Crazy About Suet!

Birds love suet!  I try to keep the crunchy peanut buttery treat on hand for my back yard friends.  I always use the same basic mix but vary on the extra ingredients like raisins, cranberries, seeds, nuts, etc.  I've tried the store bought stuff, but it usually ends up in the trash because my bird friends won't eat it.  However, they love this homemade recipe.

The basic ingredients for this suet recipe are:

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 cup lard

2 cups yellow corn meal

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

Put it all together:  

Melt peanut butter and lard together.

Add dry ingredients and stir well.

Add extra ingredients on hand like 

bird seed, sunflower chips, raisins or dried cranberries, peanuts, etc.  

After mixing everything together, let it set for a few minutes. Spoon the mixture out and roll it into 1 to 2 inch balls or spread it into a sheet pan then cut it into squares.  I have also spooned the mixture into miniature muffin pans.  The shape of the mixture doesn't matter to the birds- they love it either way! Extra mixture may be stored in the freezer until ready to use.  

There are many variations on suet recipes so feel free to experiment.  I've tried others but this combination of ingredients has been the most popular with my back yard friends.  

Thank you for dropping in and I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead!

Homemade Bird Suet & Treats

Good Morning Everyone :)  In my last post, I promised that I would share pics of the homemade pine cone bird feeders and goodies that I made.  So, to keep my promise, here they are...

Halved oranges make great little bowls which can be filled with all sorts of treats.  I placed cranberries in these, but the possibilities are many- bird seed, sunflower seeds, nuts, grapes and other kinds of berries.  

Small fruits such as pears or apples can easily become a hanging treat for your backyard birds.  I purchased small pears and inserted flat-tipped screws in the center of them.  I placed a small bow on top for decoration then tied thin string around the head of the screw.  

For the heart-shaped cereal treats, I strung some store brand froot loops onto flexible wire then topped it off with checkered ribbon.  Note that sugary treats for birds should be limited because they have little nutritional value.  I made only a couple of these for decoration purposes. 

There's a thousand ways to prepare homemade bird suet and I wasn't sure which recipe to use, but I settled on one to try out.  They're all easy, but I can remember this:  Melt 1/3 cup of lard on low heat. Add about 2 tablespoons peanut butter while lard is still warm and stir together.  Then mix in 2/3 cup to 1 cup of dry ingredients (bird seed, oats, peanuts, raisins, etc) to desired consistency.  Suet mixture can be scooped into muffin pans, small plastic bowls, etc. or shaped into cakes for your suet feeder. Refrigerate until ready to use.   

The pine cone bird feeders were so easy to make.  I simply covered the pine cones with peanut butter then rolled them in a bowl of dry ingredients (bird seed, oats, peanuts, crumbled bread).  Using a fork, I pushed the ingredients into the pine cone, filling in the spaces.  Lastly, I decorated the pine cone with ribbon and added a string to hang it with.  It can't get any simpler than that, folks!  :)

Wishing you all a great day!  Thanks for stopping by...