Make food for your bird friends with organic pure ingredients for best bird health

Susi StroudDowny Woodpeckers love stopping by feeders for a suet treat. Feed birds with these suet recipes.

Suet attracts many insect-eating birds, such as woodpeckers. But nuthatches, juncos, chickadees and jays will also stop at backyard feeders for a high-fat treat. True suet, and especially the kind made with animal fat, provides a good source of energy for many feeder birds, most importantly in fall and winter. Try these suet recipes in your own backyard and see which suet recipe your backyard birds like the most!
Hearty Mix
This hearty suet recipe attracts a large variety of birds.
1 ½ cups wild birdseed
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup melted suet
1 cup graham cracked crumbs
2 teaspoons sand (for grit)
Simply mix all the ingredients together and serve on a tray feeder. -Ann Sturgeon, Kokomo, Indiana
Easy Suet Recipe
I’ve shared this suet recipe with all my friends, and it always gets rave reviews from the birds.
2 cups peanut butter
2 cups lard
½ cup each of flour, old-fashioned oats, Spanish peanuts, raisins, sunflower seeds and chopped corn
Melt peanut butter and lard. Mix all ingredients in a large cake pan and refrigerate until hardened. Cut and place in suet feeders for your feathered friends. -Ethel Fleming, Hemphill, Texas
Attracts a Wide Variety of Birds
This suet recipe attracts several birds, including sparrows, juncos, blue jays, chickadees and woodpeckers. The birds are always fighting over it.
1 cup lard
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1⁄3 cup sugar
2 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 cup birdseed
Melt lard and peanut butter. Add sugar to the melted mix. Combine remaining ingredients. Form blocks and freeze. -Joseph Pavelchak, Robbinsville, New Jersey
Out on a Limb
I like to spread my suet on tree limbs so more birds can get to it at one time. Here’s a recipe I’ve put together. The birds can’t get enough of it, even the juncos.
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup sugar
½ cup flour
¾ cup water
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup lard
1 cup raisins
In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Then add the water, and mix. Put peanut butter and lard in a small bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. Add to the cornmeal mixture along with the raisins. Refrigerate for about two hours. -Naomi Manalo, Middleton, Delaware
Pseudo Suet Recipe
I work at a Wild Birds Unlimited store, and I’m always encouraging my customers to make their own recipes filled with fat (rather than sugars and grains) to best benefit the birds. Here’s my simple method for making suet-type food.
2 cups shelled, unsalted peanuts
½ cup raisins
2 to 3 tablespoons cornmeal
Process peanuts in a food processor until they’re the consistency of peanut butter. Then add the raisins and process for another minute. Add the cornmeal and process again. Press this mixture into a mold of your choice. This recipe will have the greatest nutritional value for your feathered friends. -Linda Popejoy, Concord, North Carolina
Tropical Treat
Attract woodpeckers, as well as chickadees and nuthatches, with this suet recipe made with coconut. The best part is this suet mix won’t melt when it’s warm outside.
1 cup lard
1 cup peanut butter
1⁄3 cup coconut
2 ½ cups oats
2 ½ cups cornmeal
Raisins, nuts or birdseed, optional
Melt lard and peanut butter. Stir in coconut, oats and cornmeal. Add optional ingredients. Pour the mixture into a pan and chill in refrigerator over-night. Cut into squares and wrap in plastic for easy storage and removal. -Rebecca Beiler, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Recipe for Hanging Suet CakesMake this “bird cake” treat and hang it from trees or bird feeders in mesh bags.
1 cup lard
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup honey
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
2 eggs
Mix all ingredients and pour into a greased 9-inch square pan. Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. -Mary Hochstetler, Milford, Indiana


Read more: http://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/attracting-birds/feeding-birds/make-homemade-suet/#ixzz3HyDjjvtL