The Importance of Suet Feeding

Posted by Pat Stewart on Jan 16, 2012 in Backyard Birds, My Blog | 0 comments

Many backyard birders like offering suet for their birds year round.  It’s fine to do, you just don’t get as much bang for your buck during the heat of summer because the really high temperatures will melt the high fat content.  Also, you don’t want to leave it our for an extended time in the high heat temps because it can become rancid.

During the cold weather, putting out suet for your birds is a treat, but also a real boost to their metabolism.  The high fat content is what they need during the extreme cold to raise their body temperature.  Eating and digesting the suet’s high caloric content helps their little bodies to burn the calories and create energy.  And energy in the cold, cold winter is exactly what they need.  Offering suet in the winter when insects and seeds as less available, you will find your birds coming to your suet feeder frequently.

There are various suet products you can purchase.  I find the suet cakes the easiest to use and I have the small clinging birds as well as the larger birds like the mockingbird and brown thrasher enjoying it.  The Downy Woodpeckers came to my when I first started using a suet feeder.  Now, they are regular and frequent diners!