How to Make Edible Bird Houses That Double as Homemade Bird Feeders

If you love the idea of creating a sanctuary for your feathered friends then giving them an edible bird house is one great way to get rid of that new wood look and make sure the bird house is used quickly.

Sometimes when you first make a birdhouse out of fresh new wood, the birds are not attracted to it and many times it will take up to a year before that wood is seasoned and the birds are attracted to it.

Here is an easy way to not only make your very own homemade bird feeders but also create a seasoned edible bird house for them at the same time!

Edible Birdhouse
Amazon Price: Buy Now
(price as of Jun 1, 2015)

Edible Bird Houses

(You can also purchase these online if you prefer not to have the mess as pictured above)

If you love to make bird houses, or maybe you purchased one or got one for a gift, you will love that new wood smell but sometimes even after putting it in the right tree and surrounding it with feeders it just doesn’t get used right away, many birds are wary of new wood.

I used to find some birds would take to it but others would simply leave it alone or maybe perch on top of it, but not go in it for a year.  So, to speed up the process you can create an edible bird house that is also a quick feeder to attract them and hopefully nest.

 

Fancy Bird House Kit
Amazon Price: $4.99 Buy Now
(price as of Jun 1, 2015) a wood birdhouse with sloping roof works best for this project.

How to Make Homemade Bird Feeders/Edible Bird Houses

What you will need:

Wood birdhouse (unfinished wood with no varnish) with a sloping roof

Jar of peanut butter (can be a cheap no name brand)

Bag of mixed premium bird seed (make sure it has a good mixture of all kinds of seeds)

Method:

Take your finished birdhouse, whether you make it yourself or one you purchased and sit it on newspaper as this can get a bit messy.

Make sure your peanut butter is well mixed and with a knife spread this peanut butter onto the sloping sides of the bird house roof.  (You may want to scoop it out into a bowl just in case you want to use this peanut butter for eating too!)

Once you have spread the roof with peanut butter, spread it on the veranda or porch if there is one, and then taking your bird seed and press into the peanut butter. 

You can use your hand or try pouring it on, but personally just use your hand to get it to stick into the peanut butter well. 

Make sure and cover all the peanut butter. 

Once coated, you can sit this birdhouse in the refrigerator to harden up if you wish.

Now take your homemade bird feeder or edible bird house and hang it or attach it to your tree, post or wherever you had in mind.

Now sit back and watch the birds find it.  Before you know it, they will be checking the inside out and nest.

The bird food gets rid of that fresh looking wood, and attracts the birds quickly.  They can sit on the roof and enjoy the snack, and then check out the bird house inside.

This is a great way to feed them and attract them to nest.  Once they have eaten all the food the roof will have lost that new wood look and will then simply weather.  Some may come off and will feed the birds on the ground.  It will become an active spot.

Birdseed Cottage
Amazon Price: Buy Now
(price as of Jun 1, 2015) These are the cutest things to hang from your trees. You will attract lots of birds and the bird house will "season" and then a family will move in. It is the perfect way to put out the welcome mat for your yard.

Edible Decorative Bird House

You can make this yourself, or you can purchase them already encrusted with seeds and goodies for the birds online.  The purchased ones go one step further and coat all parts of the bird house.

Offer your Birds a bird bath as well and they will love your yard.  You can also get heated bird baths to help them get water in the winter.  Enjoy your backyard friends!  If you want to also attract more species of birds, check out Hummingbirds and Flowers to get more tips or also how to attract more birds to your backyard will give you a few hints.