Woodpecker on Suet Feeder

All About Suet

June 8, 2022
Adams Fairacre Farms

Birds need a lot of energy and heat. While feeding them, bird feed is fine. Sometimes, it’s just not enough for them. There are many possible food sources that they can get it from, but one that stands out is suet.

This popular bird food has a lot of benefits for the birds that eat them. Not only are they a source of energy and heat, but this will also give them the calories that they need to survive. Let’s find out what exactly suet is and why these wild birds love eating them.

What is suet?
Suet is one of the most popular and most nutritious bird food that many bird enthusiasts use to attract a wide variety of birds. Suet can also be an excellent replacement for nutrition and calories when winter comes. For insect-eating birds, this is most helpful as many insects go in hiding during the colder seasons.

Wild birds can eat suet in its rawest form; however, most people prefer using Suet Cakes.

Suet cakes are made from rendered animal fat mixed with other ingredients that can benefit the birds that indulge in them. They can come in many different shapes and sizes. They can also be homemade or pre-made ready for consumption.

Why use suet?
Why exactly do wild birds love suet so much? There are many answers to this question, and here is a couple that might explain why they love it so much.

The first is that suet can be an alternative for insect-eating birds. Most of these birds get their nutrition and calories from the insects that they eat. However, in the colder months of the year, these insects go into hiding, and food sources are scarce for some wild birds.

Secondly is that suet is an excellent source of energy and heat for wild birds during winter since suet is a high energy food that can sustain these birds’ metabolism. It is not a matter of how much they love suet. It’s more of how much do they need it to survive.

What birds eat suet?
Having suet in your backyard can increase the chances of seeing more wild birds. Many different birds look for suet, and some might want it but not really need it. Below is a list of what types of birds you might see when you set up that suet feeder in your backyard.

  • Blackbirds, jays and other corvids.
  • Chickadees, nuthatches, wrens and other small clinging birds.
  • Thrushes, orioles, grosbeaks and other large passerines.
  • Woodpeckers.

How To Present Suet To Wild Birds
One of the easiest ways to offer birds suet in your backyard is to smear the suet or suet cakes on the back of trees. This will give them a chance to eat it while perched on the branch. However, this is susceptible to pests that hang around your back yard.

A better approach is to serve suet to wild birds is using a Suet Feeder. Suet feeders look different, but all serve the same purpose. They come as this cage-like box that allows you to feed suet to the while birds with ease.

Information courtesy of BirdInformer.com