Suet can be placed out with no additives but you may find that adding different ingredients will increase the variety of birds that you attract to your yard. Once you’ve shaped it a bit with your hands you can place the balls on a cookie sheet in the freezer to continue hardening. If you want to pat the fat into rough balls, keep checking it while its cooking in the freezer and take it out while it is firm but still malleable. Once you have nice clean fat, you can pour into any moulds or containers of your choice and place it in the freezer to firm up. As the fat cools, you’ll notice it becoming kind of “gloppy” and it won’t pass through the strainer as easily. The fat may need to be reheated in between straining to aid in the process. You’ll need to do this several times to rid the suet of any unwanted particles. Now that the fat is liquefied, you’ll need to strain it through cheesecloth or a very fine strainer. You could run the risk of a fire by doing this. Don’t be tempted to use high heat to speed up the process. Heat the fat in a frying pan on low heat until it is fully liquefied. If you’re doing it yourself, make sure that any bones, meat, and other tissues are removed.
If you’re purchasing fat and trimmings from a butcher, there’s a good chance that you can ask them to do this for you. To do this, the fat first needs to be chopped in small pieces, or passed through a meat grinder. Creating and Customizing the Suet ElephantPants / Pixabayīefore putting out the suet, it will need to be rendered in order to better hold its shape. This can be a fun activity for the young ones in your household. Try a different combination of ingredients each time you make a new batch and record who stops by. Corvids such as blue jays, starlings, magpies, and red-winged blackbirds.Large passerines such as robins, blue birds, cardinals, and orioles.Lots of small clinging birds such as chickadees, nuthatches, and wrens.A number of different woodpeckers, such as hairy, red-bellied, downy, and pileated.Depending on your area and what you add to your suet, you may see some of the following: Be creative with additives such as peanut butter, nuts, and seeds, as well as pieces of dried fruit. A fair number will come just for the fat alone, but you can attract even more species by adding other ingredients. Which Bird Species can You Attract?Ī wide variety of birds will be quite happy to visit and help themselves to your suet feeder.
#DIY BIRD BELL SUET HOW TO#
There are multiple ways to create a suet bird feeder, so I’ve outlined how to create them, and a few ideas for hanging them further on in this article. Furthermore, there won’t be any questions as to what ingredients are in the mixture. You could buy pre-made suet, but making it yourself is really easy and affordable. A great way to give them those extra calories is through a suet bird feeder. This helps them keep warm and keep up their energy. Why Put Out a Suet Bird Feeder? Scottslm / PixabayĬonsuming additional calories is extremely important for birds to do in wintertime. This is a perfectly acceptable substitute and will still deliver sufficient amounts of fat and nutrients to the birds.
That’s because this type of fat contains much more salt than birds should consume on a normal basis.įor those who adhere to vegan or vegetarian diets, you’ll be happy to learn that you can use vegetable shortening in place of animal fat.
You can also use bacon and pork meat drippings saved from cooking, but this should be a rare treat. Lard from the grocery store is another option, but you should know that it’s much softer and may melt on warmer or sunnier days. You can purchase suet balls or beef fat trimmings from your local butcher fairly cheaply.
Suet most commonly consists of fat rendered from beef liver and loins. In turn, their presence will bring some much-needed colour and life into your winter yard. Putting a suet bird feeder out is a fantastic way to invite your feathered neighbours to stop by for a treat. If you identify with the above feeling, then you’ll really enjoy this project we’ve got lined up for you. This can be hard for a lot of people, especially those who are missing their gardens, and summer’s greenery. In the Northern hemisphere, winters can range from rather dreary to downright brutal. Read on to learn how to make them! How to Make a Suet Bird Feeder Scottslm / Pixabay These are easy to make, and are vital food sources for countless species. If you’re a bird lover, help the little cousins in wintertime with a DIY suet bird feeder. One of the most beautiful aspects of a garden is the wildlife it inevitably attracts.