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Make your own suet with this Homemade Bird Suet Recipe. Simple ingredients like oats, cornmeal, sunflower seeds, peanut butter, bacon fat make up this easy recipe.
Our backyard is like a wildlife refuge right now. We have so many birds and squirrels, there is constant movement and activity. I’m curious how they’ll enjoy this Homemade Bird Suet Recipe.
I can’t wait to sit outside this summer in our outdoor room and listen to all those little darlings singing their thank you’s for keeping them fed all winter.
Homemade Bird Suet Recipe
I’ve had a recipe tucked away for a few years that I found from Martha Stewart. I substituted or added a few ingredients to what I had on hand to concoct a block of bird suet that I thought they may like. We will see.
It may end up being the raccoon’s next meal…….those pesky things.
Where Do I Hang Bird Suet?
When I made over my office, I had my husband place a bird feeder outside my window, within my view. Well…… between the squirrels and the raccoons, we were going through 2 feeders a day! They were having a feast once the sun would go down. Come to find out, the bird feeder was too close to the fence, which made it very easy for them to reach the feeder and just shake it.
We have learned to hang the suet at least 5 feet from the ground and away from the fence. I do hang in it a tree, but if I see that a raccoon or squirrel breaking into it, I move it. One of these hangers is perfect or use one that attaches to a deck railing.
We have since invested in a squirrel proof feeder for the seed and so far it’s working.
What is Bird Suet?
Bird Suet is a valuable bird food during the winter months. It’s a mixture of fatty ingredients, like beef fat, lard, or peanut butter, usually anything that can solidify. This helps birds pack on extra calories, which keeps them warm. It can be as basic and simple as mixing equal parts beef fat with any type of birdseed.
I added a few extra ingredients to make it extra rich in nutrients and calories.
We’ve only had a couple of cold snaps, but I’m ready for the next! My little birds will be fat happy birds.
This recipe was easy to whip up and then I put it in the freezer so it was completely solid before placing outside.
Is Bird Suet Only for Winter?
Because bird suet is full of fatty ingredients and higher in calories, it’s best reserved for winter and cooler temps. The warmer temperatures of summer and early fall will melt, leaving a mess in your yard. I have also learned that dripping beef fat candamage natural waterproofing on bird feathers.
It made exactly enough to fill 2 of the paper cups I had. I could have hung two separate ones, but I only had one plastic mesh bag. You can also use a suet mold.
My girlfriend laughed at me when I was shopping for the perfect mesh bag instead of what was inside. This one came with fingerling potatoes ….. which I can’t wait to eat.
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What Birds will Suet Attract?
Mine has attracted the chickadees and finches in my yard. I’ve read that suet with beef fat also attracts insect-eating birds such as woodpeckers, wrens, chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice.
If you follow me on Instagram, you probably have seen my “bird cam” highlight for my window bird feeder. It was a gift from my son and it’s been the most fun!
My Favorite Bird Feeder Products
Here are a few of my favorite bird-related items.
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This feeder is on my office window and its been entertaining to watch all the birds. It took a couple of weeks before they found it, but now they visit daily.
Begin with equal parts lard and peanut butter, melting and mixing them over low heat. Add a variety of ingredients to this gooey mess: unsalted shelled peanuts, raisins, rolled oats, dried mealworms, sunflower seeds or cornmeal. Then chill the mixture for a day before cutting it into blocks or cubes.
If you are a “quantity” birdfeeder, making your own is far more affordable than purchasing commercial products. That being said, it is messy and does require care around the stove and work area since you will be melting tallow (beef fat) or pork fat. Suet is animal fat that has been rendered and then allowed to cool.
Most people use lard because the birds who love suet also eat bugs and worms and stuff like that, so it's good for them to eat a beef or pork based suet cake. BUT Crisco does work and birds still eat it, so I don't think they really have any idea when eating it that it's not really meat based.
Cornmeal is a course ground form of dried corn. It offers a fine constancy and is a great addition to any homemade suet cake. Small wild birds have small beaks and mouths and they need small foods to eat.
Peanut butter - Melting point is high, 104, which is the highest. This makes PB one of the safest fats in terms of feather-risk. Suet and PB mixed are an excellent suet cake option (often called "no-melt"); the PB will make the suet easier to mix.
Depending on the blend, suet can also be high in protein, ideal for maintaining feather structure and muscle health. Suet also has other benefits that birdseed lacks. Suet will not spill if a feeder is accidentally tipped or toppled, creating less waste and less mess to clean up.
Outside the UK suet can be difficult to find and vegetable shortening is the best alternative. The same weight should be used - 150g and for the US it is 14 tablespoons. As shortening is quite soft it is best to freeze it overnight before grating.
Peanut butter is a good high-protein food for birds, and they can eat any of the same types humans do. If you're buying it specifically for birds, look for natural or organic types with the fewest additives. Try offering crunchy peanut butter for an extra nutty treat.
Not recommended. Bacon drippings are animal fat just like suet, and many birds will eat it. But bacon virtually always has detectable amounts of nitrosamines, carcinogenic compounds formed from some of the preservatives used in bacon.
Most types of oats that you would use to make porridge or oatmeal will be fine for offering to garden birds as long as they are not cooked. So, rolled oats, steel-cut oats, jumbo oats and pinhead oats are all good to feed to garden birds. Don't offer instant porridge pots or sachets.
Press the dough down into the forms to remove all the air and you have a solid suet cake. If you are going to use some right away, place it in the refrigerator until solid and freeze the rest sealed in plastic. That's it! No melt suet that will stand 115 degree temperatures in the summer.
If you want to supply birds with the most nutritious offering, feed them plain suet. Likewise, if it is your desire to attract the most birds, buy a bird pudding that contains peanut butter or peanuts. Believe me, I would be surprised if any other suet-based product outperforms this in your backyard.
When cooking beef whether it be ground, chopped or sliced there will always be excess fat that will need to be drained off during cooking. This excess beef fat is the perfect ingredient for making a suet cake.
To render suet, it's best to start with ground beef fat (ask your butcher to grind it if don't have a meat grinder, or else chop the raw beef fat as fine as you can). Heat the ground or chopped suet over a medium flame until all the fat leaches out.
During colder months when insects and fresh berries are scarce, offering high-protein treats to your feathered friends gives them the energy needed to withstand inclement weather during the breeding season. Peanut Butter Suet is a popular treat to provide, and a wide variety of wild birds enjoy it.
If you can't find suet or you just don't want to use it, try shortening instead. One of the advantages of using vegetable shortening is that it is suitable for vegetarian dishes. Before using it, freeze the shortening until it is very firm.
Suet is easy to make, especially this vegetarian variety. If you'd like to give wild birds a special treat this winter, let them eat cake—suet cake. Birds that eat insects are especially drawn to suet cakes placed in the garden and landscape during winter.
While lard is a safe alternative to rendered suet, avoid using bacon drippings. The chemical preservatives in commercial bacon become more concentrated once cooked. While this doesn't pose a health threat to humans, it can be harmful to birds. Bread and table scraps should be avoided, too.
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Introduction: My name is Amb. Frankie Simonis, I am a hilarious, enchanting, energetic, cooperative, innocent, cute, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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