Your average adult woodpecker can peck up to 20 times a second, that’s roughly a total of 8,000 to 12,000 pecks a day. Speak of burning calories! The fluffy, feathery, winged, vocal visitors you so fondly invite into your garden require a nutrient-rich diet to support their pleasant, energetic existence. One of the surest ways to ensure your place gets plenty of bird activity and that your cute little guests are duly served is adding suet to your feeders. Woodpeckers, chickadees, starlings, nuthatches, wrens, kinglets, even cardinals and many other bird species are known to relish suet and frequently frequent suet feeders.
What is suet?
It’s the hard fat present around the loins and kidney regions in mutton and beef- yum, right? Most kinds of fats present in beef are, in fact, commonly referred to as suet. Birds’ bodies can digest animal fat with fair ease, which makes the high-energy suet a precious food source to a variety of birds, especially during the winter months.
Using suet to attract and feed your favorite birds
Using raw suet is a straightforward way of attracting woodpeckers, chickadees and other suet loving birds. Raw suet, however, grows rancid pretty fast in above freezing temperatures and so is only viable in cold season. Melted, rendered suet tends to keep a lot better, but it can still get soft when it’s warm and can end up coating the birds’ belly feathers, which can cause health problems.
Luckily, there are simpler, safer and more attractive ways of serving suet. Commercially available suet pellets, mixes and natural suet cakes are composed of quality suet or some thick substitute, along with fruits, peanuts, corn meal, dried insects or other ingredients. Suet cakes prepared under less than ideal conditions can harbor dangerous bacteria, so make sure you only buy premium quality suet cakes. No-melt formulations like Premium Natural Pure Suet and Peanut Suet Cakes are excellent value for money. Quality suet pellets like Songbird Magnet combine premium natural suet with mealworms, roasted peanuts and raisins to render your bird feeder all the more appealing (to birds, of course), both visually as well as taste and nutrition-wise. Use a suet feeder for an easy way to serve up these nutritious snacks!
A constant supply of quality suet is certain to keep your garden abuzz with plenty of suet loving birds. And who knows, they might even spread the chirp about your good service, causing birds loyal to the neighbor’s feeders to switch to yours!