RSPB - Fat Balls for Wild Birds, High Energy Suet Balls, Made in the UK, Delicious and Nutritious Bird Food, Suitable for Year-Round Feeding (Box of 50)

Great quality and Value for Money - This birds seem to love these things so the ingredients must be of the right type and quality and they are really easy to load into the feeder -

Birds love them.

Amazing fat balls that smell Like peanut butter. The birds go MAD for them, I have to fill up 2 feeders every day. So pleased that it brings so many to the garden. Have bought many, many times this winter.

I've been feeding birds in my garden for years. Over the years, I have come to learn a lot about different types of feeders, different types of bird food, the varying quality of that food, and what types of food the birds like best. With fat balls, the cheaper ones are made with a lot more wheat flour and other ingredients to bulk out the product. They are harder (sometimes VERY hard!). The higher the fat content (look for suet fat), the more expensive they are, and the more beneficial they are to the birds. If you really take the time to look around, you can normally find a happy medium, if you are on a budget, like me. Obviously the amount in one box affects the price too, but you've got to think of how long you might have to store the fat balls for. They are obviously made of ingredients that will go off eg.. in the never ending heatwave of southern England. These RSPB Fat Balls: They are the best quality I have ever bought (in my opinion). The higher the fat content, the paler the balls will be, and speaking from experience, they are also likely to be much softer, and therefore inevitability, some will get squashed. I knew that these were good quality, when I first opened the bag, inside the box. The ones at the bottom had been completely squashed down....like if you sqished down a pack of butter! That's unusual, and shows the very high fat content. Ordinarily, balls made with more wheat flour and seeds, will crumble, rather than be completely squashed down. I really have never understood why so many people complain about fat balls arriving squashed or crumbled! The birds don't care! It's all food to them! In fact, the more food that is sprinkled on the ground, or put in a ground feeder, the more variety of birds you will get! Not all birds can feed from a feeder! I have purchased them twice now, via the Subscribe & Save scheme, and they were affordable to buy, but the birds loved them sooo much, that an entire feeder of 5 balls would be eaten in one day, even one afternoon! There is no way that I can afford that! So, as with all the other types of food, I have to ration them. I fill the fat ball feeder twice a week. This rationing is actually a very good thing, as if food (particularly the same type of food) is fed continuously, then the birds are inevitability not getting a balanced diet. As with humans, we need a variety of different foods, particularly fresh foods, to eat a balanced diet. Pros: - very good quality - affordable under the Subscribe & Save scheme - the birds love them! Cons: - I realise that food prices keep increasing, but putting the cost of 50 fat balls up by £7.00 in 1½ months is outrageous! I paid £11.04 for them on 30th May. By mid July, when I was anticipating buying more, the price had gone up to £17.99!!! Consequently, I have had to order from a different company. - The birds love them sooo much that they empty the feeder within ½-1 day! WARNINGS: - Please don't buy netted fat balls....they maim and kill birds very easily, who get their feet caught up in the nets. - Feeders need to be thoroughly cleaned or disinfected fairy regularly. If your health is bad, like mine, and you are not able to do this as often as it's needed, then my solution, is to buy multiples of that feeder, so that you can swap out a dirty feeder, with a clean one. You can then store the dirty feeders, until you have the time/strength to clean them out. I have also learnt to spend a bit more on a feeder, that comes apart easily, making cleaning much quicker. The RSPB told me that they believe that the massive drop in Finches in the uk, in the past couple of years has been caused by Trichomoniasis! Birds can become ill from firty bird feedsers, from leftover bits of seeds and hulls that have become moldy or from droppings that have accumulated on and around feeders. Fluffed-up feathers, lethargy, abnormal growths, and crusty eyes are all symptoms of avian illnesses such as salmonella, trichomoniasis, avian pox, and eye disease. - As soon as you get a delivery of food, check that the use by date is ok. - If you have a bird table or ground feeder, then move it to a different location every so often. Diseases can be picked up by the birds, from the mess that's made under a bird table. TIPS: Feed as many different types of feed as you can, in different types of bird feeders, but also put food on the ground. I get a wide variety of birds in my garden, even though I have to ration the food. I have leant over the years, to buy a good quantity bird seed, with many different types of foods in it, and to sprinkle that over the lawn.....that way, there is plenty of room for everyone to get a chance to feed, and by the evening, the majority of that food has been eaten, as the birds know they have to search for any remaining seed. It's also a way of putting the seed in various different places, to try and avoid any diseases. eg.... https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0039ZBK02/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 TIPS: I have a medium sized garden, and have 3 shallow, easy to clean, plastic plant pot saucers at various locations around the lawn. My ones aren't available any more, but something like these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09W5JB2LT/ref=ox_sc_act_title_29?smid=A10C1D6GFZP3K2&th=1 These are vital to have both in the dry weather, but also in winter, when water may be frozen. They also attract tonnes of different types of birds, for drinking or bathing. These DO also have to be cleaned out and topped up at least twice a week. I use an old kitchen kitchen scrubbing brush eg.. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Addis-Ultra-Jumbo-Metallic-Silver/dp/B000NJSWNK/ref=sr_1_9?crid=2KZQ8DVY1B89T&keywords=vileda%2Bscrubbing%2Bbrush&qid=1658683050&sprefix=Vileda%2Bsc%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-9&th=1

I'm guessing the birds love the flavour - I haven't tried them, so not much point asking my opinion on what they taste like! I thought they'd last a while because other brand suet balls hang around for months before the big birds come and steal them, but no, these get eaten in no time at all. They're not too hard, don't crumble to dust like others, and I think the birds might be writing their own reviews in the future while I get a second job to keep them the way they've become accustomed! We have happy birds who line up on the wall in the morning for dad to put the seed and fat balls out. The RSPB Super Fat Balls are among the best available. We have them on subscribe and save. Highly recommended. Some of the negative feedback, referring to birds no longer feeding, could be down to cats, sparrow hawks or the fact that someone nearby is offering a better selection. Some people forget to put food out and the birds go look for it elsewhere. We have lots of babies being fed in our garden and numerous very happy birds. Another season, more hungry baby birds and I've just ordered a 160 box of fat balls. Normally I get the 50 box. I'm thinking of putting the box outside and letting them help themselves! Joking of course. I use one of those donut shaped fat ball holders and the birds get through 10 of these every day. I sometimes put cheaper fat balls in and they don't even peck at them, not even in warmer weather when the things are soft. The cheap balls are like sand and sawdust and I think the birds have made it perfectly clear that the RSPB fat balls are their preferred choice. Can't figure out a way of rationing them, they look forlorn when the feeders are empty.

I take a lot of pride in feeding the birds in my back garden. Seed mix, peanuts and fat balls that’s all you need. However not all bird foods are created equal, and this is especially true for fat/suet balls. These RSPB Super Suet balls are by a long shot the best on the market. The suet content is really high which means they are soft and pack in loads of energy. They contain a few types of seed as you’d expect, other versions are available from the RSPB that have mealworm in as well. These balls do not melt, even in the recent high temperatures we have seen. As soon as I put my first few of these out, birds were all over them within 30 mins and they remain a staple favourite for basically all of the visiting birds in my garden. I have compared these with a bulk box of much cheaper fat balls and whilst these go in a day, the cheap ones don’t get touched by anything except crows/jackdaws. It goes to show that these balls contain the right stuff, whereas the cheaper ones are obviously packed with sawdust or some unattractive rubbish. A word of warning however. You will need a caged fat ball feeder for these to keep larger birds such as jackdaws off, otherwise they will eat them as fast as you can put them out. It would not surprise me if you could lose the whole box inside of 3 days if you kept refilling for the jackdaws. The price is the only sticking point for me… for something to feed the birds with they are not cheap, £13 for 50 balls of fat with a few seeds? However use them wisely in protected feeders and the box will last more than a week! Excellent fat balls, don’t bother wasting your money elsewhere.

My birds love these ones

BIRDS SEEM TO LOVE THEM