SUET FOR WILD BIRDS

Suet is a popular food source for many birds. Woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches are favorite visitors to suet feeders. Suet provides high energy for birds. Commercially produced suet doughs (no melt) can be placed outside all year long and will not melt during hot weather. Regular suet can be used in colder winter climates. Suet is the hard white fat found around the kidneys and liver. Deer fat and other fat sources can also be used. This fat is rendered and then formed into suet "cakes." Fruits, nuts, seeds and insects can be added. Suet cakes are usually hung from tree branches or poles in nets or regular wire suet cake holders. As a general rule, suet should be used as a supplemental food since it is very low in protein, vitamins and minerals. While many people often think of "low fat" diets, wild birds are just the opposite. They need very high levels of fat to survive. Wild birds have high body temperatures and use fat in a manner similar to the way a heat pump operates. Fat is used to produce heat during the winter and is used to produce energy and burn off heat in the summer months.