Suet bird food is eaten by and enjoyed by many birds. It's a fatty supplement that keeps birds healthy and happy.

What is suet bird food?

Suet bird food is basically animal fat. It's usually made from beef and is comprised of the fatty parts of the beef that are found on the internal organs of the cattle, such as the kidneys. Suet bird food is greasy to the touch, but it's harmless to humans and can encourage many different kinds of birds to visit your feeder.

Birds can't get enough of suet

Birds absolutely love suet bird food and if you put it in your bird feeder you will attract all kinds of birds including bluebirds, woodpeckers, thrashers, cardinals and goldfinches. You can get suet bird food at your grocery store. All you have to do is ask the grocer for ground up beef fat. You might want to pick up peanut butter as well because mixing the two together is a nutritious snack for many different birds.

Putting suet bird food together

When you get home from the grocery store heat the beef fat on the stove until you can see the fat oozing out of it. At this point you shouldn’t have any pink pieces of meat in the pan, only solid bits of material floating in liquid. You need to strain the little pieces out of the liquid, which you can do by dropping the liquid in cheese cloth and letting it fall into a pan. As the suet cools, stir in peanut butter or seeds. If you want to make suet cakes, you can then shape the matter into a cake and put it out for the birds.

Keep in mind that you can store your suet bird food concoctions in your freezer for several months. Also remember that you're dealing with a meat product and meat products spoil if they are not cared for and kept in the right conditions. You should not put your suet mixture out for the birds unless the outside temperature is less than 70 degrees. A hot temperature will cause the suet to fall apart and rot. You do not want to feed birds rotten food.

Let them feast

Once you've made suet bird food, put it in a feeder that is covered with wire cages. The cages are sturdy enough to support squirrels, which will also raid your suet bird food and can hold the suet bird food better than other feeders can.