Backyard Explorations! Bird Series - Part 3

25 April 2020
Backyard Explorations 

Fun Bird Seed Craft!

With Easter being in the Month of April this year, what better time than now to introduce a super fun craft that can help our feathery friends with finding food in their habitat! This is an excellent way to get the whole family thinking about how they can further their stewardship and hands on at the same time!

Fun Fact: I had to do this recipe twice because the first time I got the water to gelatin ratio wrong HA!

A Facebook user named Bonnie Wiley shared this post on Fb and that is why you are able to access it today! Thank you Bonnie!! I have copied some of her methods at the end of this post and added a few pointers for those of you trying this at home.


Here are some of the photos from the craft and a fun hide and seek activity for you all!

< Out of the 7 eggs I made, these
are the few that turned out. HA


There are> two eggs hidden in
this Colorado Blue Spruce. Can you find them?



Bird Seed Egg Recipe and Directions

10 cups of seed makes 3-4 dozen normal size eggs. I used larger eggs and halved my recipe. This style can make 10-12 eggs.


Ingredients

- 1 box of gelatin mix, KNOX unflavored gelatin is a good one or un-flavored JELLO 

Here is KNOXs web site so you can find the directions online too
- 10 cups bird seed, Bonnie used Pennington birders blend. I just used a song bird mis I found at the grocery

Directions

1. Prepare the gelatin as directed on the box 

Helpful hint: Each packet will use 1/4 cup cold and 1/4 cup boiling water. So 1/2 cup total

2. Mix in your bird seed. 

Helpful hint: If you are halving this recipe use 2 packets of Gelatin and 1 cup water (1/2 cup cold and 1/2 cup boiling) and 5-6 cups of bird seed

3. Optional: It helps to spray cooking spray in the eggs so they come out easier. I had a good turn out doing this with mine.

4. Pack the eggs with the gelatin seed mixture. 

Helpful Hint: If the tops and bottoms of the egg pieces are connected by a little plastic, cut the plastic! other wise the eggs break in two.

5. Place the eggs in a container large enough to hold them and put them in fridge to set up. This is good practice because sometimes the eggs have holes in them and the gelatin may leak all over your fridge!

Try to use the eggs as quickly as possible! If left inside the shells for too long the seeds begin to germinate and mold begins to form and that's no good for the birds!

Video will be posted soon! Just too big to fit in one clip.