Gardening Expert Shares an Easy Method You Can Reuse Empty Milk Jugs to Feed The Birds
Emptied milk jugs serve a purpose even when they can’t feed you any more milk. You can’t gather enough courage to toss it in the wastebasket because such a spacious container deserves to be dumped like that. Serendipitously, many people have figured out unusual ways to repurpose these milk jugs. Looks like they can be a useful tool in bird feeding. One method is to create a scoop, as demonstrated by Katie from Garden Gate Magazine (@GardenGateMagazine) in a YouTube video.
“All you need is a plastic milk jug, either a half gallon or a full gallon, which works great,” Katie told the viewers while displaying an empty white milk jug with a blue cap. “Make sure to keep that lid,” she asserted. Before the jug can be converted into a feeder, it needs a thorough washing, she said. Then let it dry completely.
Step 1: Trim holes in the jug
The first step to revive the old milk jug is to trim its edge with little holes using paper scissors or box cutters. “I’ve premarked this already, on where I want to cut to make this scoop,” Katie explained, and then went on to show another jug she had already trimmed. She had trimmed this jug diagonally like starting from the bottom and running till the handle. But if you are using the milk jug itself as the feeder, you can cut up holes from the top so the base can hold the seeds.
Step 2: Add bird seed
In the next step, Katie pulled a big green bag filled with bird seeds in front of the camera. She dunked the trimmed milk jug into the mound of seeds and scooped up some, filling the empty space within it. “I am going to go ahead and get my scoop. […] You can pour this scoop in the top or you can just pop the top off,” Katie explained. She brought an empty bird feeder and tilted the seed-filled jug into its mouth to spill the seeds. Although she used a ready-made perch for this video, you can build your own perch using dowels, sticks, or old wooden spoons.
“Use a single-hole punch or skewer to punch two small holes about the size of your dowels on the opposite side of your container, just below the openings you have cut. Insert the dowels into these holes so that the ends of the wood stick out on both sides. These will serve as perches for the feeding birds,” ornithologist Doctor Sara Kaiser explained to Homes and Gardens.
Step 3: Add rocks, sand, and marbles
Although Katie directly filled up the feeder with the milk jug scoop, if you are using the jug itself as the feeder, make sure to fill up its bottom with materials like rocks, sand, and marbles. “The marbles or rocks prevent seed from going to waste,” said Isabelle Manseau, bird feeding expert.
Step 4: Hang the feeder
In order that the feeder can be hung on a tree branch or mounting pole, cut up some more holes in its neck. “Punch two holes at the top of your container and thread a string through in a large loop. Then fill your new feeder with desired birdseed and hang near your house,” explained Doctor Kaiser. As an alternative to milk jugs, you can also reuse empty medicine bottles, old soda bottles, and wine bottles to make a feeder for your feathered guests. Just make sure there isn’t any residue of the beverages inside the bottles that may hurt the birds. When all ends well, this project is a win-win for everyone, from your bird guests to your milk jug that you can’t let go of a landfill.
You can follow Garden Gate Magazine (@GardenGateMagazine) on YouTube for gardening and home-related videos.
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