Can I feed my chickens suet?

[ScoobyRoo]

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I have never done it yet. But doing some checking (and there is a thread on here somewhere) you put it in a pot and heat it til it melts. That is all I remember.

I think you strain it but I doubt I will do that since it is going to the chickens. There are great cooks on here like MP, Katy's, DF etc. that will say it makes the best baked goods. But I'm not sure about doing that.
Lifestyles do differ from one home to the next but if you live in the county, (we do too) I thought bacon was a staple?

We do have a lot of BLT's in the summer and cook a lot of big weekend breakfasts. So I have it on hand when I can get it on sale. I wish the whole hog could be done in bacon!

 

[DawnSuiter]

I think you right, it is usually a staple, but I'm a transplant here, not native

Big city girl, turned California girl, turning into a Country-ish girl

Not to mention my heritage is Cuban, while we ate our fair share of pork.. it just never seemed to be the bacon (wonder what grandma did with the rest of the pig??? ). I find it kind of pricey too that's part of the reason I don't buy much of it too.. it's rarely on sale and I wouldn't know what to do with it.

Doesn't the fat get rancid? Do you do something special to store it as you are accumulating it?
And do you use this too to make "suet" cakes for the chooks?

Still so much to learn

 

[Equus5O]

We can't even find suet for the wild birds. According to A&P, the meat comes already trimmed, so no suet there. At the butcher, there's no suet now because it's used when they process the venison. There's nothing around here beside the pre-packaged cakes.

 

[DawnSuiter]

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That's the reason I thought I could offer my mixes for sale to other chicken nuts like myself

Plus the "suet" cakes are much too big for just a few chickens... and so the portion control came about... the small donut catered to a pen with 5-6 chickens, etc.

Don't give up though, you can find Gelatine can't you? That works great, has a small amount of protein too but still a good mix is important you wouldn't want to count on that small amount.

The only thing the gelatine doesn't do is attract bugs... so no extra morsels magically appear stuck on the cakes like with suet... owell.

 

[ScoobyRoo]

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I put the bacon grease and any other fat in the frig. When I accumulate enough, I will then melt it down and add old garden veggies (that were also stored in the freezer), pumpkins, extra eggs, peanut butter etc. My list is endless. NOTHING goes to waste here. If it didn't get canned or eaten by us, it went to the freezer labled chicken food. Even baked crushed egg shells go in it, old cracker crumbs (sparingly because of the extra salt) Then I put it in an aluminum foil pan and freeze it. When I am going to be gone all day and the chooks are not allowed to free range, I'll thaw the night before (mine is crumbly because I tend to add more food ratio than fat) and throw the whole thing in the run. And that my dear, is why they love me.

BTW, I have read a many of times that red pepper, garlic and raw pumpkin seeds are a natural de-wormer. I'm not sure how much truth is into that. I guess it is what you read. Anyway, I do add that stuff after cooking the suet.

 

[LynneP]

Mine love their suet, and it's a great way to put calories in during the winter- this is a regular suet holder for wild birds.
Apparently in the UK commercial growers are asked not to use it because suet is a beef product and they had that mad cow scare...

Sometimes I get pelleted suet at the local meat store and mix it with peanut butter, flax seed, wild birds seed, oyster shell (ground) and raisins, shape into squares and freeze for later trip to the coop.

 

[fowlmood]

Amen to bacon grease!! Still can't throw that stuff away. Can't make good ol' corn bread without it. We use as much of the hog as you possibly can. Rendered fat is just lard. Good to bake with. Not so good for your heart though.

I figure same way for the birds. I little now and then isn't terrible, but too much fat is just that-too much fat.

 

[redhen]

Do the suet cakes go bad? I bought some last year and forgot to feed them to the birds..just found them the other day...i cant find an experation date on them either..
Is it safe to feed the birds these?

 

[greathorse]

Beef suet by definition is the very large piece of fat that encases the kidneys in beef. It becomes tallow when it is cooked or simmered for a long time. The key to making it last a long time and not get rancid is to cook it and strain all of the residual proteins out of it. It will still spoil of course but not nearly as quickly as if it were still raw.

Lard is of course rendered pig fat and the best lard is made from the leaf lard which is similar in many ways to beef suet.

Lard was kept for a long time out of refrigeration and to this day you will find it in the grocery aisle unrefrigerated. It is after bacteria is introduced that it is necessary to keep it refrigerated.

Suet has a somewhat higher melting point than regular beef fat. I am sure it is ok for birds to eat some of that. Not sure if they would eat to much if given it free choice or not.

 

[ScoobyRoo]

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There has been an ongoing debate about the lard. Supposedly it is better for you than shortening.