Birds Are Wild for Homemade Suet

Suet is easy to make, especially this vegetarian variety

If you ’d like to give wild chick aspecial treatthis winter , let them eat cake — suet cake .

Birds that use up insects are specially drawn to suet patty place in the garden and landscape during winter . The leaning of wild birds includes chickadee , finch , goldfinches , grosbeak , Jay , juncos , nuthatch , robins , sparrow , thrashers , wrens , and woodpeckers .

Suet patty are sell at garden centers , pet stores , wild bird supply stores , and on-line retail merchant that ply to wild birds . The cakes typically fit especial hanging suet feeders that look like small cages .

A less expensive option is to make your own suet cakes and repurpose some common items for hang them .

For example , net or mesh veggie bags can hold suet and make it gentle for birds to get to the nutrient - fertile treat . The bag from Allium cepa , orange and tomato plant make good self-feeder . Hang the bags or other self-feeder high , about 5 to 6 feet , to keep birds dependable while feeding .

Be sure to feed suet during the cold winter months only , when temperature will be below 50 ° farad . The suet can melt down in higher temperatures , make trouble for bird and making a mountain on the ground under the feeder .

Most suet cakes are made with a base that include lard , Viscount St. Albans fatness , or other meat grease . kernel products can represent a problem for vegetarian skirt lovers , but fortunately there ’s another option .

I feel a recipe for an easy , homemade vegetarian suet advocate by theNational Audubon Society . Instead of lard , the base is made from any palm - costless shortening .

For my vegetarian suet , I chose coconut crude oil for the base . Coconut oil is a tropic petroleum made from the yield of coconuts and is high in saturated blubber . This “ good ” fat remains in a semisolid state , make it a honorable choice for a suet bar .

In summation to the coconut oil , the vegetarian suet formula includes : a ball butter ( like peanut butter ) , wild bird seed , nimble oats , and Indian meal .

The ironical ingredients are blended into the shortening melt with the junky butter and then placed into a form , like a fictile container or ice cube tray . When the shortening hardens , the suet patty is ready to hang .

The completeMake Your Own Suetrecipe is useable on theAudubon internet site .

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A recipe for vegetarian suet cakes includes coconut oil and peanut butter for the base, plus wild bird seed, oats, and cornmeal. Wild birds like woodpeckers, wrens, and chickadees will appreciate this wintertime treat.Photo: Jodi Torpey

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