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Suet Feeders |
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Attracting Fascinating Wild Bird Visitors with ...
Suet Feeders
Many Wild Birds Love Suet ...
Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Cardinals, Creepers, Wrens, Titmice,
Nuthatches, Mockingbirds, Thrashers, Kinglets, Starlings,
even some Warblers and Orioles are attracted to suet
Shop the Best Suet Feeders
About Suet and Suet Feeders
What is suet? Actually, suet is hard fat from the kidneys of sheep and cows. As you know, fat provides a natural source of high energy -- so it is an essential part of a bird's diet. Suet should be offered year-round. Since suet helps build fat reserves it is especially important to birds that spend the winter where it is cold.
"Rendered" suet has been melted down and the meat pieces removed. This type of suet is produced commercially in the form of suet cakes. Rendered suet cakes won't melt and they will keep for months without spoiling. Commercial suet cakes usually have additional foods added, such as: seeds, nuts, and fruit. FYI -- "rendered" means melted and re-hardened. This process allows the suet cake to stay hard in warm weather, which is definitely a plus when you are feeding wild birds.
Suet Feeders ...
the easy and convenient way to offer suet
Since suet is such an important part of a backyard bird feeding plan, it is good to know that commercially prepared suet cakes are inexpensive and easy to offer -- especially in Suet Feeders.
What is a Suet Feeder? Simply, it is a plastic-coated wire basket that flips open on one end. They are the perfect size for the commercial suet cakes. Beyond this simple type of feeder there are other styles and designs, some specifically adapted for certain bird species ... for example, one that is especially for Woodpeckers. A Suet Feeder is designed to hang from a tree branch, beneath a seed feeder, or any other appropriate place.
As with other feeders, be sure to keep your suet feeder clean. Simply wash the feeder in soap and water and let it dry before refilling.
Making Your Own Suet
There are probably as many recipes for making your own suet as there are imaginations. Although it is more convenient to purchase the inexpensive suet cakes, you may want to experiment making your own.
Here is a guideline for preparing suet:
If you can locate raw suet at the store, do the following:
- Heat the suet slowly in a saucepan to obtain the liquid fat, then cool.
- Add any of the ingredients listed below to the consistency you desire
- Freeze in loaf pans or trays lined with plastic wrap until needed
If fresh suet is not available use any of the following fat ingredients mentioned below. Heat slowly in a saucepan and add your choice of the additional suggested ingredients, freeze and store as explained above.
- Heat lard (any animal fat will do), bacon drippings, meat drippings, chucky peanut butter slowly in a saucepan, allow to cool.
- Add any of the following for consistency so it will hold a firm shape: whole wheat flour, oatmeal, corn meal, mashed potatoes.
- Add your choice of additional ingredients for appeal as well as nutrition: high-quality mixed bird seed, black-oil sunflower or hulled sunflower seed, hulled chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, peanuts or peanut hearts, almonds), cranberries, dates ... dried fruit, such as: apples, strawberries, figs, papaya, blueberries, figs, raisins, cranraisins, currents ... whole corn kernals or cracked corn, wheat germ.
When offering homemade suet make sure you hang it in the shade. Unless suet is commercially rendered into a solid cake it may melt and become rancid. |
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