The Best Types of Suet and Feeders for Wild Birds

You've likely heard of suet, a high-energy, nutritious food source made from rendered fat for wild birds, but we're guessing you didn't know it comes in many forms and fits into a variety of feeders to make feeding the feathered friends in your yard easier. Offer this energy-rich food year-round to please many species.

Multiple birds can feed on suet at once

Multiple birds can feed on suet at once.

Which Types of Wild Birds Like Suet

Some wild birds crave more than seeds. They want the flavorful nutrition of suet, or fat rendered from beef or mutton. The high-energy food is easily metabolized, offering birds extra warmth — especially when preparing for a long migratory flight or during colder winter months.

The birds you're most likely to spot at your suet bird feeder include:

Of course, most other birds gladly nibble on suet too. When seed sources become scarce in winter and early spring before the growing season, suet provides a healthful food source for all wild birds.

Suet balls offer wild birds extra energy

Suet balls offer wild birds extra energy.

The Many Different Forms of Suet

Suet prepared for wild bird consumption differs from what you find at your local butcher shop or grocery store. Raw suet can become rancid and unsafe to eat when exposed to temperatures above freezing.

The suet then softens or melts and may stick to the feathers on a bird's belly, get transferred to eggs in a nest and accidentally clog the pores of eggshells. This, in turn, deprives the embryo of much-needed oxygen to grow and mature.

Instead, it's best to offer suet formulated for wild birds. The rendered fat gets mixed with additional ingredients designed to keep suet fresh, help maintain its shape and not melt in warmer weather, keeping the birds that visit your yard safe.

Suet Cakes

Suet cakes come in a firm, square shape and easily slide into a suet cage. They're the most common to buy, and the easiest type of suet to start with. Birds fly up to the cage, cling to the side and peck at the suet.

Suet cakes are offered in a variety of flavors with seeds, mealworms, fruits and other deliciousness mixed in. All suet-eating birds, even larger woodpeckers, enjoy this form of suet.

Experiment with one of these options in your backyard:

Suet Nuggets

Suet nuggets are much smaller versions of suet balls. You don't need a special feeder or cage for them, and they can fit into your existing bird feeder.

Suet nuggets, like other forms of suet, feature mix-ins wild birds enjoy, such as mealworms, peanuts and seeds. You can offer these stable nuggets in all seasons, even in summertime.

Add one of these suet nuggets to your standard bird feeder:

Suet Dough

Suet dough comes in square, ball or log shapes designed to fit a variety of bird feeders. It's created to stay firm and withstand extremely high temperatures (up to 100°F) without melting, making it a perfect bird food in warmer climates.

Dough also comes in many tempting flavors to attract your favorite feathered friends. Explore one of these suet dough options:

Suet Balls

Suet balls offer the same firm food as a suet cake, but in a round shape. Add them to a platform feeder or choose an easy mesh-bag style feeder. They can vary in size, from approximately golf ball to billiard ball size, depending on the brand and flavor chosen.

Place suet balls in feeders with woven wire or wooden slat walls (versus a solid surface, like clear plastic), allowing the birds access to the balls. Some suet balls come in a mesh hanging bag, so you can slip them over a pole and watch the birds enjoy the food.

suet cage or basket holds cakes and dough

The popular suet cage, or basket, holds cakes and dough.

Suet Bird Feeders to Try

With the different types of suet come different types of feeders to serve up this high-energy food to the wild birds in your yard. Most feeders can hold one or more types of suet.

Suet Cages

Suet cages, also called suet baskets, are square in shape and easily hold suet cakes and square suet dough. They can hang from a tree branch, a narrow deck rail or a pole. Birds will cling to the outside of the cage and peck through the metal cage to get to the suet.

Try one of these options in your birding area:

  • Pennington Feeder Station for Cakes and Suet: This suet bird feeder holds one large 56-ounce suet cake or three standard 11- to 12-ounce suet cakes. The design is easy for woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees and others to maneuver.
  • Pennington Feeding Frenzy EZ Fill Suet Basket: This smaller suet cage holds one suet cake and features a simple fill design. You'll soon see woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees tasting the suet.
  • Pennington Cedar Suet Station: If you love the look of a traditional wooden bird feeder but want to offer suet, this is the feeder for you. The beautiful Eastern Red Cedar feeder holds two suet cakes for all wild birds to explore.

Suet Nugget Feeders

Suet nuggets are small, much like large seeds, making them fit into most standard bird feeders. For best results, choose a feeder with food with larger openings or an open platform style.

  • Pennington Feeding Frenzy Wire Feeder: This vertical, cylindrical-shaped feeder can easily fit on small patios and hold up to 24 ounces of suet nuggets. Expect to see woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees and more enjoying this feeder.
  • Pennington EcoBistro Bird Feeder: This combo feeder features two suet cake or square suet dough baskets with a space in the middle to hold suet nuggets or seeds. It can hold up to 5 pounds of wild bird food.
  • Pennington Cedar Hanging 2 in 1 Bird Bath/Feeder: This open-air platform style feeder allows you to offer all types of wild bird food in the large tray. Pour in a bag of nuggets (or suet balls) and watch your feathered friends visit.

Combo Suet Feeders

If you enjoy offering your feathered friends multiple foods but are limited on space for your bird feeding hobby, a combination bird feeder might be your best option.

These feeders can hold both suet and seed:

  • Pennington Grand Snack Shack: This beautiful feeder made of Eastern Red Cedar can hold two suet cakes or dough squares as well as seeds. It can manage up to 3.75 pounds of wild bird food.
  • Pennington Cedar Chalet Bird Feeder: This wooden feeder is more compact, but still offers room for two suet cakes or dough squares. In the center, you can offer suet nuggets or seeds. This feeder holds up to 2 pounds of wild bird food.
  • Pennington Copper Roof Café: This copper and wooden structure also holds a pair of suet cakes or dough squares with a center space for seeds or suet nuggets.

Note: Just like bird baths and other types of bird feeders, it's important to keep suet feeders clean. When it's time to add more suet, notice if the feeder looks soiled from bird waste or leftover food, and could benefit from a cleaning.

suet feeder on pole

Hang suet feeders from poles or tree branches.

Try Feeding Wild Birds Suet

If you want to elevate your birding hobby and bring a greater variety of birds to your yard — especially during colder winter months — offer suet. You have many choices of suet and feeders that can accommodate the nutrient-dense wild bird food.

Here at Pennington, we love birds as much as we love lawns and gardens. That's really what adoring nature and caring for your home is about. If you have questions about birdwatching, growing plants or creating a beautiful green lawn, we have the answers you need. Reach out. Let us help you nurture your roots and dreams.

Always read product labels thoroughly and follow instructions.

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