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Make your own suet recipe and watch the birds flock to your feeders. It’s easier than you think and also learned about No Melt Suet
Gardening is slowing down a bit this time of the year, but it’s also time to get my bird feeders ready to go for the winter. Suet feeders are a great way to feed them and suet is also easy to make yourself.
I love feeding the birds in my backyard. It’s been a passion of mine for so long. Just watching them grab a few nibbles with their mate and seeing all the different birds in our area. I wish we had more, but I don’t live next to the forest and there aren’t many trees in my area. I planted one in the backyard and that has drawn a few to my feeders. Birds really don’t care to hang around palm trees.
Birds love to eat from suet feeders. High-fat treats are great when it really gets cold outside. True suet is made with animal fat and provides a good source of energy and attracts your larger birds. The woodpeckers love my suet feeders, so I make sure I keep them filled. But I have one problem here in Central Florida. It does get hot and when it gets above 80 degrees here suet will get gooey. Yuk! Not good for my yard or the birds.
So I was on another mission of trying to find a solution. I visit Tractor Supply oftento get my dog’s food there and they always have a great selection of birdhouses, feeders, and seed mixtures. I then found a product I didn’t know about called No Melt Suet. I have also found these at Walmart and other stores. I had to try it and it works great!!! It stays hard and doesn’t make a mess.
I put out the suet in a suet feeder on November 1st and I will keep it full until about May. So many birds migrate to and from Florida and if I leave it up in the summertime here, it will turn black from mold.
I have made my own suet in the past and it’s supereasy. Suet is really just fat from beef that has been trimmed off. I go to my butcher and ask if he has any suet. It’s usually just thrown out and the butcher has always been pleased to give me some. I have also found out that using real beef suet is what the birds like most.Lard was rarely touched. What suet I don’t use, I will put in the freezer.
Melt the suet and peanut butter together in a large pot.Stir in the remaining ingredients, a littleat a time.The mix should be the consistency of cookie dough.If it’s too runny, add more flour.Spoon it into suet trays (I keep trays from store-bought suet). Press down in the trays firmly to make a nice solid block. I have had friends scope out balls with a cookie scoop or put them in small paper cups too. Freeze your blocks until time to use them.
I have also addedchopped-up nuts, sunflower seeds, and dried fruit to the mixture. The birds will thank you for those extra treats.
If you are looking for other recipes, here is a great source.
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Bird experts Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman suggest this DIY suet recipe. Melt 1 cup peanut butter and 1 cup lard over low heat.In a large bowl, mix 2 cups quick oats, 2 cups birdseed mix, 1 cup yellow cornmeal and 1 cup flour.Stir melted ingredients into the dry mix.
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.
For making a no-melt suet, which stands up better in warmer weather and sunny days, you need to use a lard or vegetable fat that is sold and stored at room temperature - Armour's Lard or Crisco, not a bottle of vegetable oil.
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.
In general, suet is fine for a long time (and birds will often eat it up before it's old), but weather can affect the quality. If you notice the birds coming to your suet and then leaving, it probably needs to be freshened. Just remove the old suet, clean your feeder, and put in a fresh block or pieces.
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.
If you can't find suet then we have found that grated vegetable shortening (such as Trex, Crisco or Copha) is a good substitute. To grate the shortening firstly freeze a stick or block of it until firm but not solid (this usually takes about 30 minutes).
Is lard and suet the same thing? - Quora. Lard is rendered pig fat and suet is cow or sheep produced fat. Suet is a hard fat surrounding the kidney and loins. Lard is from the semi soft white fat of a pig.
Raw suet turns rancid quickly in warm weather. It melts when the temperature rises above 70 degrees and might stick to birds' feathers. Gooey feathers are dangerous, so raw suet should be served only during the colder months. Cornmeal and peanut butter can also go rancid quicker, Ken says.
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.
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.
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.
Vegetable shortening: Vegetable shortening has a mild flavor like suet and hardens in the refrigerator, making it simple to shred and add to foods that call for shredded suet.
It's a good idea to take down suet feeders in warm weather. Raw or homemade suet should not be offered in the summer. Some suet manufacturers state that their blocks will withstand temps over 100 degrees without melting; however, these might nevertheless go rancid in short order if extreme high temperatures persist.
Suet is the raw, hard fat of beef, lamb or mutton found around the loins and kidneys. Suet has a melting point of between 45 °C and 50 °C (113 °F and 122 °F) and congelation between 37 °C and 40 °C (98.6 °F and 104 °F).
I started experimenting with Scotch bonnet peppers and added them to the fat when I was melting it, the raccoons and opossums kept coming. Then I started buying ground cayenne pepper and that keeps everybody away, including chipmunks and most squirrels.
Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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