How to make a suet Christmas treat for your backyard bird buddies

Birding is one of the most relaxing ways to spend a winter afternoon. Guarantee your avian friends will stick around all day by making them some homemade suet. I put out bird seed all spring, summer, and fall. But winter calls for something a little more substantial. Wild birds need the fat from the suet to survive the harsh winter weather. Making homemade suet is easy and far cheaper than buying the cakes.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Heavy pot
• 2 pounds beef fat
• 1 1/2c. raisins
• 1 1/2lbs. cornmeal
• 1lb. cracked corn
• Any other dried fruit or nuts you would like to add
• Suet feeder or mesh produce bag
• Large baking pan
• Plastic wrap

1. 
   Dried Fruits And Nuts

   First you need to assemble your ingredients. You can obtain beef fat from your local butcher. They don't charge very much for it since its basically waste. My butcher gives it to me free of charge. Yours might too! Every grocer carries a fine assortment of dried fruit and nuts. Raisins are fine all by themselves but I like to add pieces of dried apples, craisins, and dates. The birds really like those. I also add very inexpensive, unsalted peanuts.

2. 
   Heavy Pot

   Place your beef fat in a heavy pot and melt at a low temperature.

3. 
   Cardinal

   Stir in your raisins, nuts, and other dried fruits. Allow a few minutes for the raisins to puff up from the liquid.

4. 
   Corn

   Mix the cornmeal and cracked corn in a bowl then add slowly to mixture. Stir constantly until the mixture becomes very thick. It should be so thick that you have trouble moving the spoon.

5. Place the baking pan in the refridgerator for 3-4 hours. This allows the mixture to get hard.

6. 
   Net Produce Bag

   Once the mixture is hard, cut it into four squares. Wrap each square in plastic and put in the freezer.

7. 
   Downy Woodpecker Eating Suet

   When you're ready to feed your fine feathered friends all you have to do is put one of the squares into a net produce bag or suet feeder and hang outside. Make sure you hang it where you will be able to watch the birds eat. That's the best part!

Tips & Warnings

• If you want to keep the squirrels and other wildlife away from your suet feeders, put out a seperate feeder filled with cracked corn. Make sure you put it well away from the suet feeder.
• Never feed your bird friends suet in warm weather. The fat turns rancid and will make them ill.