Best Suet Feeder: 7 Picks for Woodpeckers and Clinging Birds

The best suet feeder for most backyards is a sturdy cage that holds two standard cakes, keeps rain off them, and gives birds that do not cling well somewhere to stand. Our pick on that combination is the Kingsyard All-Metal Double Suet Feeder, a roofed metal cage with two perches. Suet feeders differ more than they look, though: one holds a single cake and the rest hold two, one adds a seed compartment, some add a tail prop for large woodpeckers, and one closes itself when a squirrel climbs on. This guide compares seven and explains which yard each one suits.

We compared the seven on how many cakes they hold, whether they have a roof, a tail prop, or perches, how they open for refills and cleaning, how they handle squirrels, and what owners report. Product specs come from each Amazon listing or the maker’s own product page, and we say which; where the two disagree, we show both. Feeding advice comes from the Project FeederWatch and Penn State Extension pages we link.

This guide covers choosing and maintaining a backyard suet feeder. It is not advice on caring for sick or injured birds; if you find one, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or your state wildlife agency.

We earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page. Commissions never affect our rankings or FeederBirdLab Scores.

Our Top Suet Feeder Picks

• Best Overall: Kingsyard All-Metal Double Suet Feeder with Roof. Two cakes under a removable roof, with two metal perches, per the listing, from a maker that still sells it on its own site.
• Best for Large Woodpeckers: Birds Choice Pileated Two-Cake Tail-Prop Feeder. The tallest feeder here at 22.5 in, with a 9.5 in tail prop, per Birds Choice.
• Best Seed and Suet Combo: Birdream Seed and Suet Combo Feeder. The only feeder here with a seed compartment, a 5 lb one flanked by two suet cages, according to the listing.
• Best Squirrel Defense: Brome Squirrel Buster Suet Feeder. The only feeder here with a shroud that closes the feeding ports under a squirrel’s weight, per Brome.

Three feeders carry no title because nothing in their specs sets them apart from another pick. The Kingsyard Recycled Plastic Tail-Prop Feeder is a shorter alternative to the Birds Choice for woodpeckers. The Heath Single Hanging Suet Cage is the one plain one-cake cage here. The Birdream All-Metal Double is a smaller roofed two-cake cage with no perches listed.

Suet Feeders Compared

How We Chose

We searched Amazon US for suet feeders, including woodpecker, squirrel-resistant, and upside-down designs, and kept only feeders that hold suet cakes. Each remaining feeder had to be sold new, carry an average of at least 4.0 out of 5 from at least 15 owner ratings, and come from a brand on our reviewed list for this category. Listings whose manufacturer field named a different company than the brand on the label were dropped, and when the same feeder was sold in two colors with an identical rating record, we kept one listing. We kept no more than three feeders from one brand. We also dropped a three-cake feeder whose owner reviews mostly describe a different, two-cake model, because its rating record could not be tied to the feeder actually being sold, and a one-cake cage whose listing named no manufacturer or model number and whose maker we could not confirm.

We then read every listing and, where we could match one, the maker’s product page, and noted where the two disagree. Best Overall has to come from a brand we have vetted, average at least 4.2 out of 5 (for the top spot we prefer at least 1,000 owner ratings), and still be sold by its maker. The Kingsyard All-Metal Double meets all of that: it holds two cakes under a removable roof with two metal perches, per the listing, and Kingsyard still sells it on its own site. Its Amazon listing gives a different size than Kingsyard’s page does, so its FeederBirdLab Score carries a 0.2 deduction under our published method. The other feeders follow our research order for this guide. Below the top pick, choose by the titles rather than by list position. The FeederBirdLab Score on each card is a separate measure and does not decide that order; see how the score is calculated. Our full method is on the How We Review page.

How to Choose the Best Suet Feeder

Suet draws birds that seed feeders often miss. Penn State Extension calls suet a high-quality animal fat that is highly sought-after in winter and particularly attractive to woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice, with Carolina wrens and brown creepers taking it too. Project FeederWatch calls suet a good choice for attracting insect-eating birds. A suet cage is an easy second feeder to add beside a seed feeder. These are the choices that separate one suet bird feeder from another.

Count the cakes you want to refill

A one-cake cage such as the Heath is small and simple and suits a quiet yard or a first try at suet; it holds one standard suet or seed cake, per the listing. Two-cake feeders are the middle ground, and six of the seven picks here hold two. A second cake matters in a yard where birds empty cakes quickly; one Birds Choice owner replaced both cakes after only five days, and a one-cake cage would have been empty sooner. The Birdream combo pairs two cakes with a 5 lb seed compartment, so one feeder serves both seed eaters and suet eaters; the listing’s description matches Birdream’s own page word for word. The smaller Birdream All-Metal Double holds two standard cakes under a metal roof that, according to Birdream’s product page, helps keep the cakes drier.

More cakes are not always better. FeederWatch advises cleaning seed and suet feeders every week or two, and more often during heavy use or wet weather, and it warns that suet can turn rancid in hot weather unless it has been specially processed. Penn State says processed cakes are made so they do not turn rancid in warmer weather. A cage that holds more than your birds eat in a week or so just leaves suet sitting longer between cleanings.

Tail props for large woodpeckers

A tail prop gives woodpeckers a place to rest their tails for balance while they feed, as the Kingsyard listing puts it, which is why a woodpecker suet feeder often has a flat board below the cage. Two picks have one. The Birds Choice is the taller of the two at 22.5 in, with a 9.5 in tail prop, per Birds Choice. Owner reviews on its Amazon listing mention downy, hairy, red-bellied, red-headed, and pileated woodpeckers at the feeder. The Kingsyard Tail-Prop is 16 in tall, per the listing and Kingsyard, and its owners report pileated woodpeckers, northern flickers, and Steller’s jays. In a tall suet feeder for woodpeckers, two cakes stack into one long feeding surface, as one Kingsyard owner describes, and another says large pileated woodpeckers simply hang on the mesh and feed higher up.

Plain cages work for woodpeckers too, just less comfortably for the big ones, and size matters for other large birds. One Kingsyard Tail-Prop owner says the Steller’s jays in that yard found two other suet feeders too small to sit on comfortably but are all over the tail-prop model. If you mostly see chickadees, nuthatches, and downy woodpeckers, a tail prop is optional.

Expect the birds a suet feeder draws

Penn State Extension’s feeder table, drawn from Pennsylvania birds, lists a suet feeder as a preferred feeder for downy, hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers, red-breasted nuthatches, tufted titmice, and Carolina wrens. The same table lists European starlings at suet feeders too, so plan for them from the start. Species will differ outside Pennsylvania, so check which birds already visit your yard before you choose. That mix of welcome and unwelcome visitors is why the titles in this guide are about the problem each feeder handles (big woodpeckers, squirrels, seed eaters) rather than size alone.

A roof, and how the cage opens

Five of the seven have a roof or top cover. Owners describe the payoff and the limits: Kingsyard All-Metal owners say its roof keeps rain off the suet, while a Kingsyard Tail-Prop owner says that feeder has only a small overhang, so the suet still gets wet and soggy. An open cage such as the Heath needs more frequent checks after rain.

Look at how each feeder opens, because you will open it often. The Kingsyard All-Metal’s roof is held down by the handle, which one owner credits with keeping critters from lifting it. The Heath’s front panel opens for filling, per the listing, though one owner finds it awkward to fill while the cage hangs. FeederWatch reminds owners to make sure a suet cage lid is secured so no animal can get stuck inside. On the Kingsyard Tail-Prop and the Birds Choice, the mesh panels slide out for cleaning, according to the Kingsyard listing and a Birds Choice owner. That detail matters: one Tail-Prop owner did not realize the bars came out, and by late summer mold had built up in the parts that owner could not reach. FeederWatch advises taking feeders apart, scrubbing off debris, and washing the parts with warm water and dish soap, so check how a cage comes apart before you buy it.

Squirrels, starlings, and raccoons

Most suet cages are not built to stop squirrels. Owners of the Kingsyard Tail-Prop and the Birdream combo report squirrels chewing or reaching them; one Tail-Prop owner says squirrels gnawed deep notches around the cage, though they never got inside. The Squirrel Buster Suet is the exception: when a squirrel climbs on, its weight forces a shroud down over the ports, per Brome. Its listing has no owner reviews we could use, so its record here rests on the maker’s description. Several Kingsyard All-Metal owners say squirrels have not gotten into that metal cage so far. Brome also says it will not deter grackles, starlings, raccoons, bears, or deer, and suggests bringing it in at night; one Birds Choice owner does the same because of raccoons.

Starlings are a separate problem. A Kingsyard All-Metal owner says starlings and blackbirds still ate all the suet. Keeping starlings off starts with the cage shape: FeederWatch notes that cages accessible only from the bottom tend to be starling-resistant while still letting woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees feed by clinging upside down. None of the seven here is that design.

Cake size and fit

Brome’s support page gives the standard suet cake as 4.5 x 4.5 x 1.5 in, though Brome’s store page says 1 in thick and the Amazon listing says the feeder holds 5 x 5 in cakes. If one maker cannot settle on a single size, assume cakes vary. Birds Choice gives its inside dimensions as 4.5 x 1.75 x 9.25 in for two cakes, a useful figure to hold a cake against. Whatever suet cakes you buy, compare their size with the cage first.

Where it hangs

Placement decides whether a squirrel defense works. Brome says a squirrel that can reach the Squirrel Buster from a nearby foothold without putting its weight on the feeder can still get at the food, and it recommends at least 18 inches of clearance around the feeder. Placement matters as much as the model, so plan where to hang the cage out of a squirrel’s reach before you buy. The tall Birds Choice also needs vertical room: Birds Choice lists it at 29 in tall with its hanging cable.

Who Should Look Elsewhere

If starlings or grackles are your main problem, none of these seven is built to stop them, and the Squirrel Buster’s maker says plainly that it will not. Look for an upside-down feeder that opens only from below. If raccoons or bears visit at night, no cage here will keep them out; bring the feeder in after dark, as Brome advises.

If you want more than two cakes in one feeder, none of these seven holds more. Skip the one-cake Heath if pileated woodpeckers visit, and skip the Birdream combo if woodpeckers are the main audience, since one owner’s red-bellied woodpeckers would not use its slim perch.

Suet Feeder FAQ

What is a suet bird feeder?

It is a holder for blocks of suet, a high-energy animal fat often mixed with seeds or fruit. FeederWatch says suet can go in an onion bag or a specially made cage, and Penn State notes that grocery-store suet can be hung in a mesh bag or put in a suet feeder. FeederWatch adds that suet can also be tied to trees or smeared into knotholes. All seven feeders here hold square cakes, most of them in a wire cage.

What is the best suet feeder for woodpeckers?

For large woodpeckers, choose one with a tail prop. The Birds Choice Pileated is the only one here with a listed tail-prop length, 9.5 in per Birds Choice, and owners report pileated and red-headed woodpeckers at it. The Kingsyard Tail-Prop is a shorter recycled plastic alternative. For downy woodpeckers, any cage they can cling to works.

Do suet feeders need a roof?

Not strictly, but a roof keeps rain off the cake. One Kingsyard Tail-Prop owner says its small overhang still let the suet get wet and soggy, and warns to clean it promptly before black mold sets in. Owners of the roofed Kingsyard All-Metal say its roof keeps rain off the suet. Without a roof, check the cake after rain, and clean the feeder more often in wet weather, as FeederWatch advises.

Will a suet feeder keep squirrels out?

Most will not. Look for a mechanism rather than a claim: the Squirrel Buster Suet closes its ports under a squirrel’s weight, per Brome, while owners report squirrels chewing or reaching two of the plain feeders here. Placement still matters, as covered above.

What size suet cakes fit a suet feeder?

Most cages take a standard square cake, but the standard varies even on one maker’s pages, so check the cage’s inside size before buying a case of cakes. Two-cake feeders such as the Birds Choice and Kingsyard Tail-Prop stack the cakes one above the other, so inside height matters as much as width.

Final Thoughts

Pick the suet feeder for the birds you see and the pests you have, then the model:

• Best Overall: Kingsyard All-Metal Double Suet Feeder with Roof. A roofed two-cake metal cage with perches.
• Best for Large Woodpeckers: Birds Choice Pileated Two-Cake Tail-Prop Feeder. The tallest feeder here, with a 9.5 in tail prop.
• Best Seed and Suet Combo: Birdream Seed and Suet Combo Feeder. A 5 lb seed compartment with two suet cages.
• Best Squirrel Defense: Brome Squirrel Buster Suet Feeder. A weight-activated shroud for squirrel-heavy yards.

Whichever you choose, clean it every week or two and keep an eye on it in warm or wet weather. For seed, nectar, and specialty feeders, browse our Bird Feeders section.

About the author