We had an early actic blast---temperatures in the single digits, and a foot of snow. I know this is tough on the birds. Is suet OK to supplement their natural food sources??
Why would they market it for birds if it wasn't good for them? A tip...we had lots of starlings hogging down the suet we put out, the trick to keeping them from doing that is to leave the suet in the plastic outer wrap it comes in, cut off the lid, then hang the suet in one of those wire feeders, but so the top is upside down, smaller birds can easily hang onto the upside down cage, but starlings can't. They get so frustrated trying to get to the goodies it's funny to watch. We love birds, but not starlings.
It is OK. Suet cakes have grains and seeds and sometimes dehydrated insects and berries mixed together in rendered beef fat (lard). All those ingredients are the things they eat anyhow. The little bit of lard helps them stay warm.
Yes, birds love suet cakes, especially in the winter. Suet is nothing but fat with some seeds mixed in, so it's good for the birds to help build up fat reserves to get them through the winter. Place them in a suet cake holder and hang from tree limbs, the more, the better.
Once you start feeding birds in the winter, keep feeding them. They start to rely on your feeders as a food source, and if you stop mid-winter it can be hard for them to find a new food supply.
