Fat Ball and Suet Feeders

Fat ball & suet feeder buying guide

Fat ball and suet feeders are great ways to ensure birds get all the energy and fat-soluble vitamins they need to stay healthy. Here’s a quick guide to fat feeders to help you choose.

Suet pellets, fat balls or suet cake feeders?

Suet is a fully natural product usually made from rendered beef fat. The suet is shaped into handy fat balls or cakes ready to put into the appropriate suet feeders. It can also be mixed with seeds and mealworms for a nutritious snack. Do remember, however, that because suet is almost pure fat, you must be careful to store it out of strong sunlight, especially during the warmer months, when it’s prone to melting or, worse, spoiling, which can be harmful to birds.

Fat balls can be made from a variety of fats and fillers, and although not always quite so energy and nutrient-dense as suet, they will hold their shape better and can tolerate warmer conditions. For ease of use, suet pellets are a clean, tidy way to serve up a feed of fat and can also be scattered for ground-feeding birds. As with all bird feeders, be sure to remove uneaten food frequently, clean your feeders thoroughly, and replenish them with fresh food.

Can you put suet pellets in a peanut feeder?

Yes you can. But remember that, as with bird peanuts or any fatty feed, it can spoil quite quickly if it gets warm or wet, or both. For this reason, it’s vital for the health of the birds using the feeder that you stay on top of hygiene. We recommend checking often to make sure the feed hasn’t gone off (smell it), and emptying, cleaning and replenishing.

Where to hang a suet bird feeder

Hang your suet feeder from a tree branch or a multi-feeder system, or in the case of suet cake feeders, you can attach it to the trunk of a tree. Make sure that the feeder is out of direct sunlight, well clear of the ground, and that it’s not going to fall prey to pests like squirrels and other rodents. Birds like a quiet spot for feeding with cover nearby in case they’re startled and need to hide. If you’re not sure, the best thing to do is to experiment with different locations until you’re met with success.