Written By Lisa Steele, Fresh Eggs Daily

As many of you know, I enjoy adapting ideas I see online and elsewhere for the enjoyment of our chickens. I have seen several versions of birdseed wreaths for wild birds on Pinterest HERE, HERE and HERE and decided to make my own chicken version.

My first two attempts didn’t work very well – don’t trust everything you read online! – and fell apart, but this, my third attempt turned out perfectly. Easy, quick, held together well and the chickens loved it!

Here’s how to make one for your girls.

You’ll need:

Cooking spray
Bundt Pan
1/2 Cup cool water
3 envelopes Knox unflavored gelatin
1-1/2 Cups Boiling water
1 Cup bacon, suet or hamburg grease, heated to liquify
8 Cups of a mixture of scratch, sunflower seeds, cracked corn, raisins, nuts or seeds
20 fresh or frozen cranberries
Ribbon

How to:

Spray Bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a measuring cup, dissolve the gelatin in the cool water and let sit for a minute. Pour the boiling water into a medium bowl and whisk in the gelatin to combine.

 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the seeds and nuts, stir in the grease and then pour in the liquid gelatin. Mix well with a wooden spoon to be sure all the nuts and seeds are well-coated and all the liquid is absorbed.

 

Place the cranberries in rows in the indentations in the pan (I used three in half the indentations and two in every other indentation) and then carefully spoon the seed mixture into the pan. Press down with the spoon to pack it well.

Put the Bundt pan in the refrigerator overnight to set. The next day, take the wreath out of the refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Invert and tap gently on the countertop to unmold.

 

Tie a pretty ribbon in a bow at the top and then attach the wreath to your run fencing for your chickens or to a tree or fence to treat the wild birds.
I did switch out the fancy ribbon for a plain one when I hung the wreath in the run.