Your local wild birds will surely thank you for taking the time to make a Toilet Paper Roll Bird Feeder. It’s a simple craft that is easy and fun for kids of all ages, especially preschoolers.
Follow along with our step-by-step directions and video tutorial to learn what to do!
How to Make a Toilet Paper Roll Bird Feeder
Here in Ohio, spring can bring sunshine and warmth or ice and snow. Today was an ice and snow kind of day, which means food is still scarce for many species of wild birds.
This DIY bird feeder is easy for kids to make at home or at school. It can be made with vegetable shortening, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, or coconut oil. Do not make this feeder (or any bird feeder) with honey. Honey often harbors mold and bacteria that is fatal for wild birds.
Supplies Needed for Bird Feeder Craft
- Cardboard tubes
- Vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
- Butter knives or popsicle sticks
- Birdseed
- Hemp twine
Instructions for Cardboard Tube Bird Feeder
1. Use a popsicle stick or butter knife to spread vegetable shortening on a clean toilet paper roll. The vegetable shortening will make your toilet paper roll water-resistant, which makes this bird feeder perfect for winter!
2. Roll the toilet paper roll on a plate filled with birdseed.
3. If desired, string a loop of hemp twine through the toilet paper roll.
4. Hang the toilet paper roll bird feeder on a bush, or slide it onto a branch. The birds will go crazy for it! So far ours have attracted:
- Cardinals
- Finches
- Chickadees
- Nuthatches
- Sparrows
- Grosbeaks
- Blue Jays
- Titmice
- Mourning Doves
No squirrels on this feeder…yet! 🤣
5. After the birds have picked off the seed, there still may be a small coating of vegetable shortening on the roll. If this is the case, roll it in seed again for a second use!
6. When you are finished enjoying your toilet paper roll bird feeder, don’t forget to remove it from the tree to recycle it.
Is Vegetable Shortening Safe for Birds?
I had the very same question when my kids first made toilet paper roll bird feeders at the local nature center. The naturalist explained that birds need fat in the winter, and that vegetable shortening is a quick, easy, and healthy way to get it.
The Audobon Society recommends using a palm oil-free vegetable shortening due to the habitat loss created by palm oil plantations.
Note: Only offer vegetable shortening bird feeders in the winter when cold temperatures (below 50 degrees) prevent the vegetable shortening from spoiling or melting.
More Bird Feeder Crafts for Kids
- Pine Cone Bird Feeder
- Birdseed Ornaments
- DIY Winter Bird Feeders
- Snowman Bird Feeder
- Birdseed Ornaments Without Gelatin
Toilet Paper Roll Bird Feeder
Your wild birds will thank you for taking the time to make this Toilet Paper Roll Bird Feeder. It’s a simple craft that is easy and fun for kids of all ages, especially preschoolers!
Materials
- Cardboard tubes
- Vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
- Birdseed
- Hemp twine
Tools
- Butter knives or popsicle sticks
Instructions
- Use a popsicle stick or butter knife to spread vegetable shortening on a clean toilet paper roll.
- Roll the toilet paper roll on a plate filled with birdseed.
- If desired, string a loop of hemp twine through the toilet paper roll.
- Hang the toilet paper roll bird feeder on a bush, or slide it onto a branch.
- Your toilet paper roll bird feeder is complete!
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Kara says
I live in Florida so it sounds like we shouldn’t use vegetable shortening… any other suggestions? Maybe like peanut butter or something that won’t melt as easily?
Melissa Lennig says
Yes, try peanut butter. But definitely monitor it to make sure it doesn’t spoil. Have fun!
Emily, Hesston Public Library, Hesston, KS says
Great step-by-step and educational notes! I am going to use some of this content for a take-and-make project for families at my public library. I will be sure to credit you! Hope that’s okay!
Melanie Duke says
Please do not leave toilet paper roles or craft roles in trees, in nature. Once all the bird seed is gone all that will be left is pieces of unwanted garbage. Just use a refillable bird feeder so we don’t add extra litter to our enviroment.
Melissa Lennig says
I figured it was common sense not to leave toilet paper tubes in trees, but just in case, I added recycling as the last step of the directions. Thanks for caring about our planet.
Jeanne Haagen-Lebert says
If it’s too warm, doesn’t the shortening melt and I’ll seeds fall off? Thank you so much love your idea!
Melissa Lennig says
Yep. That’s why my directions state that this feeder is best if the temp is below 50 degrees.
LINDA says
This is the a cute easy to make bird feeder!! I just made 3 and will be making more!
Pamela Frost says
I love this idea so much! I didn’t have any bagels to make a bird feeder with and then I found your idea with the toilet paper rolls! Perfect solution!