How To Use A Muffin Tin To Make A Homemade Treat Birds Will Love

If you give a bird a muffin ... it's probably not the healthiest idea. But if the "muffin" is made from tasty fat and seeds, that's definitely in line with a good avian diet. A mixture of the right ingredients, pressed into compact little cakes, will supply your feathered visitors with lots of nutrients and calories to enhance their birdy lives. Grab your muffin tin, some paper liners, a bag of seed, and a fat that's safe for birds. 

Beef suet is a top choice (some sources claim this is the only safe fat to use in homemade suet cakes), but it's not as inexpensive or easy to come by as lard. Natural peanut butter with no added sugar, salt, or other oils is another nutritious option. You can use store-bought seed mixtures, or try this budget-friendly way to DIY your very own bird seed. These little cakes should slide easily into suet cages for birds to refuel safely without their feet or feathers coming into contact with the fats.

There's some controversy around which fats are safe to use in homemade suet cakes. Some backyard birders — even some experts — swear by using vegetable shortening or home-rendered animal fat. However, you may want to err on the side of caution by sticking with one of the single-ingredient fats mentioned above, like beef suet or lard. Lastly, one absolute no-no when it comes to suet cake making is using bacon grease or other leftover cooking grease. Keep this common ingredient away from the birds in your yard, as it often contains high concentrations of additives that are dangerous for birds.

Before you start, take a look at your suet hanger. Your cakes will need to be thin enough to fit inside the container for hanging. Most suet cages are just shy of 2 inches wide, so your cakes should be no more than 1¾ inches wide so they can slide in easily. Lots of adorable suet recipes involve hanging balls or other shapes from string that allow birds to perch on the food as they eat. This is one of several mistakes you're making when putting out suet; if fat or oil gets on a bird's feathers, this can reduce their ability to repel water and maintain a healthy body temperature, possibly resulting in death. Modify those recipes to turn them into thin cakes that will fit inside of a suet holder to keep your backyard visitors safe.

To make the muffins, scoop about 1 cup of the fat you've chosen into a saucepan, and melt it on medium heat on the stove. Keep an eye on it as it melts, since lard is flammable. Place a paper liner in each of the muffin cups, and fill them about 1½ inches deep with seed. Once the lard has liquefied, pour or ladle a small amount atop each seed base. You may need to melt more lard as you work, but be conservative with the amount you add to each cup. 

If your cakes are too thick, cut them to size with a knife. Let the cakes cool fully before removing the paper liners. As long as they are made of 100% paper, toss the liners on the compost pile instead of throwing them into the trash. Slide a couple of cakes into a suet cage, hang it up, and watch the birds enjoy their home-cooked meal.