Super easy bird suet treats recipe using homemade natural ingredients! It’s my way to give back to the birds for all the pleasure they give me each day! It’s the least I can do! Winter birds need the extra high protein in the winter months.
Making homemade bird suet treats is fairly easy and you probably already have some of the ingredients in your pantry. Even though I have a huge pond on the site, I still offer a birdbath near all the feeders.
If you do not want to go the route of purchasing a feeder and you would like to be more sustainable and eco-friendly, try using a coconut shell as in the image above!
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What Fat to Use in Super Easy Bird Suet Treats
I started with beef organic beef bones that I boiled down to make beef broth for my fur babies. The beef was grown on pasture and free from hormones. It’s the same farm where I purchase my raw milk and sometimes butter.
If you are interested in making DE packets, my blog Diatomaceous Earth for fleas and other uses for Natural Living can show you how!
This is what suet looks like before it is rendered:
This is what tallow looks like once it has been melted or rendered. Check out my blog post-Quickest way to render tallow in a few easy steps to learn how to render fat into the tallow or what I like to call liquid gold!
If you prefer vegan, you may purchase vegetable suet, I will leave a link in the shop section or use a natural vegetable shortening, preferably one without palm oil.
Super Easy Bird Suet Treat Recipe
This is where the fun happens. There are so many safe ingredients you can use to make bird treats. Experiment with your own fixings. Here are a few of my favorite and I am sure the birds too:
Ingredients to Make Bird Suet Treats
- 2 plastic containers from bird suet treats or a mold of your choice
- Rendered tallow 1.5 cups (approximate or vegan suet)
- Peanut butter ½ cup (no salt, sugar, honey, or other additives)
- Mealy worms ½ cup
- Peanuts ½ cup (plain-no salt)
- Oats 1/3 cup (not quick or instant)
- Corn ¾ cup (cracked)
- Sunflower seeds 1 cup
Print the Suet Recipe
Bird Suet Treat Video Tutorial
How to Make Bird Suet Treats
Use a stove or microwave, melt on low. If using a microwave, if it has a melt or a soften butter button. Take your time and melt it slowly.
- Render fat (suet) or buy some from your local farmer or butcher into tallow
- Melt only the tallow in the rare case there is or are rancid spots in the tallow
- Take off the heat if using a stove or out of the microwave
- Add peanut butter
- Stir until completely melted
- Add the rest of the ingredients
- Blend all the ingredients until combined
- Let it cool to warm or the plastic molds will melt
- Put into molds
- Place in a freezer for 3 or more hours
- Put into a suet cage
- Place outside, out of the elements
- If it gets warm, remove it from outside
How to Hang the Suet Bird Treats
You can hang your bird treats outside as is, but I prefer to keep the water off the top and bought the suet holders with roofs to help protect the top from the elements.
What Weather is Best for Suet Bird Treats?
I never put the suet cakes out in warm weather; bacteria may grow and cause the birds to get sick. If the weather gets over 65 degrees for a few days in a row, I pull them from outside. Double bag them and put them in the freezer until it gets cold again. If it doesn’t get cold again, I will put them in the trash.
Foods That Are Toxic to Birds
salt & pepper | sugar | apple seeds | garlic |
onions | peach pits | honey | coffee beans |
avocado | bread | chocolate | table scraps |
Oil is Dangerous to Bird’s Wings
Did you know, once the suet starts to drip, it may get on the bird’s feathers and causes inabilities such as heavy feathers which causes them not to be able to fly correctly? Visit The Bird Rescue Organization for more valuable information on why oil is dangerous to birds.
Silicone suet molds or soap molds, see links in the shop section. Other molds that can be used are coconut shells, silicone molds, grapefruit half, orange half, non-treated wood, and more. Be creative!
In Conclusion
Making super easy bird suet treats is not only fun, cost savings but the rewards of watching the birds enjoying the treats during the cold winter months is worth it. If you love birds as I do, be sure to check out my other blogs Growing Millet for birds and Growing Gourds for birdhouses!
Also, don’t forget about the hummingbirds! I have an informational video on the importance of cleanliness in How to make hummingbird food naturally and without the red dye. While we’re on the topic of hummingbirds, check out my YouTube video on how to make a DIY hummingbird perch swing!
You will never guess the amount of information that I received by visiting the site Everything Birds, go check it out!
If you enjoy birds, recently on my YouTube channel I uploaded Winter Birds Eating and Relaxing Music, this was made with my mother in spirit (she would have loved it)!
In Conclusion:
Not only making your own super easy bird suet treats you are helping the winter birds. The birds need extra protein to keep warm and build up energy to produce baby birds in the spring.
Make sure to use the best ingredients and avoid using food that is harmful to them. The bird repayment is coming back each day to visit the bird feeder and you can enjoy their happiness!
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Stokes Double Suet Feeder can be found on Amazon
Atora Shredded Vegetable suet can be found on Amazon
Etekcity Temperature Gun can be found on Amazon
Owl Silicone Molds can be found on Amazon
Acorn Bird Feeder can be found on Amazon
Mealworms can be found on Amazon
Sunflower Seeds can be found on Amazon
Tallow can be found on Amazon
Cracked Corn can be found on Amazon
Peanuts can be found on Amazon
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Of course! Glad you enjoyed and thank you so much!
Absolutely! Thank you for stopping by!
So glad my information was helpful to you! Thank you so much for stopping by!
I had heard about folks doing this, but had no idea how it was done. What a great post!
These are such sweet ideas! Love it! I love watching birds from my windows. Fun craft ideas to do with the kids too.
Love this post! I love all the information you shared about birds I didn’t know and love the treat ideas!
I didn’t realize so many things were toxic to outside birds thank you for sharing!
What a great article! We are making suet treats next week as we are major bird lovers! Thank you for all of the great tips! ❤
What about mom’s house? win-win-you can make and give as a gift-lol plus I know your mom is special 🙂
Deb, I am an empty nester too 🙂 lol This would definitely go well with bird feeders, what an awesome fit! I would love to see when you do it, more of a nudge-lol
I knew you were a bird-lover, they will definitely appreciate you 🙂
Alexa, thank you and I know the birds will love you for it 🙂
Amy, yes, it’s a great homeschool, we did this decades ago. It also teaches the little ones to be appreciative of our furry friends 🙂
Perfect homeschool project and read! Thanks for all the info <3
I am definitely saving this. I want to do this for our yard and birds!
I just got a bird seed feeder and this would make a great addition to that! Thanks!
I used to make suet bars and seed cakes years ago. Now that my husband makes and sells bird feeders I’ve been wanting to start making the bird treats again. This post is giving me a nudge to actually do it. Thanks for sharing!
I wish I had somewhere to hang one of these feeders! All I have are squirrels and neighbourhood cats visiting my backyard.
We all need the birds 🙂 thanks for stopping by Elise 🙂
Thank you Connie, I can always count on you sweet friend!
Love this video and all your info! Yes the bloopers were hilarious.
This is such a wonderful tutorial. I love all the birds and wildlife outside, even in my suburban neighborhood.