[wisb] Re: Warblers, Suet, and paying for nothing

  • From: "Bettie R. Harriman" <bettie@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: rawshooter@xxxxxxxxx,calocitta8@xxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:23:20 -0600

My husband and I have been providing the birds in 
our woods with raw beef fat (suet) since we moved 
here in 1969 - year round.  "Our" birds would not 
have it any other way.  Some years ago I worked 
for Wild Birds Unlimited when there was such a 
store in Oshkosh and on occasion when raw suet 
was hard to find, we would put out pure rendered 
suet in those cakes made to fit the suet 
cages.  At first our birds would not eat it, but 
eventually - when the "real" suet did not appear 
- they decided it was better than no suet.  When 
we could get raw suet again, we went back to that and the birds did also.

In hot weather, raw suet will melt.  This can 
mess up the feathers on the birds, so if it gets 
hot enough that you see the melted fat on the 
tree trunk or feeder post - stop feeding it until 
it is cooler.  Or if it smells rancid to you, 
stop feeding.  Otherwise, it's fine.

Seeds in the cakes are not bad, but a waste of 
your money.  And often attract squirrels.  The 
squirrels here (and we have many) have no interest in the pure suet.

It has been our choice to feed pure suet, and 
straight seeds (no mixes) over the years - seems to work well here.

Bettie Harriman, watching a very busy yard in all this snow
north of Oshkosh
Winnebago County


At 12:55 PM 12/9/2009, Brian Hansen wrote:
>Good post Jesse!
>I remember my dad always bought (or was given) plain beef suet at our local
>butcher shop.  He had a home made platform with a stainless nail sticking up
>about 3 inches from that center located near our feeders.  He would just
>chop off a chunk of the raw suet and slap it on the nail and the birds would
>go crazy for it.
>
>I've been thinking about making my own for last couple of years but was put
>off by the rendering.  When I read recipes about how to make home made suet
>I would think of my dad just putting the raw stuff out and figured maybe raw
>suet was bad for the birds.  Your post explains why people render it.   I
>frankly buy the store bought cakes because I didn't want to stink up my
>house rendering fat but if I could just put raw suet out I would definitely
>do that as opposed to the cakes.  That did lead to another questions
>though.  If the temps rise above freezing, how long will unrendered suet
>last and is it hazardous to the birds if it out there too long in above
>freezing temps?
>
>Thanks,
>Brian Hansen
>Milwaukee - east side
>
>On Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 12:21 PM, Jesse Ellis <calocitta8@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > Hey all-
> > The several warblers reported attending suet feeders over the past month
> > make a useful segue for something I've wanted to throw out on the list for
> > a
> > few months now. If you want to feed suet, esp. for lingerers like this, go
> > for real suet. Find a butcher and buy some. Render it if you like. If you
> > can find a local place, it's often dirt cheap (a buck a pound or so, even
> > for "grass-fed" beef suet).
> >
> > Two reasons, in my mind. If anyone else differs on this, I'd appreciate
> > hearing - I may well be wrong.
> >
> > 1) Birds come to suet for the fat. The fat, the fat, the fat. They are
> > there
> > for the calories. When you buy suet shot with millet and corn, you're only
> > putting that stuff in the way of the birds that actually just want the fat.
> > When you buy ORANGE-FLAVORED or BERRY-FLAVORED suet, you're doing nothing
> > for the birds. I can't even believe those product exist.
> >
> > 2) When you buy premade suet cakes shot with corn and millet, you're
> > ripping
> > yourself off. Corn can be bought for 6 bucks a bushel (that's a price
> > farmers LIKE, I think). (Google is telling me it's going for ¢381 a bushel
> > right now...). Millet is cheap too. If you want to feed birds corn and
> > millet, buy them separately and spread them out on the ground or on a
> > platform feeder. Then go to your butcher and buy some suet and offer it
> > separately. For $1.29 you get 8 oz of a mix of beef fat, corn and millet.
> > For even more (>$2.00) you can add your berry flavor. All for a product
> > that
> > most birds would rather not eat as presented. (Peanuts, however, added to
> > suet may be a different matter. Peanuts are high in fat and protein and
> > birds who prefer suet would probably also eat peanuts - although I suspect
> > warblers wouldn't). For a few bucks you can get a huge bag of corn, a pound
> > of suet, and a bag of millet, a lot more than in a few of those suet cakes.
> >
> > How do you render suet? Chop it into little (littler seems to be better)
> > bits and melt it in a pan. I've seen references that suggest rendering
> > twice, pouring off the fat as it melts, and other things. Rendering is
> > helpful insofar as you can shape the suet a bit, and that it will last
> > longer in warm weather without going off. However, you can just cut a slice
> > of the stuff and stick it in your suet feeder for most of a Wisconsin
> > winter
> > without worrying about it.
> >
> > Who eats suet? Species that are primarily or substantially insectivorous
> > are
> > the classic suet consumers. Nuthatches, chickadees, and woodpeckers are the
> > winter standards, and none of them like corn or millet. Most sparrows and
> > other granivorous birds don't care for suet, although I've seen Juncos and
> > House Sparrows visiting suet feeders on occasion. Other winter lingerers
> > that eat lots of insects can benefit from pure suet, as well. Wrens, mimic
> > thrushes, and of course the warblers that kicked this off will all take
> > suet
> > in dire conditions. Ever seen a wren or warbler eating corn? No? Me
> > neither.
> > Shouldn't be in the suet if you want help out these lingerers.
> >
> > Why am I up on my soapbox about this? Mostly for the birds. I think
> > standard
> > capitalism and a bit of miseducation have lead people to think that the
> > more
> > complex the suet the better. This mostly seems to be an opportunity for
> > companies to take cheap ingredients and mark everything way up (aka add
> > value - but in this case it's not really of value to the organisms that
> > matter, the birds). None of this benefits the birds that consumers are
> > trying to help. I also don't like people with good intentions being ripped
> > off.
> >
> > If anyone disagrees with my opinions or facts, please let me know. If there
> > are truly good reasons for berry-flavored suet to be on the market, I'd
> > like
> > to know about it.
> >
> > Good feeder-birding today in the snow, everyone.
> >
> > Dr. Jesse Ellis
> > Dept. of Zoology
> > University of Wisconsin - Madison
> > Dane County
> >
> > --
> > Jesse Ellis
> > Madison, Dane Co, WI
> >
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