All About Bird Suet · 5 easy tips to attract birds
Suet is one of the best foods you can offer birds, especially during winter. It comes with many health benefits because of its high nutritional value.
You can simply buy suet, or make it at home. If you’re planning to offer suet to your feathered friends, read this guide to get all your answers regarding bird suet!
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How to Use Bird Suet
The easiest way to offer birds suet is to hang it from a tree or place it in a tray in your backyard. However, these methods will also attract unwanted guests like squirrels and other small rodents.
Using A Bird Suet Feeder
Using a bird suet feeder is a better approach. There are different types that you can use.
Suet Cages
This is probably the most commonly used type of bird suet feeder. Suet cages are made with wire, and you can hang them on a tree branch or a pole. Most suet cages also feature tail props for clinging birds like woodpeckers.
Suet Logs
Suet logs come with holes and can be made of plastic or wood, like the cedar one from Amazon above. Not only do they offer a natural experience, but they also keep suet protected and dry. And they look great in your yard! You can simply fill them with suet plugs or peanut butter.
In the US, woodpeckers, chickadees, and nuthatches love them. If you’re in the UK, these suet feeders are great for coal tits, great tits, long-tailed tits, and blue tits.
Mesh Bags
Many people use mesh bags which is one of the easiest ways to offer suet to birds. All you need to do is add suet in a mesh bag and hang it from a tree.
What is the Best Time of the Year to Put Out Suet?
Winter is the best time of the year to put bird suet out in your backyard. During this time, birds need extra energy, and it’s difficult for them to find natural food sources. Consider following the best practices listed below to help birds most effectively.
- Always place bird suet in shaded spots to keep it solid and fresh for longer.
- Place bird suet at a higher spot from the ground to keep squirrels away.
- Place it on visible spots.
- Place it away from windows to avoid collision and window attacks.
- Keep your bird feeders clean to avoid contamination and mold and bacteria buildup.
Bird Suet Ingredients
The ingredients used to make bird suet vary depending upon the flavor. You may also want to use different ingredients for different seasons. But almost all the types of suet use the following ingredients.
Fat or Shortening
Fat is the main ingredient of bird suet. It’s added because it provides birds with a lot of energy they need to survive during winter or nesting season.
Usually, suet (animal fat) is used to make bird suet, but you can also use vegetable shortenings for the same purpose. Here’s a recipe for bird suet without peanut butter.
Peanut Butter
Chunky or creamy peanut butter is used in bird suet to make it tastier and attract more bird species. Most birds like peanuts and peanut butter, and they offer them additional calories. Some types of suet use peanut butter instead of fat or shortening
Cornmeal
Cornmeal is an optional ingredient, but it’s often used because it provides suet with a gritty texture that birds enjoy.
Flour
The amount of flour added to the bird suet varies from recipe to recipe. It helps suet to retain its shape and freshness for a longer time. If you’re looking for suet for summer, consider buying the option that contains flour.
Nuts and Dried Fruits
Nuts and dried fruits are added to suet because of their taste and high nutritional value. It gives the suet a richer taste and attracts more birds.
Hot Pepper
Bird suet that comes with hot pepper flakes is made for people who have a lot of squirrels, mice, and rats in their area. These small rodents avoid bird suet with hot pepper because of its hot and sharp taste. However, birds can’t taste the pepper, and will eat the suet!
Bird Suet Types
Bird suet comes in different flavors and shapes. Understanding all the available types will allow you to choose the right option for your feathered friends.
Different Suet Flavors
Plain suet is the most commonly used type to feed birds, but there are plenty of other flavors available as well. The following are some flavor options that you can use.
Pepper
Hot pepper bird suet is specially designed for people who want to keep the squirrels and other rodents away from their bird feeder.
Rodents avoid the sharp taste of hot peppers, but birds don’t have taste buds to feel the burning sensation. Red pepper flakes are commonly mixed in to make this flavor.
Nuts
You can use bird suet with nuts if you want to attract nut-loving birds in your backyard. This variation contains pieces or whole nuts such as walnuts, pecans, almonds, and most commonly, peanuts.
Seeds
It’s the most common bird suet type, usually made with safflower, cracked corn, millet, and sunflower seeds.
Insects
You can also find suet containing different types of insects that birds like to eat. This bird suet offers a crunchy appeal and is often used to attract insect-eating birds.
Fruits
The most common fruits used to make this type of bird suet are orange, apple, blueberry, and cherry. This variation also contains some dried fruits for added flavor.
Bird Suet Shapes
Bird suet comes in different shapes and sizes, and the following are some commonly used options.
Cakes
Bird suet cakes are the most common shape. These large squares fit into cage-style suet feeders
Shreds
Bird suet that comes in thin and small pieces is usually made to imitate the consistency and size of insects and worms. It’s placed in trays and also decreases feed consumption.
Pellets
This bird suet type also comes in small pieces to mimic the shape of nuts and seeds. It’s usually used to feed small birds such as finches.
Plugs
This shape is used to attract medium-sized clinging birds such as woodpeckers. It’s a perfect option for log-style feeders and offers a natural feeding surface.
Balls
Bird suet balls work great in mesh bags or special suet feeders.
Other Types of Bird Suet
There are some other bird suet types as well. You can find the following types in different flavors as shapes.
Vegan-Friendly Suet
Vegan-friendly suet doesn’t contain any type of animal fat. Instead, it’s made with vegetable shortenings such as Crisco.
No-Melt Bird Suet
No-melt bird suet can be made with any type of fat. However, a low amount of fat is used to make this type so that it can stay fresh for a longer period. Additionally, all-purpose flour is used so that it doesn’t go rancid quickly.
Bird Suet FAQ
What Birds Eat Suet?
The most common birds that eat suet are nuthatches and woodpeckers. Titmice and chickadees also enjoy suet. Other birds, including cardinals, blue jays, and wrens occasionally eat suet, especially in the winter when they have trouble finding other food.
If you want to attract any of these species, consider placing suet in your back yard.
Can I Put Bird Suet Out in the Rain?
Yes, you can put bird suet out in the rain and it will not melt.
Snow, as well as rain, don’t harm suet. Suet contains fat, which keeps water from affecting it. In other words, bird suet naturally repels water and stays intact during rain. The rainwater flows right off, allowing suet to air dry.
Can I Put Out Bird Suet in the Winter?
Yes, you can put out bird suet in the winter season.
In fact, winter is the best time to offer suet to birds because, during this season, it remains solid and fresh for a longer time. It is also loaded with protein and fat that’s extremely valuable for small birds on cold days.
Can I Put Out Bird Suet in the Summer?
Yes, you can put bird suet out in the summer. However, if you live in a hot area, you may want to use no-melt suet.
How Can You Tell if Bird Suet is Bad?
You can determine whether or not the bird suet is bad in three different ways.
Consistency: Fresh suet is fairly dry and solid. If it’s dripping, gooey, or mushy, and you can easily squeeze your finger in, it has gone rancid.
Smell: Fresh suet doesn’t have a strong scent. Only rancid suet has a tart, sour, and rotting smell.
Sight: If you can see something fuzzy, white, or green growing on it, consider it a red flag. It’s bacteria or mold buildup that appears only if the suet has gone rancid.
What Can I Do if the Birds are Eating the Suet Too Fast?
You can take multiple approaches if the birds are eating the suet too fast.
You can use hard-shelled safflower seeds in a higher quantity, and birds will spend a long time eating them. Some people also crush their suet pellets, forcing birds to spend more time feeding on tiny bits.
However, the best option is to use suet cages to slow down suet consumption.
Is Crisco Ok for Birds?
Yes, Crisco is okay for birds.
It’s important to note that it isn’t a natural food for birds. It contains saturated fats in high amounts and takes longer to digest for birds. But it doesn’t harm your feathered friends in any way.
Will Squirrels Eat Bird Suet?
Yes, squirrels will eat bird suet.
They like to eat bird suet because of ingredients such as peanut butter, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and cornmeal. Consider a spicy suet blend to deter squirrels or other pests while still attracting birds.
Bird Suet Wrap Up
Bird suet is a simple, easy, and low-cost way to attract fascinating birds like woodpeckers to your yard. Whether you decide to buy or make a suet feeder, and suet, you’ll soon find feathered friends flocking to your feeder!