What to put in suet feeder

Focus on the kind of food wild birds eat in the wild, and so this would be what the main ingredients of suet cakes must be made up of, for use in a suet cake feeder.

What to put in suet feeders are seed based suet, followed by peanut suet as both work interchangeably with a wild birds diet. What else is used with great success are mealworm suet in any form, with mix blend suet made cheaper to buy, but more readily available - all of which can cater to many backyard birds.

I would say first to prioritize quality suet cakes or fat balls over cheaper options, to avoid an inferior recipe - yet the rendered beef should not be able to melt so easily under the heat of the sun.

Suet feeders are not easy to clean so can get quite messy with stubborn grease attaching itself to the wiring - so for this reason it would be best to avoid poor varieties.

What is available to you to put in a cage style suet bird feeder are suet cakes or fat balls made up primarily of a seed mix, peanuts and mealworms, or all of the above.

While seed suet is very popular, in many respects so is the peanut kind, but its used less, but still attracts the same species to feed off it.

You may not need to restrict the feeder to one kind, as a mix of suet cakes or fat balls can be used, or a single suet product made up of all kinds of popular ingredients.

It won't be long before birds find your suet feeder, but just in case it would be best to offer all kinds of suet as to not miss out on any particular dietary needs. To do that alternate suet in use, while considering a double suet feeder to offer two options at the same time.

Let's take a more in-depth look at what benefits there are to what type of suet ingredients you use, including the backyard birds it will attract.

Prioritize seed type suet

Its vital to focus on feeding wild birds suet that is centered around seeds, with a seed suet base a priority.

Birds that arrive in your backyard daily have a diet mostly made up of seeds in the wild, so its this kind what must be catered to them.

What that basically involves on your part is a making sure the suet in use is made up of the seed kind - while nuts or mealworms can also be part of the mix.

Seeds are mostly eaten up on the bird seed feeder, so if the seeds are encased in a beef blend, most birds would take to eating it up out of a feeder.

This can include Chickadees, Blue Jays, Wrens, Clark's Nutcracker, White Breasted Nuthatch, Pine and the Orange Crowned Warbler, and many of the Woodpecker family.

What to put in a suet feeder made in a wired cage is seed suet cakes or fat balls, as this would be made accessible to all those species mentioned.

However, to use a suet pellet feeder would reduce what birds can use it, with those of the Woodpecker family mostly struggling to perch to feed out of the port holes.

Prioritize seed based suet cakes or fat balls while making sure they're accessible to all.

Mealworms go down a storm

Where there's suet made up with seeds there's those that are made with mealworms, with all insect-eating backyard birds willing to feed off the fatty suet to reach it.

I am talking about dried mealworms encased in the suet cake or fat balls of course, to which birds that are capable would prefer any insects used.

Possible contenders to feed off mealworm suet varieties would be that of the American Goldfinch and Robin, American Tree Sparrow, some Orioles, Chickadees, Blue Jays, few Warblers, Grackle, Nuthatches and the common Redpoll.

Of course that also applies to the Woodpeckers who would take to feeding off mealworms, just as they eat insects in nature.

Species mentioned can for the most part access suet cakes or fat balls in bird feeders, but be aware you may need to rest a suet block or ball on the platform feeder to be accessible to all.

Mealworm bird feeders do exist but this time you must use a suet cake bird feeder, but this can apply for suet in fat ball or suet pellet feeders.

What to put in a suet feeder extends to seeds and mealworms of course, so no live mealworms can be used at this time.

More specialist suet is made available but your last option would be peanut suet only.

Best of peanut suet

Not the most popular type of suet you can buy, but specialist peanut suet can be found to attract fewer birds than other suet varieties mentioned.

This would cross over with species mentioned, including peanuts going down a storm with Blue Jays, as they partially like shells on peanuts.

Other species who like to feed off peanuts within a suet cake or fat ball would be Wrens, Clark's Nutcracker, Orange Crowned Warbler and most of the Woodpeckers.

As you can see most peanut based suet caters to a multitude of the same species, so if you cannot access peanut suet, the seed or mealworm kind would be all you need to encourage birds to feed off your suet feeder.

While Blue Jays would be seen to struggle using a caged suet feeder, you must find a way to offer them the suet that is not so restricted.

Similarly, most Woodpeckers won't have any difficult accessing what you put in a suet feeder, as they are seen to hang upside down to feed off the suet of need be.

As a rule of thumb, birds that have a diet made up mostly of seeds in the wild, would be those that eat your peanut suet within the cage feeder.

Safe mix blends all year

Often you would find you can buy wild bird suet that are promoted as seed, peanut or mealworm based, but that doesn't need to be.

In fact, you can simply buy cheaper suet that are made to cater to all species.

That is what is known as mix suet blends with ingredients made up of all of the main wild bird food groups, plus more.

Safe for all birds to feed off suet cakes and fat balls can also include grain and wheat.

Often more economically priced, mix blend wild bird suet still uses the rendered beef fat, that includes quality sunflower seeds, peanuts and more - but will use less mealworms or not at all.

What can also be used is fruit based suet, but be aware this variety caters to less wild fruit eating birds - but berries can be part of the mix suet blend regardless.

Whether you decide to go for the more specialty seed, peanut or mealworm suet, don't be afraid of it being labeled as all year blend. For the most part all wild bird suet can be used outdoors all your around.

To summarize

What to put in a suet feeder would be suet cakes or fat balls made up of a seed only blend, as its sure to cater to more backyard bird species than any other kind.

Seed suet can include sunflower and safflower seeds, in which is a huge favorite of many species, so is sure to be a popular choice.

And while peanut suet can be offered, all the birds that eat seeds would probably be willing to eat a nutty suet.

What must be your second priority when offering suet in suet fat ball or suet cake bird feeders, is the dried mealworm kind, or suet that uses a wild insect blend.

This kind is likely to overlap with the type of birds it would attract, but its a safe yet highly successful blend you can use all you round.

Rather than go for specialty suet, cheaper options that are more widely available are what is called mix blend suet; made up primarily of beef suet, it can include nuts to mealworms - and even fruits used as part of the ingredients.

Birds that eat on your suet in its own cage feeder primarily bite on the ingredients mixed within, it just so happens they consume a lot of fat content in the process which would help them restore lost energy.

For this reason, you only need to make sure the rendered beef fat used is not one that melts so easily, as its not easy to clean off a suet feeder.

Share this article: