How to Attract Birds with Homemade Bird Suet

I enoy watching birds year round. Frequent visitors to our feeders are cardinals, chicadees, juncos, nuthatches and blue jays. To attract and entice birds to stay throughout the winter you need to feed them consistently. This recipe will provide the nutrients and energy for the birds to survive harsh winters.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 3 cups of lard or tallow
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup peanuts
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 4 cups birdseed mix

1. 
    
   The fixings for homemade bird suet.

   Gather your ingredients. Melt your lard/tallow over the stove in a pot or in a glass bowl in the microwave. Tallow or lard can be purchased from a butcher shop.

2. 
    
   Adding melted tallow to theother ingredients.

   In a large mixing bowl mix your dry ingredients, peanuts and dried fruit. Pour in your melted lard/tallow. Mix well.

3. 
    
   Mixing the bird suet.

   Add in your peanut butter. Mix well.

4. 
    
   Recycled containers make great molds for the suet mix.

   I use recycled containers as suet molds. I like smaller containers as they better fit into my suet feeder. Press the suet into the containers with your spoon or hand. Allow to harden.

5. 
    
   My daughter feeding the birds.

   I store the suet in the freezer until ready to place outside. Pop the suet out of the mold before placing it in the feeder.

6. 
    
   Happy birds eating our homemade suet mix.

   Be consistent in keeping your feeders full of bird food. It is important to offer food to birds during the stressful cold weather of winter.

Tips & Warnings

• You will attract more wild birds if you place your feeders in areas close to trees and shrubs. Foliage offers birds protection, shelter and nesting sites.
• A different mix of seed and dried fruit will attract a variety of birds.