Suet Feeders Will Attract
Fascinating New Visitors!
About Suet and Suet Feeders What is suet? Actually, suet is hard fat from the 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 additonal 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. You'll love the different choices of
rendered suet.
Just select Suet on the left side of the new page.
Suet Feeders are Convenient!Suet is an important part of every backyard feeding program. Commercially prepared suet is inexpensive and easy to offer --- especially in suet feeders. What is a suet feeder? This simple type of feeder is a plastic-coated wire basket that flips open on one end. They are the perfect size for the commercial suet cakes, but can be used for home-made suet also. Suet feeders are designed to hang from a tree branch or beneath a seed feeder. As with other feeders, be sure to keep your suet feeder clean. Simply wash the basket in soap and water and let dry before refilling.
Many Wild Birds Love Suet!
How many different species of birds visit your backyard? You'll attract more if you offer a wider variety of food . . . an excellent reason to offer suet. Among the birds drawn to suet feeders are . . .
- woodpeckers
- chickadees
- cardinals
- creepers
- wrens
- titmice
- nuthatches
- mockingbirds
- thrashers
- kinglets
- starlings
- even some warblers and orioles may visit
For a nice variety of visit
Suet Feeders.
When the page opens select Suet Feeders.
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. 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, chunky 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 suet make sure you hang it in the shade. Unless suet is commercially rendered into a solid cake it may melt and become rancid.
It's A Draw!Watching a wild bird determined to get every morsel of suet is comedy in action. Our benefit? . . . we attract more birds and have a longer time to enjoy them as they focus on getting every morsel of suet. Who is more fortunate . . . the birds or us? We think it is a draw!
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