How to Make Suet (to Attract Birds)

[@mancavegamingandgardening9901]

Hit the nail on the head with those reasons to keep the birds around! In my area we have a particularly skittish woodpecker who will not fly down to our suet feeders; I decided to climb up his tree and smear homemade suet into some holes and grooves in the tree, the little guy loves it! Good gardening, and good birdwatching!

[@GardenerScott]

Good for you, taking that extra effort.

[@aeptacon]

🤣 gonna practice climbing

[@Willowb57]

Helpful tip. Line your suet basket with foil, wax paper, etc and put ur homemade suet in that pressed into shape and then freeze. You can easily unwrap when it’s solid and you have a perfect shape block to put back in your basket!

[@stuartmasse8249]

Great recipe. I am using large pine cones then mixing the bird seed with peanut butter and mashing it into the cone. The birds love it.

[@GardenerScott]

That's another good project for kids.

[@emmadalrymple4102]

I have been making my own suet for several years now, and I hope more people follow suit. It is so incredibly easy to prepare! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@DSesignD]

My birds up here in the north east LOVE suet with chili pepper. As far as benefits for gardeners, a regular bird feeder can pay dividends as well, birds are all over my garden in the morning, and they aren't eating my produce. So it's safe to say whatever they're doing in there it's not hurting and probably benefiting.

[@kristenhopkins4888]

Thank you for caring about all those little creatures 🙏♥️

[@noralazo6944]

The ingredients are easy to find and very simple to make. Now I can start helping the birds find food during winter. Thank you, for this video.

[@carolstella6776]

Buy the suet in the store that comes in the plastic trays and you can later use them for molds. They are very inexpensive.

[@PrettyAliceNight]

Thanks so much for sharing this! I used to buy suet when it was on sale but even then it got to be out of my budget so I had to stop. Now I can make my own! I love that you can customize the recipe too.

[@GardenerScott]

It is a good way to save a little money and feed the birds too.

[@penthesilliaas]

I'm feeling a Bob Ross kinda vibe. Thank-you

[@RickyPisano]

We have a ton of different species here in S.E Tennessee. I have a nice buffet for the birds here and they've gotten very used to my wife and I. We love them all. I've been buying the suet but not anymore!! Thanks Scott!! Great video!!

[@tennesseenana4838]

I've just been buying suet cakes at Walmart - $1.30/each. Never thought about making them myself. Anyway, I have 2 of the suet feeders hanging on my hummingbird feeder hooks near the house this winter. The hummers won't arrive back here until April or May. It's so fun to see the different birds eating them.

[@dianasanchez8549]

easy and fun thanks

[@sandan2358]

We are making suet for the first time this winter.

[@yes350yes]

I always enjoy making my own homemade suet. Sometimes I will cheat and buy and couple premade suet cakes to melt them down then add my own mix. Some people say they find natural no salt crunchy, but where I live settle for the natural even though it has salt in it , not my preference. I try to make it as natural as possible with ingredients I have.

[@pamjones7632]

I have a variety of birds in my neighborhood. Cardinal, humming, woodpeckers, cranes so many others. I also have a bad squirrel and mole problem.

[@Neldidellavittoria]

Good idea to look after our friends and encourage them to stay around. My winters aren't that cold, but I think I'll give ti a try and hang the suet in the shade and see if it doesn't melt in the afternoon.

[@GardenerScott]

I'm sure they'll appreciate it.

[@OakKnobFarm]

Awesome recipe Scott! I'm looking for my suet basket as soon as this video is done. My personal plans: Store bought peanut butter. Our own saved fat. Grains from crushed chicken pellet feed. Seeds from my chicken scratch. I think I have everything I need!

[@GardenerScott]

Sounds like a great plan!

[@mtngrammy6953]

Be careful that your chicken scratch and pellet feed doesn't have additives or preservatives that can harm the native birds!

[@OakKnobFarm]

@@mtngrammy6953 Only organic over here. no worries! But good point

[@OldReddingFarm]

wow so interesting I had no idea what was in Suet but I don't think thats what I would have guessed.

[@JimVincitore]

Great video! Very cool! THANK YOU!

[@johnjude2685]

We by them all the time and might try your bird cakes, Around my garden we love the busy little wrens he hunting bugs all day. Thanks

[@tammystrickler5723]

HI SCOTT, I'VE BEEN MAKING TOASTED BREAD. TO FEED THE BIRDS IN THE COLD WEATHER. ALTHOUGH I WAS READING. BIRDS NEED SOME FAT INGRED. IN THE COLD WEATHER! I CAME ACROSS UR VIDEO! I FEED THE BIRDS , SQUIRRELS OUTSIDE MY PIC. WINDOW!

[@deborahfromdcspetersoncity9213]

Thank you for the video and the suet recipe.

[@jesusisGod1434]

We make our own suet too, but I let it set up in a bread pan and make sections with aluminum foil. No hand forming, beside I’m allergic to peanuts. I don’t use the wild bird seed mix as it holds far to many weed seeds those birds will plant in my garden. I only use the sunflower black oil seeds.

[@GardenerScott]

The black oil seeds are a much better choice for birds. Good for you. I wanted to show a low-cost option.

[@anneclark1330]

We have raccoons, I think I've finally outsmarted them by closing the basket with a spring clip. I also zip tie it to wherever I want to put it. They haven't opened them, nor stolen them for 2 months. So far so good!

[@Mrpurple75]

When I was in grade school we made suet with a small milk carton, bird seed, and PVA glue. The glue was made with water, flour, and sugar. Your recipe is more interesting

[@pesjms2]

Thank you for sharing , I always wanted to learn how to make suet for my birds. 👍

[@GardenerScott]

I'm glad to help.

[@freedomflyer6650]

Everytime we make bacon we pour the fat off into a container and dd a handful of bird seed. We store it in the fridge and when it ifull to the top we put it out for the birds. We also grow several wild flower garden beds all around our property. Then in the Spring , Summer and Fall it encourage bee and butterfly activity , It truly is a living Garden!

[@GardenerScott]

That's great!

[@preymanta6389]

Gonna make this today!

[@lyndabuchholz1216]

I saved the containers from store bought cakes and fill them with my homemade suet and cool them for the birds. I think they like the homemade better them the store bought.

[@GardenerScott]

Good idea to reuse containers. Thanks.

[@theoverworkedgardener5648]

Enjoyed the video I didn't know what that stuff was called. Thanks

[@Tracks777]

lovely stuff

[@brianletts4899]

Excellent video as always Scott! I use a number of 4" branches, about 14" long, with holes drilled into it that I stuff with suet and hang. The blue jays and hairy woodpeckers seem to sense when I'm putting it out as they are all waiting in the trees :)

[@GardenerScott]

Thanks, Brian. I like that idea.

[@tranthiduyen615]

Vườn nhà anh rộng lớn quá

[@Tracks777]

awesome video

[@Stt222]

Could you use bacon grease? We always end up throwing it in the trash but this would be a good use for it.

[@GardenerScott]

It can be an option. I've read some reports that caution about the salt and nitrates used to make bacon, but also many that recommend it.

[@brianletts4899]

My dogs would never let me throw it in the trash :)

[@Mary-had-a-lil-farm]

I love this. Thanks Gardner Scott. Could chickens eat this as well?

[@GardenerScott]

Sure. It can give them the same benefits in cold conditions.

[@cynthiawilson3904]

I had some shortening and lard that was sitting around for a while it needed to be used. I also had a bunch of old almond slices and raisins that my kid brought home when she worked at Starbucks. I put that all together in suet with some milo grain and wheat. This will be a treat block for my hens and another suet block for the wild birds.

[@Mary-had-a-lil-farm]

cynthia wilson great idea! Thank you 😊

[@donnaq7626]

I add chopped oats. The birds can not get enough of it.

[@cplumlee8466]

Could you use pressed coconut oil instead of lard?

[@GardenerScott]

Yes you can.

[@mtngrammy6953]

When I have made my own suet in the past, I always have trouble with it melting a bit and dripping down onto my deck. Winter is not a problem, but I have tanagers and buntings that show up in the summer and particularly come to the suet feeders. Do you have any advice for keeping it from melting? I've seen seed logs made with gelatin and wondered if that might help? The store bought feeders don't melt much at all.

[@GardenerScott]

To avoid that problem I don't use suet in summer. There is usually enough natural food around that the birds don't need it.

[@skeeterburke]

We don't get much of a winter here in south central Texas, but the 3 weeks of winter, the birds and the deer appreciate the food I wonder what you could use as a substitute for lard, you mentioned rendering your own fat (I don't use lard since it's not kosher)

[@GardenerScott]

Vegetable shortening is a possible alternative.

[@roxxigirl1320]

I think I would use natural peanut butter because it doesn’t have sugar or salt in it.

[@Designz_by_dd]

Hi Scott I have sparrows in my yard and they made a nest on my porch so I trying to detour them to the bird house my husband made them. But they are not going in. Any suggestions on how to get them to go n there and make there nest. Thanks

[@GardenerScott]

Check the size of the hole and house. The base should be about 4 inches square and 9-12 inches high. The entrance should be 1 1/4 - 2 inches in diameter and about 6-7 inches above the floor. If the house is another size, the sparrows won't go in. It should be in a protected area, like near trees, so they don't have to worry about predators, and pretty high off the ground. If you've done all of that already, keep shooing them away from the porch and maybe they'll discover the house eventually.

[@suesmith4325]

I always thought, and I am pretty sure I read it somewhere that only birds from the woodpecker family were able to eat from the suet feeders because they can cling to a vertical surface or to the bottom of one where as other birds cannot. Have you heard that?

[@GardenerScott]

I have heard that, but many birds can hold on to the wire frame of a suet basket. Because at least one side of the suet is always resting against the frame, even small birds with small bills can enjoy it.

[@mtngrammy6953]

I have all varieties of birds that come to my suet feeders: woodpeckers (3 or 4 varieties), finches, pine siskins, nuthatches, chickadees, magpies, jays, and even grosbeaks and two families of Western Tanagers in the summertime! It's fun to watch them fight over it. No one has any trouble hanging on to it!

[@mattingly1217]

Where is the lard in a grocery store? By the crisco?

[@GardenerScott]

Yes. It's usually there, often on the bottom shelf.

[@aeptacon]

I've put suet in the springtime and there are no takers..granted I only have finches, doves, mockingbirds, sparrows, and juncos around. Should I keep trying? I spent a lot of the suet store bought otherwise I can save it until I move to the wilderness lol

[@GardenerScott]

You can modify the suet. Some birds like sparrows and finches don't care for it much and a suet feeder may be difficult to use by bigger birds like Juncos. You can make suet with lots of seeds or nuts or whatever the birds like and spread it around a tree, rather than putting it in a feeder.

[@aeptacon]

@@GardenerScott thank you for the suggestion! I actually did that with some storebought peanut butter suet mix and spreaded on a tree at the park lool. I think it probably melted and not sure if birds ate it. I'll keep trying. Thanks

[@theREmissionary]

I haven't read the comments yet, so this may have already been asked. I don't have any whole wheat flour; is plain ol' white flour OK?

[@GardenerScott]

Sure. Refined flour doesn't provide as much nutrition but can still be used.

[@theREmissionary]

@@GardenerScott thanks so much for responding. I did make it with the white flour, and so far they've gone through almost 2 cakes. We've been seeing hubby's favorite - the redwing blackbird - plus a BUNCH of other blackbirds and cardinals. So nice!

[@jettyeddie_m9130]

Awesome info Scott thanks ! , do you have any mice/rat problems, nobody has videos on how to “ effectively “ control rats in urban gardens ,help Scott 😫! , T.I.A

[@GardenerScott]

I have a few mice, but no rats. I don't have a video planned on controlling rats, but I'll see if I can work that into a future video. Thanks for the idea.

[@jettyeddie_m9130]

Gardener Scott thank you I appreciate that Scott 🤝

[@babycheesa8020]

Save old suet container you buy from store. Keep using it to make the perfect mould

[@kgaletin]

If you flatten the suet on a cookie sheet before you put it in the fridge, you could just cut the suet cakes.

[@danielzukle5471]

Does the homemade suet melt in the heat of the day? I just wondering.

[@GardenerScott]

Yes, it can. That's why this is a good option in the cold of winter. I don't use suet once spring comes and the days warm.

[@danielzukle5471]

@@GardenerScott thanks Scott, we don't have many non warm days here in Southern California. But maybe I will give it a try before it warms too much. Great video!!

[@GardenerScott]

Thanks, Daniel. Hang them in the shade and that will help until it gets too hot.

[@nm9412]

Suet is Winter food, in Spring and Summer they have plenty to eat naturally.

[@kgaletin]

Doesn't Skippy use a lot of sugar? Is sugar good for birds?

[@GardenerScott]

Sugar by itself provides some carbohydrates but isn't necessarily healthy. Added sugar should be avoided if possible.

[@jean-pierreposman7282]

hello scott i have a little problem i follow your shannel now for a yaer and i think i saw them all and studiet them all and i laerned so much from you that i am realy want to do sommething back afther all you dont give to do all this information for free , i had so manny benefits from youre teaching scills .. and now mi problem is ; i cant beieng a member of the gardener scott community because if i fill in mi cardnumber they ask for a code of tree numbers after i write mi creditcard number and that exist only on visa and i have only a mastercard because off i am on a low budget : i have no visa so ; visa works from europe , master card dont . that make also that i never can give a suppershat or in thr livestream on manday or sommething . same system , same problem . do you have a solution for that to arrange it with a other method ? because to me your absulutely worth it do do also sommething

[@GardenerScott]

Thank you very much for your support, Jean-Pierre. Please don't feel you have to contribute. I enjoy doing this to hep gardeners like you. The three numbers are usually on the back of the card by the signature line and I think Mastercard does that too. I don't know of another method. Thank you for asking.

[@jean-pierreposman7282]

No others cvc number on the other side top . I think i jave a friend witj visa to ask for help . Anyway thanks for what you doing . And i look forward to der you tomorow in the lifestream . Mi big moment of the week to end (or start) mi gardening week . See you (at 17.00 h pm in belgium ) have a Nice weekend .😆

[@jean-pierreposman7282]

@@GardenerScott hello Scott i had a telefoon with the bank , tis works badly enough allpne if a had visa . also it did nt work with a friend of me who want to pay for me wih his visa and p should pay it back to him but it dont work because the number is not correct with mi identity . i hope i can enjoy the facebookchannel ... have a nice day and sty safe . greetings your fan jp

[@EileenQxz]

Can suet be made without bird seed?

[@GardenerScott]

Sure. The main component of suet is fat of some type. The rest of the ingredients are variable.

[@EileenQxz]

@@GardenerScott Thanks for the info. I have red-winged Northern Flickers, Downy Woodpeckers and Starlings (as well as grey squirrels) here in the Pacific NW.

[@Naturegarden236]

Why do u need flour and cornmeal.

[@GardenerScott]

It adds different nutrients and helps the suet hold together.

[@janicela9863]

Does this attract bears? We have black bears and some grizzly where I live.

[@GardenerScott]

Yes, it can attract bears. I wouldn't recommend doing this in areas with known bear problems.

[@magdavanzyl6141]

Why dont you cool it in a container? Double work🤔

[@rebeccazody1278]

You could just put in a foil pan and partially freeze it

[@ohske]

😯👍👍👍👌

[@cmasailor]

My kids smear the suet into opened pine cones and hang the cones by a window

[@kaianderson3453]

My guy is actually bob Ross

[@miroslodki2195]

would have been easier for viewers to list the ingredients and quantity in the video desscription...fwiw

[@aeris...5389]

I dress like a bird and sqawk in my backyard that also attract bird

[@mormonslayer71]

I'm all for helping out the poor little birds in the winter, but the same pesky little monsters eat all my grapes, cherries and apricot last year.

[@GardenerScott]

That can be a problem and they've eaten plenty of my fruit. But I'm willing to give them some of the harvest so that they eat the insects that could prevent a harvest in the first place.

[@jello1977]

I know people that don't eat this well.

[@kaittemurry4740]

Couldn't you just put it in a datasheet pan and cut it

[@GardenerScott]

Sure.

[@robaldridge6505]

'SUET' is kidney fat, you can get it at any GOOD butcher shop, you are making bird food

[@GardenerScott]

You're right, but suet and suet cakes are words commonly used by gardeners to identify bird food made with fat.

[@lorayejones1203]

Squirrels will demolish sure cakes fast.