DIY Bird Suet: A Complete Guide To Making Nutritious Treats For Wild Birds

Wild bird feeding is one of the simplest activities that can be done to entice wildlife into the neighborhood of your home. For instance, practitioners argue that birds have poor access to natural foods during cold seasons and, therefore, require foods with high energy density, such as suet. Here, we'll explain how you can create the DIY bird suet using foods you likely have in your kitchen. This homemade suet is suitable for making at home since it does not take a lot of time to prepare, is very healthy, and is financially efficient. Let's get started!

Why Do You Make Bird Suet?

Bird suet is a very high-fat content food that fills the energy in need of birds in the winter period. Using store-bought suet cakes is easy but costly, and the commercial ones may contain preservatives or inferior products. By making your suet, you can:

• Keep the ingredients under control so that the birds will only consume a healthy and natural diet.
• Additionally, it is made with seeds, oats, or dried fruits, depending on the kind of birds it is meant to attract.
• These make do at home because large batches help you save money.

Critical Ingredients For DIY Bird Suet

Bird suet recipe is about correctly putting a bird's favorite high-energy ingredients together. Here's what you'll need for this recipe:

• 2 cups beef tallow or lard: Suet to this type of bread, which is lard or tallow, offers the high-fat content required that helps to bind the dry ingredients together
• One cup of nut butter: Peanut butter or nut butter increases the calorie and protein content necessary for energy provision. That's why clear, unsalted, and unsweetened types are recommended, as they are dangerous for birds.
• Four cups wild bird seed: The suet is supplemented with a combination of bird seed to provide this additional texture and make the diet even more attractive to the birds. Choose a good bird feeding station and use Whole Kernel Corn, Sunflower seeds with shells, and millet to appeal to different types of birds.
• One cup of quick oats: Oats are rich in carbohydrates to complete the nutrition needed for the birds.
• 3/4 cup cornmeal: Cornmeal is another source of carbohydrates; it is a binder that contributes a non-obtrusive sweetness.
  

All these components help to complete the suet's nutritional profile, ensuring that it will be able to provide the energy needed by birds and the other nutrients that they require.

Step-By-Step Instructions To Make DIY Bird Suet

Below are some key steps you should follow to prepare a bird suet. 

Step 1: Mix The Waterless Ingredients

Begin by combining the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. This includes 4 cups of wild bird seed, 1 cup of quick oats, and ¾ cup of cornmeal. Mix it properly so that the ingredients are well mixed and each piece of dough has an equal proportion of the marinade coating it. These dry ingredients will help shape the suet, making it more appealing to birds that feed on seeds or grains.

Step 2: Melt The Fat And Nut Butter

In another saucepan, fry 2 cups of beef tallow or lard and 1 cup of nut butter. Slowly warm the mixture over low heat while stirring, which will thoroughly dissolve the fat and peanut butter. This is important at this stage since the melted fat will serve as a binder and help to bind all the dry ingredients once the suet solidifies.

Step 3: Combine The Wet And Dry Ingredients

Once the fat and peanut butter mixture has melted, pour it gradually over the dry ingredients. Mix all until the birdseed, oats, and cornmeal are coated with the fat mixture. The result should be very thick and glue-like and easy to shape with our bare hands.

Step 4: Shape The Mixture

It is time to make your suet into forms that would fit a bird feeder properly. You have a few options:

• Molds: There are ready-made silicone molds or cupcake trays, which you can use in shaping the suet into little cakes that fit suet feeders.
• Baking Dish: For larger suet cakes, pour the mixture into a baking dish sharp cutting knife. After freezing, it will harden, and then you can slice it into cubes or any shape you prefer.
• Hand-shaped Balls: You can also pour the mixture into your hands and spread it using your fingers, place it in a feeder tray, or spill it across the yard.

Step 5: Freeze The Suet

Put the molds or baking dish in the freezer for one to two hours so that the suet becomes very hard. Chopping the suet creates several matters that are easier to handle and freeze, which results in easy storage. After achieving the desired form, the suet must be set at the end of the freezer to freeze, then melted from the molds and stored in an airtight container in the freezer to freeze until used.

How To Serve Suet To Birds

Suet is meant to be consumed during the cold months when temperatures hover below 32 degrees Celsius. During the warmer season, the fat becomes a liquid and may quickly become rotten; hence unpopular with birds and poisonous if it gets rancid. Here are some tips for serving your homemade suet:

Suet feeders are meant for suet cakes or balls, and on these, birds can comfortably cling while feeding. The feeders come in wire mesh feeders or platform feeders ideal for use with different shapes of suet. Make sure that your suet feeder is placed in a conspicuous place, such as near a tree or shrub, where the birds can rest while eating.

Protect The Suet From Squirrels

Surprisingly, squirrels are also very fond of suet, just as the birds are fond of it! To stop them from eating it before the birds do, you should consider purchasing a squirrel-proof feeder or installing a baffle over or below it, as they are climbers. You can also mix a little cayenne pepper into the suet mix—birds are not bothered by the spice, but the squirrels are not happy.

Storing Homemade Bird Suet

Suet made at home can be kept reasonable for several months if frozen. Just place the suet cakes or balls directly in plastic or wrap them in plastic to keep them fresh. In case you want to store them, you just put them in airtight jars. However, when you're ready to serve the seeds, you take a portion of them and put them in the feeder. This method ensures you always keep fresh suet when needed, especially during the cold, snowy season.

Common Birds That Enjoy Suet

Suet is loved by many birds, especially those that require highly energetic foods to enable them to maintain their activities during cold periods. Some common birds that are attracted to suet include: 

• Woodpeckers 
• Chickadees 
• Nuthatches 
• Wrens 
• Blue Jays 
• Titmice

Conclusion

Feeding wild birds has never been easier or cheaper and has been a perfect and fun activity to observe birds from home. You are ready to prepare a nice and healthy meal aimed at bird feed using simple products such as beef fat, peanut butter, oats, and bird seeds. Whether you have been a bird feeder for years or this is your first time, homemade suet is an excellent project for everyone and good for you and the birds.