Re- filling your Seedpod is easy!
It's a little messy but the birds will love you for it!
First you will need to decide which seed mix to use. You will find seed for sale at garden centres, pet shops and hardware stores among other places.
There are all sorts of mixtures available and the packets will explain which birds they are aimed at. You will notice that there is quite a range of prices. The cheaper ones will usually contain "fillers" such as wheat, split peas and kibble which are not much use and can even be harmful especially to chicks. The more expensive ones generally have a lot more goodies in them. We use high quality seeds which we sourced through the R.S.P.B and BirdWatch Ireland. Their websites http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/helpingbirds/and http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/are well worth a visit and have plenty of advice on feeding and making your own mixes.
Once you have chosen your seed you will need some hard fat to mix with it. You can use suet or lard which are great for the birds but do have a tendency to go rancid so will require good cleaning between re-fills (on which more later). To avoid this we use vegetable fat. The important thing is that it should be high in saturated fat and have no added salt. Cookeen works well.
To make your seedcake mixture you will need a large mixing bowl and a spoon for stirring. The ratio of seed to fat is not critical and you can vary it as you like but if you start with about one part fat to six parts seed ( by weight) that should work fine. You can use more fat in winter when the birds need more. All you need to do now is put your seeds in the mixing bowl, gently warm the fat until it is completely melted, pour it over the seeds and give it all a good stir.
You can put the mixture straight into your Seedpod at this stage but you will find the job easier (less messy!)if you allow the mixture to cool and harden a bit first. Squeeze the mix well in to compress it. If it doesn't stick together, try adding more fat. Once filled, you can remove any excess fat with a piece of kitchen towel.
We would recommend that you make plenty remembering that if you use suet or lard you will need to keep it refrigerated.
Try varying your seed mixes and see who you can attract!