Welcome Spring and make your own recyclable bird feeders with the kids! They’ll have fun and the birds will love stopping by your house again and again. This easy project will keep the kids busy and they’ll get to fill the bird feeders again and again.
Materials you’ll need to Make Recyclable Bird Feeders:
- A Milk Jug or Half Gallon Milk container
- Scissors or a knife
- Acrylic Paint
- Paint Brushes
- Yarn or String
- Bird Seed
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Pin it for Later
Step 1: Clean and Cut holes for the Bird Feeders
Set aside once they’re empty or look through the recycling bin for galloon or half-gallon milk jugs or containers. Clean them out thoroughly so they’re don’t smell, the birds won’t like it.
I don’t recommend the younger children do this step. Using a pair of scissors or a sharp knife put holes in the tops of the containers so you can hang them later. For the half-gallons put one hole on each side. If you have gallons put 4 holes around the top of the jug.
Then cut a square hole on the side of the container. We only did one, but if you want you could do one on each side to allow the birds to get in from more than one place.
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Step 2: Paint the Recyclable Bird Feeders
It’s time to get the paint and paintbrushes out! We squeezed our paint on to a paper plate to make it easier for my little buddy. He squeezed out the paint for himself and choose the colors too.
Birds love bright colors and some are even attracted to them. We made our bird feeders extra colorful in hopes that our local birds will visit often!
Once you’re done painting set aside the bird feeders to dry. Don’t move on to the next step until they’re dry.
Step 3: Put String on the Recyclable Bird Feeders and hang!
Once dry, use the holes you punched earlier at the top of the milk containers to string your yarn or string through. Have the kids try different ways to put them up and as long and they’re stable the birds will be happy.
Fill the recyclable bird feeders with birdseed and bring them outside to hang them. I recommend trying to put them somewhere out of reach of squirrels. This may be difficult, but telling the kids the find a place the squirrels can’t get them can be a challenge and keep them outside even longer.