Homemade Pellets

OK so i'm gonna try making pellets,not a maintenance diet ,but more healthy treat type thing.I'm open to suggestions for ingredients but storage /shelf life is an issue. My plan is to fix ingredients into something like cookie dough and extrude though a syringe on to a cookie sheet and bake at low heat in the oven.When dry/hard and devoid of moisture (cooked) break it into short sections so it ends up looking similar to Harrisons, just won't be as pretty and uniform in length. I might have to put every thing through the food processer to get a proper pellet.

Rolled Oats
chopped nuts
wheat Germ
Honey
Red Pepper Seeds
Cayenne Pepper
Sesame Seeds
Fresh Rosemary
Grated Carrot
Dried Cranberry


Open to suggestions

I guess if i cut it while still wet into what ever length,it would be less waste and more uniform looking.

#s needs to try this and make a "Good Birdie " reward treat to sell in the pet store.

Here is my mother's granola recipe. Of course i add different stuff and change things around some,like all that coconut.just keep approximate volume/ratio of wet and dry ingredients.

Meat from 1/2 to 1 coconut (small pieces
3/4 cup coconut water
3/4 cup honey
1 cup oil
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup wheat germ
2 cups corn meal
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 lb of oatmeal
nuts,seeds,raisins (optional)

In a blender,coconut meat and water,honey,oil,brown sugar,and salt.Blend well. In large bowl,place wheat germ,corn meal,and whole wheat flour. Pour coconut mixture over meal and flour mixture and mix well. Work in about 1 lb of oatmeal with hands. Crumble into two 9 x 13 pans. Bake in 250 oven until dry and crisp. Stir from time to time. Reduce heat if it begins to brown. Cool. Store in airtight container . Before or after baking, nuts,seeds,raisins maybe added.

To be sure we can modify that to make birdie pellets. )

Why does that recipe sound appetizing to me?

My mother makes everything,yogurt,cottage chesse,mayo,mustard,ketchup,jelly,peanut butter,root beer,kaluha,bread,cereal, dries herbs,pesto,pasta, you name it. She goes to the store and buys eggs,flour,sugar,salt ,nothing processed.

Heck, why not just lighten up the granola and feed the birds that for a treat?

I'm not much in granola. I'm pretty weird, when I eat cereal I want it savory rather than sweet, and I prefer muesli to granola. But that sounds good!

I've made sausage, yogurt, mayo, liqueurs, gravlax, mozzarella, paneer, pasta and other things from scratch and I once cultivated a wild sourdough starter. If your mom does that on a regular basis, she's one ambitious woman. It's fun and gives a great sense of self-sufficiency and when it works it tastes incomparable, but that's A LOT OF WORK. She has my admiration.

I know of sourdough batches that she kept going for years.Josie and i grind about 4 deer a year into sausage ,that and we can everything,i think we have 3 pressure canners and about 1000 jars (i make our own boxes for canning jars). Wehave quotas of things to eat ,like; 1 qt of tomatoes per week. ( last year we canned 13 5gal buckets of tomatoes) LOL

Back to pellets, what would you like to see in your pellets. should i make a batch and see if the birds will eat it? I know they eat the granola, but with the larger chunks there's lots of waste. PS Jake likes her's with plain yogurt.

I'd like to see something similar to what's in the granola in the pellets, but in all honesty that's just MY taste talking! I say make up a few small batches of different recipes that you think the birds might like and see what flies.

If we get something that seems to be popular across the board, I'm certainly game to present it at the store.

Cool i'm going to send you some, Oh and Dusty too.
PM me an address Dusty

I want some too, would it cost a lot for Canada?

no , just an oz or 2 , bout like a letter.