How to Make Homemade Suet for Your Feathered Friends

If you’re a bird lover, it’s always a good idea to offer your feathered friends a little help during the winter months. One great way to do this is by providing them with suet – a high-energy food made from animal fat. Suet is a great source of nutrition for birds, providing them with much-needed calories to help them stay warm and healthy throughout the colder months. Making your own suet is surprisingly easy and can be a fun activity to do with kids or friends.

To make suet, you will need a few basic ingredients, including animal fat, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. You can make it with beef fat, pork fat, or even vegetable shortening, depending on your preferences. The key is to melt the fat and mix it with a variety of ingredients that birds love. Once the mixture cools and solidifies, you can hang it up outside for the birds to enjoy. Making suet is a great way to help our feathered friends survive the winter, and by making your own, you can have fun while doing so. So, let’s get started!

Ingredients for Making Suet for Birds

Suet is a high-energy food source made from animal fat, that is loved by birds, especially in the winter months when food is scarce. You can buy ready-made suet blocks from the pet stores, but making it at home is effortless and much more cost-effective. To make homemade suet, you will need:

1. Raw Suet

The main ingredient for making suet is raw suet, which is the hard white fat that surrounds the kidneys of beef or lamb. You can get the raw suet from the butcher shop, and it’s essential to ensure that it’s fresh and hasn’t been exposed to high temperatures for an extended time.

2. Nut Butter

Peanut butter or another nut butter such as almond or cashew butter will add an excellent protein boost to the suet mix, and birds love it too.

3. Seeds and Nuts

You can add seeds and nuts to your suet mix to give it more texture and flavor. Sunflower seeds, raisins, and chopped up peanuts are just some examples of what you can include.

4. Cornmeal or Oatmeal

Cornmeal or oatmeal will help bind the suet ingredients together and add texture.

5. Mealworms

Mealworms are high-protein sources that will attract insect-eating birds like bluebirds, robins, and wrens. You can either use live or dried mealworms in your suet recipe.

6. Dried Fruits

Dried cranberries, cherries, or blueberries will add more flavor and sweetness to your suet, making it more appealing to birds.

7. Raisins

Raisins are an excellent source of carbohydrates that birds need for energy, especially in the winter months.

8. Vegetable Shortening

Vegetable shortening is a good alternative to raw suet and will give your suet cake a more consistent texture.

9. Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is another great alternative to raw suet and has natural antibacterial properties.

10. Waxworms

Waxworms are high in fat and protein, and they will attract birds that love insects such as woodpeckers and nuthatches. You can either use live or dried waxworms in your suet mix.

Now that you know what ingredients to use for your suet mix, let’s move on to the recipe.

Ingredients needed for making suet for birds

If you’re ready to make your own suet for birds, you’ll first need to gather the necessary ingredients. Here are the main ingredients you’ll need:

1. Fat: The most important ingredient in suet is fat. You can use any kind of animal fat, such as beef fat, pork fat, bacon grease, or suet. Keep in mind that the fat should be pure and not mixed with other ingredients like salt or seasonings.

2. Peanut Butter: You can use creamy or chunky peanut butter to give the suet a nutty flavor that the birds will love.

3. Cornmeal: Cornmeal gives the suet some texture while making it thicker and easier to handle. You can replace cornmeal with oats or birdseed, depending on your preferences.

4. Birdseed: You can mix in any birdseed into your suet. Ideally, you should get a blend of seeds that matches the birds in your area.

5. Dried Fruits: Adding dried fruits to your suet mix is optional. However, it can attract insect-eating birds like bluebirds, thrushes, and woodpeckers. Choose fruit like raisins, cranberries, and chopped apples.

6. Nuts: Nuts like almonds, pecans, or walnuts can add a boost of protein and fat to your suet recipe.

7. Mealworms: Adding live or dried mealworms to your suet will attract the insect-eating birds. They are a great source of protein and a perfect suet-related bird food product.

8. Melted Wax: Wax is optional but helps to bind the ingredients together, making it easier to mold and hang up. You can use unsalted wax or soy wax.

9. Baking Pans or Molds: You can use muffin pans or silicone molds to give your suet the desired shape. It can also make unmolding easier.

10. Twine or String: Wrap some twine or string around your suet mixture before putting in the mold to add a hanger for easy hanging.

Now that you have gathered all the essentials, let’s get to making suet for the birds!

Ingredients Needed for Making Suet for Birds

Making suet for birds is an enjoyable activity for bird lovers. Suet is a high-calorie food source that is particularly appealing to birds during the winter months when food is scarce. By making your own suet, you can ensure that it is free of additives and preservatives that may be present in store-bought suet. Here are the ingredients you need to make suet for birds:

1. Choose the Right Suet or Lard

For the base of your suet, you can choose from either suet or lard. Suet is the raw, hard fat that comes from around the kidneys of animals, typically beef or mutton. Lard is the rendered fat from pigs. Either option will work for making suet for birds, but suet tends to have a higher melting point, making it a better choice for warmer weather.

2. Add Peanut Butter for Protein

Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein for birds, and it also helps hold the suet mixture together. You can use any type of peanut butter, but avoid those that contain additives like salt or sugar. Natural peanut butter without added ingredients is best.

3. Choose the Right Birdseed

When selecting birdseed for your suet, choose a high-quality blend that includes a variety of seeds. Sunflower seeds and millet are popular choices among birds, but you can also include other seeds like safflower, nyjer, and corn. Make sure the birdseed you choose is fresh, as stale seed can lead to the growth of harmful bacteria in your suet.

4. Add Fruits and Nuts for Flavor

Adding dried fruits and nuts to your suet mixture can help attract a wider variety of birds to your feeder. You can use any type of dried fruit or nut you like, but be sure to chop them into small pieces so that birds can easily digest them.

5. Adding Cheerios or Oats

Adding Cheerios or oats to the suet mixture creates texture and provides an additional source of carbohydrates for birds. You can also include other grains like millet or cracked corn. Just be sure that any grains you add are unprocessed and do not contain additives.

By following these easy steps, you can make delicious and nutritious suet for your feathered friends. Remember to store your suet in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it, and try to avoid putting out more than the birds can eat within a week or two to prevent spoilage.

That’s how you can make suet for birds at home!

We hope you found this article helpful and informative. Remember to thank the birds in your garden by providing them with nutritious and delicious suet. Don’t forget to come back for more bird-feeding tips and tricks. Happy bird-watching!