Experiment 1 - Wheat Bix & Birdseed

We get visits from lot's of different Australian Native Birds every day. Below is a photo I took of a pair of King Parrots who came to visit.

Step 1

Step 2

I put some parrot mix in the plastic cup and then broke up 3 wheet bix on top - it was very full and looked like it would fall out every where. So I tipped the mix into a bowl.

Anyway, I like to make sure there is seed for all our bird visitors. I have been trying out different ways to leave seed out for them.
One day I was remembering how hard it used to be to scrub dried wheet bix off the table when my children were little...that's where the idea for this experiment came from. I am hoping the wheet bix will work like glue and stick the birdseed together.
So here we go let's see what happens....

I used a sharp knife to make a small incision in the bottom of a plastic cup. Then I threaded a piece of tie wire through. I made sure to leave wire hanging out of both sides of the cup.

Step 3

I decided to crush the wheet bix up. Then I mix it and the seed about with my hands.

Step 4

I added water to the mixture until it looked gooey. ( I didn't measure how much - I guess it was about 2/3 to a cup worth).

Step 5

I put it all the mixture into the cup. It was thick enough that only a tiny bit came out the cut in the bottom. I am going to leave it for a few days in the sun to see if it hardens.

What did I learn?

Well so far, I learned that:

•  I should use a measuring cup when I do experiments so I can keep better records. It might be helpful for example to know exactly how much water I used in case I decide it would work better with more or less water.
• A thought occurred to me when I was writing this blog...maybe I should have coated the inside of the plastic cup lightly with oil. So I guess it might be helpful to write down the idea for my experiments before I try them in future.

I will post the findings of my experiment here in a few days. And next time I 'make an experiment' I will make sure to 
WRITE, MEASURE & RECORD!!!