by Lois Breneman - Revised 2014
Carolina wrens, house wrens, nuthatches, tufted titmice, chickadees, downy woodpeckers, red-bellied woodpeckers, red-headed woodpeckers, mockingbirds, catbirds, white-throated sparrows, house finches, and goldfinches especially love peanut butter suet. But this past year we had new welcome visitors feasting on this mixture - bluebirds!
Peanut butter and shortening are good cold weather treats for birds because they need extra fat in their diet to keep their tiny bodies warm, but they also love it throughout the year.
Plain peanut butter is perfectly safe for birds as well, and they will not choke on it, according to Birds and Blooms.
You can make up your own mixture to save a lot of money. Mix shortening and peanut butter together, using an electric mixer or food processor. Then add flour and/or cornmeal until it is easy to form into blocks to fit into a suet feeder. You can even use cornmeal or flour that has become buggy, and the least expensive shortening and peanut butter will do just fine. The birds love the less expensive brands just a much as costlier ones.
The consistency should be sort of like Playdough, but if it's crumbly, the birds love that just as well. I store it in empty shortening cans or wrap the blocks in plastic wrap and put several blocks in the waxed liners that I save from cereal boxes. They can be stored at room temperature for a few months, although they will keep even longer if refrigerated or frozen.
Do not add any water or it will become hard as a rock. Guess how I know that?
I will warm you that raccoons, squirrels, and bears dearly love suet too! The squirrels steal the suet in broad daylight, but the raccoons and bears come at night, reach right into the feeder and dig it out! Then in the morning you may see greasy little raccoon prints everywhere, as we have. Thank goodness, we haven't seen bears yet!
To solve this problem, I asked my husband if he'd build a wire cage surrounding our suet feeder, extending the space between the suet and the outside of the cage, with the wire bent to create spaces large enough for the smaller birds to go inside and feast. This works real well, and neither raccoons nor squirrels can touch it now! If your feeder is not bear or raccoon-proof, I'd advise bringing it inside at night.
Grapefruit or orange halves also make good birdfeeders, although they are not predator proof. Hanging from your trees, they will keep the birds quite happy and well fed.
Peanut butter and shortening are good cold weather treats for birds because they need extra fat in their diet to keep their tiny bodies warm, but they also love it throughout the year.
Plain peanut butter is perfectly safe for birds as well, and they will not choke on it, according to Birds and Blooms.
You can make up your own mixture to save a lot of money. Mix shortening and peanut butter together, using an electric mixer or food processor. Then add flour and/or cornmeal until it is easy to form into blocks to fit into a suet feeder. You can even use cornmeal or flour that has become buggy, and the least expensive shortening and peanut butter will do just fine. The birds love the less expensive brands just a much as costlier ones.
The consistency should be sort of like Playdough, but if it's crumbly, the birds love that just as well. I store it in empty shortening cans or wrap the blocks in plastic wrap and put several blocks in the waxed liners that I save from cereal boxes. They can be stored at room temperature for a few months, although they will keep even longer if refrigerated or frozen.
Do not add any water or it will become hard as a rock. Guess how I know that?
I will warm you that raccoons, squirrels, and bears dearly love suet too! The squirrels steal the suet in broad daylight, but the raccoons and bears come at night, reach right into the feeder and dig it out! Then in the morning you may see greasy little raccoon prints everywhere, as we have. Thank goodness, we haven't seen bears yet!
To solve this problem, I asked my husband if he'd build a wire cage surrounding our suet feeder, extending the space between the suet and the outside of the cage, with the wire bent to create spaces large enough for the smaller birds to go inside and feast. This works real well, and neither raccoons nor squirrels can touch it now! If your feeder is not bear or raccoon-proof, I'd advise bringing it inside at night.
Grapefruit or orange halves also make good birdfeeders, although they are not predator proof. Hanging from your trees, they will keep the birds quite happy and well fed.
Right now I use an old square plastic freezer container to hold the peanut butter suet, with two metal skewers sticking through it, and fishing line to hang it from a tree branch. I chose fishing line, rather than thicker cording, so it wouldn't show up as much in photographs.
Sometimes I fill a custard cup with suet and set it up right on the other side of my kitchen window. The shelf on our deck on the other side of my window was a great idea of my husband's! I raise up the custard cup, so I can see it as I sit at the kitchen table working on the computer with my camera handy! To keep predators from eating it at night, I bring the custard cup inside.
You will have lots of inexpensive entertainment in store for you and your family by feeding the birds! Have fun, and get your camera ready!
Sometimes I fill a custard cup with suet and set it up right on the other side of my kitchen window. The shelf on our deck on the other side of my window was a great idea of my husband's! I raise up the custard cup, so I can see it as I sit at the kitchen table working on the computer with my camera handy! To keep predators from eating it at night, I bring the custard cup inside.
You will have lots of inexpensive entertainment in store for you and your family by feeding the birds! Have fun, and get your camera ready!
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