by Ricky Fingerz

Created on: March 04, 2009

Making a Pine Cone Chain Bird Feeder
(One Cone Might Not be Enough)

I have been making pine cone bird feeders for years and believe it or not, there are some "do's and don't's" that you must adhere to. You may do more harm than good to your feathered avian friends. The following should be considered:

1 Do not use lard, peanut butter, vegetable oils or anything perishable as this may rot, create an odor and attract unwanted insects.

2 Pine cones are great homes and hiding places. Shake them well to dislodge spiders and other critters. You don't want to be bitten or stung.
3 Do not use jute or string for a hanger medium as birds can chew through this and your creation ends up on the ground. Picture hanger wire is best as you can reuse it again.
4 If for indoor birds or as a gift, deep freeze your pine cones for forty eight hours or bake them in the oven for twenty minutes at 400 degrees before you prepare them. This kills insect eggs. You don't want an infestation of moths or other wee beasties.

Forget all those diverse recipes; I like to create just one interesting mixture for my coating to appeal to a greater variety of birds. After all, the whole idea is to watch the different species that you can attract. Using more than just one pine cone in your hanging is best. One pine cone can be totally devoured in an afternoon.

Items you will need:

* twelve large open pine cones
* hanger wire
* a screw eye hook for each cone
* two large mixing containers
* spray bottle with heavy sugar water
* three cups of flour
* ten cups of rolled oats
* one cup of dried fruit (chopped in small pieces)
* one cup of crushed peanuts
* bag of outdoor seed mixture variety blend

Take the screw eye hooks and twist them into the tops of the cones. Set them aside. In one container, blend the coating of dried fruit, peanuts and the variety seed mixture and set aside; ready for the cones to be rolled in.

In the second container, blend the flour, oats and the seed mixture adding a little water at a time; you don't want it too runny. You want the mixture to be on the thick side like pancake batter. Roll the cone in the batter to fill every crevice then roll in the fruit, nut and seed mixture and pack it in tightly with your hands.

Slide the cone down the wire through the hook eye; dip and coat the next cone and repeat until all cones are hanging on the wire. Hang them for a week in a warm dry area spraying them occasionally with the sugar water as this helps adhere and contain everything. If your giving them for a gift, the sugar shine is attractive.

The nice thing about this pine cone chain is that you can just keep adding the freshly made pine cones by sliding them down the wire; eventually, everything gets eaten, even the cone itself will end up being a skeleton of fibers. Using more than one cone in the chain method also allows for better perching, especially when there are more than one bird. Keep your camera handy: you never know what you might attract.

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