Birds must get as much nutrition out of a food source as they possibly can. This leaves more room for their main dietary foods (seeds or insects). They do not need to eat very much to gain the fat they desperately need for their reserves and energy needs. Yes, it is hard to work with if you make your own suet. True Suet: Melt-point of 113 degrees, or higher. These fats must have dry ingredients added to them to make them hold together as a 'cake.' True suet, is the safest fat for birds. Bacon grease, drippings from beef cooking, fats off steaks or from under the skin, or what is left-over from cooking is not suet - not even close. It is very dry and hard, thus it crumbles when you handle it. True suet is the fat around the loin of a cow. There are various kinds of fats from animals. This is particularly dangerous, and frankly not true. Note that there are cheap suets out there that are like this.Īll Beef and Pork FAT is not suet! The name 'suet' is getting applied to any kind of animal fat. If you can squeeze a suet and leave an imprint with your fingers - you have fat that is too soft. Most fats, except true suet and peanut butter, have low melt points - vegetable oils, subcut aneous animal fats, bacon drippings, and many fats misnamed as 'lard' or even 'suet' melt at low temps. Making soft fats hard with ingredients (that birds don't really need like flour and corn) is not a solution the fat used is still soft. Hard fat, like suet, is far less likely to get on the bird. If they land on it, it will more easily get on their feet. If a bird accidently brushes this fat, it will more easily get onto the bird. Melt points matter! A soft fat that easily melts has a higher tendency to spread. The solution = use safe fats in the suets you feed and always feed suet inside a suet feeder that prevents direct access to the suet or accidental spreading (suggestions below). Rehabilitators can get fats off birds, but rarely do we get a chance since dirty birds retreat to a safe tree and perish there. True suet, which is what I advise to feed, is actually hard to remove (thus why a caged feeder is imperative). Avian rehabilitators use a high solvent soap to remove some fats from feathers. Getting fats off is impossible for birds.įats and oils on feathers are difficult to remove and cannot be done by a bird. But, ultimately, a stressed life like this would not be long. A larger bird can live awhile just maintaining as a cold bird who has to eat more, preen more, and spend time shivering more (their way of creating heat). A bird without sufficient insulation and waterproofing, will spend hours trying to correct the feathers (preening), rather than eating. Hypothermia kills birds, and often in far less time than one can imagine. A birds' feathers are like a wet-suit create a 'hole' in that suit and you get water or cold air access causing the bird to become cold (called 'hypothermia'). Greasy birds are dead birds. Oils on feathers impair weatherproofing by interrupting the feathers' structural function. The more hard, dry, and crumbly the fat, the more fat falls off and less get stuck in birds' bills and feet. The softer the fat, the more fat gets spread. Fats also spread by a bird having residue on their bill and then preening. The fat is then spread as birds use their feet to preen their heads and for scratching themselves. Birds get fats on them by landing directly on a suet ball or feeder and getting the fats onto their feet. The most dangerous fats for birds are the soft fats, those that are easily spread. This lack of weatherproofing and impairment in insulation is deadly in the winter, but also the summer. The fact is fats can get on birds' feathers and harm their ability to stay dry and warm. There are a lot of home-made suet recipes that are simply dangerous for birds, even deadly. Please be cautious about what you put out for birds.
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