Calling all bird lovers! Looking for an eco-friendly option to help out your local bird population? We can help. Our bird feeders support standard backyard birds with nest creation in the spring and nutrition in the fall.
We have four options for you. Order a single suet cake or single fleece refill if you already have a feeder. If you don’t have a feeder, our next option is the feeder with fleece. This feeder has been made by a local friend of the farm with a bottom design that keeps rain off the contents. The final option combines this feeder with an extra refill, a suet cake and an instruction card.
This product is an exciting one for us because it checks off so many boxes in relation to our priorities. The standout feature though is the use of materials that traditionally head to the waste pile. As one of our goals is to fully utilize the materials our animals provide and to reduce waste, we think it is great that this product does this twice:
Fleece
There are various points in the processing occurring in our Wool Mill in which fibre is deemed unsuitable for the end goal of yarn – so our job is to figure out what its best use is. In this case, the fibre for the fleece feeders goes through the washing machine but gets stopped at the picker machine. It’s at this point that heavily matted locks or fibre with a lot of hay in it can’t continue. This product is a great way to recycle this natural fibre back into the environment through a local bird population that can make use of it.
Food
The suet cakes make use of our lamb tallow. Animal fat is often underused and discarded in small-scale processing. We have worked with our local abattoir who has been willing to separate out the suet fat and send it back to us for on-farm rendering.
Material
Fleece: Washed sheep’s wool and alpaca fibre. This fibre will have mats and vegetable matter (hay and straw) so it is great for birds.
Suet cakes: Birdseed mix, quick cooking oats, yellow cornmeal, our sheep tallow, flour, peanut butter
Feeder: Cedar wood with hardwood dowel and jute twine cord. Lightly sealed.
Source: 100% Ontario fibre from our own sheep flock here at Borderlands Farm. The alpaca is from our own previous herd. The rendered tallow used as the fat in the suet cakes is from our own lamb. The cedar wood was harvested sustainably in northern Ontario.
Processing: The fleece has been washed in our on-site Wool Mill. The suet cakes were made in our kitchen. Local maker, Box of Chocolates, made the feeders in his workshop in Thunder Bay.
Weight: Fleece 0.5 oz. packages; Suet Cakes ~9 oz.
Size: Suet Cakes; Bird Feeder Option Box Size 9" x 9" x 3"
Directions for Use:
Store frozen suet cake in freezer until you are ready to use it (It does not have any preservatives.)
Early Spring: Mount feeder in shaded location close to tree trunk. Add fleece to feeder.
Late Fall: Thaw suet cake. Add cake to feeder.
Fleece & Food
PICKUP / DELIVERY
Customers can choose to pick-up at the farm or the Thunder Bay Country Market, or can choose delivery to the Thunder Bay area (if eligible). Once you have placed your order, you will receive a follow-up email when your order is ready to arrange a mutually convenient pick-up or delivery time.
SHIPPING
We offer a flat rate for standard shipping within Canada.
RETURNS / REFUNDS
If you are not satisfied, we accept returns within 30 days and will issue a refund as long as the product is still in "As New" condition once we receive it. Shipping charges will not be refunded and return shipping is paid for by the customer.
DISCLAIMER
We do our best to represent colours accurately, however not all screens are calibrated the same and colour may appear differently in person. These are handmade products, so there will be slight variations between each item. The one you receive will not be identical to the one pictured, especially in relation to the wood grain patterns.This fibre is only suitable for this application due to heavy matting, vegetable matter, etc.