from the safety of a home environment. Children learn how birds interact with other species; the birds also help control the insect population. According to AvianWeb.com, you can attract mourning doves, several species of sparrows and house finches to the trees in your yard by mixing old peanut with different ingredients and setting the concoction out as bird feed.

Things You'll Need

  • Pinecones
  • Bird seed
  • 18-inch length of twine
  • Small log, approximately 12-inches long, 3- to 6-inches in diameter
  • Cup hook
  • Melted beef suet or fat
  • Cornmeal
  • Paper-lined muffin tin
  • Suet bird feeder
  • Knife or spatula
  • Ground suet
  • Pie pan
  • Mesh bag
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Instructions

    • 1

      Coat a pinecone with peanut butter and roll it in bird seed. Tie an 18-inch length of twine around the second or third section from the tip of the cone. Hang several pinecones in clusters on a tree branch next to your bird feeder

    • 2

      Drill holes of varying sizes in a small log 3 to 6 inches in diameter and fill the holes with peanut butter. Attach a cup hook to the end of the log and hang it from a tree branch.

    • 3

      Make a bird cake by mixing one part peanut butter, one part melted beef suet or fat, and six parts cornmeal. Spoon the mixture into paper-lined muffin tins and freeze. You can store the cakes in the freezer until you are ready to place them in a suet bird feeder, says the Baltimore Bird Club.

    • 4

      Spread peanut butter into the bark on the trunk of a tree or on one of the branches. Use a knife or spatula to press the peanut butter down into the crevices in the bark.

    • 5

      Mix two parts of ground suet with two parts bird seed and one part peanut butter. Spread a small amount bird seed in the bottom of a pie pan and pour the mixture into the pan. Refrigerate until firm, and then hang the bird seed pie in a mesh bag from a tree branch.